The biggest challenge is riding the wave of a new industry.
The term drone tends to have a negative connotation, often associated with military action or invasions of privacy. Grand Forks, N.D.-based Field of View is helping change those connotations through their work with aerial mapping and imaging. The small business engineers and sells hardware and software, and provides expertise to help people perform aerial mapping, primarily focusing on precision agriculture, an increasingly hot topic in the farming industry. Through the use of aerial imaging and mapping, farmers can identify stressed spots and fine-tune their application of fertilizer and chemicals – therefore increasing yields, lowering costs and reducing environmental impact.
Field of View’s founder, David Dvorak, was an engineering student at the University of North Dakota (UND) when he started his company part-time. Grand Forks happens to be a hub of activity in the field of Unmanned Aircraft Systems and precision agriculture, and Dvorak got an early start in an industry that is now gaining speed. Today, Field of View is a small company, consisting of Dvorak and Kaci Lemler, a fellow engineer and former UND classmate. Co-owner, Danny Hajicek, also a former UND engineering classmate, is based in California and does Field of View’s circuit and software design.
For Dvorak, the biggest challenge is the ever-changing nature of this new industry, due to regular advancements in technology. “I had visions of how the industry would evolve back in 2010, and it seems like every three to six months I have to revise that vision.” Dvorak has evolved his company with the industry and now focuses on helping others avoid making the same mistakes he did, sharing insights and learnings in what he sees as more of a collaborative environment.
As for Field of View, Dvorak hopes to ramp up operations and advance their product line. “There are more and more articles coming out that highlight the positive uses of drones, such as agricultural mapping, and I think it’s becoming less of a dirty word.”
Photos by Shaul Schwarz