Ann: DRO: Launch of DroneSentry-C2 in partnership with Nearmap, page-9

If one stretches the word “sensor” to cover cameras, and we use the acronym AI to cover all computer-enabled extraction of intelligent information from what is sensed, then Nearmap and DroneShield are similar (both into sensors and AI), but different – potentially complementary. Other forms of sensing like electro-magnetic sensing, LIDAR and infra-red sensing, and applying AI thereto, are also similar and potentially complimentary.

Similar and complementary activities have the potential to benefit all parties involved by leveraging overlapping skill-set costs, and by increasing the aggregate sales value. That is why I suspect something bigger can flow from the nexus between Nearmap and DroneShield, who share a common Chairman in Peter James. That nexus, plus that Simon Crowther was able to slip from Nearmap into being CEO of DroneShield suggests the two entities exploit similar mindsets , an example of overlap.

By moving strongly into disaster intelligence and potential disaster intelligence, Nearmap has to cover much more than city-based imagery, and if one is covering swathes of geography for any purpose, one may find that for a little more effort one can cover large areas that could use electro-magnetic sensing, heat sensing, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. The use to which imagery and AI can be used is huge – just Google “commodity futures aerial” to get an idea in one narrow field in respect to aerial imagery.