Eye in the sky: How Iprosurv is using drones to survey buildings

Rebecca Jones and her partner realised the commercial potential of drones, but, as she tells Martin Friel, it needed a leap of faith before their high-flying business could take off

Rebecca Jones, co-founder of Iprosurv: ‘I needed to do this, and I don’t really know why. Sometimes we all get into a rut and we want a new challenge, so it was a personal challenge to me’ (Iprosurv)

Drones, those little machines we see buzzing above parks and fields across the UK, have something of an unsavoury reputation. Whether it’s as dealers of remote death in the Afghan and Iraqi wars or causing huge disruption at Gatwick airport, people, understandably, are nervous about them and what they might be doing up there.  

But love them or loathe them, drones are increasing in popularity across the country with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) estimating there are around 130,000 registered drone operators in the UK, of which, nearly 6,000 are commercial.

And it seems they are poised to shake off their dark past and go mainstream in the commercial world with a range of organisations, from insurance and construction firms to local authorities and the emergency services, making them an integral part of their operations.