CIVIL ENGINEERING

Drones are the new weapons and the differentiator of use are the electronics, software, AI algorithms and imaging/computer vision equipment loaded on it. Pairing the real-time machine learning technology of AI with the exploratory abilities of unmanned drones gives ground-level operators a human-like eye-in-the-sky. Military needs different combinations of these factors and thus this sector offers a vast scope for STEM professionals. 

A. IMAGERY ANALYST:

An imagery analyst's primary task is to interpret and analyze images, primarily from sources like satellites, drones, and aerial photography, to extract meaningful intelligence and support decision-making.

Imagery Analysts work in both strategic and tactical environments. Strategic imagery intelligence is concerned with understanding the longer-term military, industrial, telecommunications, transport systems and infrastructure of foreign powers.  Tactical imagery intelligence normally deals with immediate threats or rapidly required and time critical information needed to assist friendly-force deployments within a specific geographic area. Tactical imagery intelligence normally concerns hostile activity.

An Imagery analyst profile has huge scope of fast growth in domestic industrial & farm operations. Thermal & Hyper-spectral imaging is the foundational skill for modern precision agriculture. Photogrammetry provides the skill for digitalisation of urban planning while 3D photogrammetry & LIDAR are high in-demand skills for civil & industrial projects.

Imagery analyst is the foundational skill for many career options.

LEARNING PLAN

COMPETENCY MODULE: IMAGERY ANALYST (AM/AID/DEF/02)

NO OF LESSONS: 8; ESTIMATED HOURS 40: NO OF QUIZ: 10, PROJECT-2

This course is very useful for Civil Engineers, Computer Science Engineers and Management students/working professionals planning a career switch. It develops the application knowledge about analysis of images obtained by drone surveys. 

After this certification, following certifications can be added to move to a fast career growth or a startup venture:

Suggested progressions:

A.  Drone Services ( AM/AID/DEF/11)

This is a comprehensive module covering all aspects and areas where drones are used. After this certification, one can plan a startup offering various drone services or join a services company.

B.  Surveying & Mapping (AM/AID/DEF/09)

This module helps develop the capability to manage drone based surveying & mapping, post which a career switch can be planned in Agriculture, Civil construction, Defence.

C.  AGRICULTURE (AM/AID/DEF/04)

This is an emerging career option as Imaging experts find extensive use in agriculture and if they have knowledge about crop mapping etc then the combination certification becomes a gateway to fast growth.

SCHEDULE OF STUDY

1.  Go through each lesson and attempt a self-assessment quiz at the end of each lesson. Follow the sequence as below:

a.  Mapping, surveying & Inspection                           

b.  Orthomosaics                                                             

c.  Visual Data Models                                                    

d.  Photogrammetry                                                     

e.  Advanced Photogrammetry                                    

f.  LIDAR                                                                          

g.  Cameras                                                                     

h.  Application of Cameras & Sensors                       

2.  PROJECT                                                                   

3.  VIDEOS                                                                       

4.  Additional learning: Go through suggested reference articles.

5.  Appear for CERTIFICATION EXAM.

Roads, bridges, tunnels, power transmission poles and other structures are critical to our way of life, and they require constant maintenance.

Government bodies, insurers, engineers and construction firms are increasingly using drones to assist in the maintenance process. With the ability to safely and rapidly capture images, videos and 3D models of assets, drones can be used to identify defects that require attention.

Using drones to perform inspections makes the process quick, safe and affordable.

Other drone services include crop spraying, farm control, civil projects etc

As a career path, drone service providers can expect fast growth as this is a varied role that could see you inspecting public infrastructure in city centres, or navigating outback power transmission lines to check for signs of damage or provide farm services.

LEARNING PLAN

COMPETENCY MODULE: DRONE SERVICES (AM/AID/DEF/11)

NO OF LESSONS: 19; ESTIMATED HOURS 100: NO OF QUIZ: 23, PROJECT-5

This course is very useful for all Engineers and Management students/working professionals. It develops the application knowledge about using drones for different services.

