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Drone should do much work at low cost

Marquette Township has taken steps recently to use a growing and popular technology as a planning and potentially an emergency response tool.

The township has purchased a drone including supporting equipment for about $2,000, according to township planner and zoning administrator Jason McCarthy.

He noted one primary use will be to provide developers with a bird’s-eye view of potential sites that may not be accessible by vehicles to determine the land’s topography, vegetation and other characteristics.

The Phantom 4 drone has a 3.5-mile range and comes equipped with a high-definition camera. As an unmanned civilian craft, it’s authorized to fly up to 400 feet high, enabling controllers to see large expanses of property in a short amount of time and at an ultra-low cost.

Township manager Randy Girard said the vehicle will be especially useful when emergency personnel are searching for someone in the water. Finding and assessing fires in hard-to-reach forested areas may be another way to use the drone.

Over the years, we’ve wondered about some of the equipment purchases local units of government and state agencies have made and whether the equipment will play any significant role in helping people do their jobs. Oftentimes, the equipment has been expensive and includes hard-to-see maintenance costs.

That said, this purchase, would seem to be in another category. The cost – $2,000 – isn’t a lot of money, and the township’s stated plans seem to be well-grounded.

Mining Journal (Marquette)

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