This module covers all aspects of a drone from service point of view and the learners are able to develop a broad perspective about components, technology, applications & AI integration. 

SCHEDULE OF STUDY

1.  Go through each lesson and attempt a self-assessment quiz at the end of each lesson. Follow the sequence as below:

a.  Uses of drones                                                            

b.  Agricultural thermal drones                                   

c.  Hyper-spectral imaging                                           

d.  Drone for farm operations                                      

e.  Agriculture AI drones                                              

f.  Infrastructure & Inspection drones                      

g.  Visual data models                                                   

h.  Drones for farm operations                                    

i.  Thermal drone inspection                                       

j.  Ortho mosaics                                                             

k.  Photogrammetry                                                      

l.  LIDAR                                                                          

m.  Multi-sensor wildlife & disaster management  

n.  Swarm management & control                              

o.  Smart city infrastructure & construction mapping 

p.  Flight planning & fleet management software   

q.  Sensors                                                                      

r.  Cameras                                                                      

s.  Applications of drone sensors & cameras           

2.  PROJECT                                             

3.  VIDEOS                                                 

4.  Additional learning: Go through suggested reference articles.

5.  Appear for CERTIFICATION EXAM.

One of the greatest strength of drones is their ability to capture information about large areas of land. Drones aren’t constrained by distance or difficult terrain, and are widely used for surveying and mapping purposes.

Drone surveying and mapping supports a broad range of industries and services, such as:

• Construction and engineering

• Mining and resource generation

• City planning and real estate

• Agriculture and forestry

• Nature preservation

As a drone surveyor, you can expect to use state-of-the-art drone platforms to capture detailed images, LiDAR, GPS, infrared and other sensor data over a given area.

This data is transformed into accurate survey data and 3D models using dedicated software. You will play a role in both capturing and interpreting data, helping clients to extract the information they need.

LEARNING PLAN

COMPETENCY MODULE: SURVEYING & MAPPING (AM/AID/DEF/09)

NO OF LESSONS: 10; ESTIMATED HOURS 40: NO OF QUIZ: 13, PROJECT-2

This course is very useful for Civil, Mechanical, Computer Science Engineers and Management students/working professionals. It develops the application knowledge about using drones for surveying & mapping of terrain for various uses in agriculture, civil projects, Smart city, industry or remotely spread assets like solar/wind farms, oil pipelines. 

After this certification, following certifications can be added to move to a fast career growth or a startup venture:

Suggested progressions:

A.  Drone Services: (AM/AID/DEF/11)

This is a comprehensive module covering all aspects and areas where drones are used. After this certification, one can plan a startup offering various drone services or join a services company.

B.  Imagery analyst (AM/AID/DEF/02)

This module helps expand the capability to analyse images generated by drone surveys, post which a career switch can be planned in Agriculture, Civil construction, Defence.

C.  AGRICULTURE (AM/AID/DEF/04)

This is an emerging career option as Surveying & mapping experts find extensive use in agriculture and if they have knowledge about crop mapping etc then the combination certification becomes a gateway to fast growth.

SCHEDULE OF STUDY

1.  Go through each lesson and attempt a self-assessment quiz at the end of each lesson. Follow the sequence as below:

a.  Infrastructure inspection                                        

b.  Inspection drones                                                       

c.  Indoor industrial inspection, mapping & survey  

d.  Visual data models                                                       

e.  Drones for farm operations                                       

f.  Thermal drone inspection                                         

g.  Orthomosaics                                                               

h.  Photogrammetry                                                        

i.  LIDAR                                                                            

j.  Multi-sensor wildlife & disaster management        

2.  PROJECT                                                                        

3.  VIDEOS                                                                          

4.  Additional learning: Go through suggested reference articles.

5.  Appear for CERTIFICATION EXAM.                                     

The sheer size of modern agriculture operations means they can be challenging to manage. Drones are changing this, allowing operators to monitor every corner of their farm at a glance.

Agriculture drones are specialist equipment that can be used to monitor crop health, plan projects, create maps, survey plantations and execute crop spraying regimens. This provides significant cost and time savings for farmers, and it can even allow them to automate regular chores, such as spraying.

LEARNING PLAN

COMPETENCY MODULE: DRONE IN AGRICULTURE (AM/AID/DEF/10)

NO OF LESSONS: 9; ESTIMATED HOURS 35: NO OF QUIZ: 10, PROJECT-2

This course is very useful for all professionals in agriculture sector. It develops the application knowledge about using drones for different operations in modern farming & forestry.

This module covers all aspects of a drone from service point of view and the learners are able to develop a broad perspective about components, technology, applications & AI integration as applied to agriculture. 

SCHEDULE OF STUDY

1.  Go through each lesson and attempt a self-assessment quiz at the end of each lesson. Follow the sequence as below:

a.  Agricultural thermal drones                                

b.  Hyper-spectral imaging                                       

c.  Drone for farm operations                                  

d.  Agriculture AI drones                                          

e.  Algorithms for agriculture                                 

f.  Ortho mosaics                                                       

g.  Application of drone sensors and cameras     

h.  Multi-sensor wildlife & disaster managemen  

i.  Drones in sustainable agriculture                       

2.  PROJECT  

3.  VIDEOS  

4.  Additional learning: Go through suggested reference articles.

5.  Appear for CERTIFICATION EXAM.

When floods, fires, earthquakes and other disasters occur, first responders are often tasked with locating and helping those who have been affected. This can be especially challenging in dark, smoky or remote areas, but drones can be used to work around these issues through use of special cameras & sensors.

Equipped with state-of-the-art cameras and sensors, drones can locate survivors in all conditions, providing crucial information that rescuers can use to plan missions.

As an emergency response drone pilot, you will work in challenging conditions to support rescuers, plan missions, locate affected people, assess impassable terrain and more. 

In addition to emergency response, drone sensors & cameras are used for diverse applications.

LEARNING PLAN

COMPETENCY MODULE: DRONE: SENSORS & CAMERAS (AM/AID/DEF/08)

NO OF LESSONS: 9; ESTIMATED HOURS 50: NO OF QUIZ: 10, PROJECT-2

This course is very useful for all engineering & management professionals who aspire to join the drone sector. It develops the application knowledge about using drones for different operations by choosing the right sensors & cameras.

Sensors & cameras are critical to drone operations and the type of use decides the best combination.

This module covers all aspects of drone sensors and cameras. 

The suggested progression after getting certified in this module are:

A.  Drone Services ( AM/AID/DEF/11)

This is a comprehensive module covering all aspects and areas where drones are used. After this certification, one can plan a startup offering various drone services or join a services company.

B.  Surveying & Mapping (AM/AID/DEF/09)

This module helps develop the capability to manage drone based surveying & mapping, post which a career switch can be planned in Agriculture, Civil construction, Defence.

C.  UAV Swarms Control (AM/AID/DEF/04)

This is an emerging career option as drone swarms find extensive use in defence, disaster relief, terrain mapping etc.

D.  Imagery analyst: Fast growth and specialized skill career option having demand across all domains.

SCHEDULE OF STUDY

1.  Go through each lesson and attempt a self-assessment quiz at the end of each lesson. Follow the sequence as below:

a.  Visual data models                                       

b.  Mapping software                                        

c.  Drone sensors                                              

d.  Drone cameras                                            

e.  Application of drone sensors & cameras 

f.  Safety systems: Collison avoidance          

g.  Photogrammetry                                         

h.  Multi-sensor wildlife & disaster management 

i.  Ground control stations                               

2.  PROJECT 

3.  VIDEOS  

4.  Additional learning: Go through suggested reference articles.

5.  Appear for CERTIFICATION EXAM.