Former DJI Engineer
Francisco Javier Toro
Passionate about UAV technology, end-to-end solutions, and optimizing workflows in the industrial sUAS space.
Scroll to explore selected projects and process.
SELECTED WORK
Recent projects
Mining
How can UAV’s help mining operations?
UAV adoption in the mining industry is slowly ramping up and it’s exciting to see more advanced workflows develop. Mining operations utilize UAV’s for surveying, emergency response, security, asset integrity, volumetrics, modeling, mining exploration, and environmental reclamation.
Which UAV's should you use?
There are a multitude of products that can help optimize your operations. If your UAV program is just getting started, I recommend the DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise Zoom or the DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise Dual for it’s low economic cost and smaller footprint. For more advanced operations such as surveying, look into the Phantom 4 RTK, or the M210 RTK v2 with the X7 gimbal with the 24mm or 35mm lens.
For a USA made vehicle, the Freefly Astro mapping kit with the A7R4 and 24mm lens is a great option. If higher accuracy is required, using Emlid Reach RS2 can provide centimeter level results.
Achievements
Working closely with industry leaders we are continuously improving our hardware to keep up with mining. Minor revisions in firmware and software for the Phantom 4 RTK and M200 series lead to an enhanced user experience. This includes the addition of a high megapixel gimbal camera for mining such as the M210 RTK v2 with the X7. This type of enhancement allows the UAV to be flown higher to cover a larger area while increasing the effective megapixels from 20 to 24. The UI and software is constantly improved as we develop and add new features such as Terrain Awareness for the Phantom 4 RTK series to meet industry demands. Both of these features are just a few of many that are constantly improved and I feel confident that UAV workflows will continue to improve in the following months.
Oil and Natural Gas
How can UAV's help energy operations?
There are three parts to an energy operation: upstream, midstream, and downstream. Upstream is the discovery and exploration of oil and natural gas, midstream is the transportation and storage of oil and natural gas, and downstream is the distribution of refined oil and gas to its users. Midstream has seen the most activity with UAV’s as they are utilized for roof tank inspection, emergency response, natural gas detection, modeling, VR training, and security.
Which UAV is applicable?
Similar to other industries, there are several options. If the UAV program is in the first phase, some economical options include the Mavic 2 Enterprise series, Phantom 4 series, and the Mavic 2 series as well. For more mature programs the program manager could look at the M200 v1, M200 v2, or M300 RTK series. There are also third party payload offerings such as the U10 which could be used to quickly identify and locate potential methane leaks .
Achievements
By working closely with partners such as Shell, we have improved our product line to meet industry demands. For example, meeting with Shell at Deer Park reinforced our H20T gimbal’s sensors which helped increase productivity and efficiency for roof top inspections. The feedback overall has been positive and while the Z30 and XT2 have been popular gimbals we’re excited to announce the H20 series.
There is still enormous potential for growth in this industry and we are working diligently to accelerate the adoption of UAV technology.
Public Safety
How can UAV's help public safety?
Public Safety has had the fastest rate of adoption with most departments starting a drone program. Some of the more advance departments are utilizing UAV’s for fire prevention, search & rescue, hazmat, situational awareness, overwatch for tactical teams, search warrants, interior searching, and accident reconstruction.
Which UAV's should you use?
Similar to other industries, the type of UAV required varies by use case. Most departments begin their drone program with a Mavic 2 Enterprise Zoom or the Mavic 2 Enterprise Dual for it’s entry level price and small footprint. Outdoor operations could take advantage of larger UAV’s for their extended flight time and multiple payload offerings. Such UAV’s include the M300 RTK, M200 v2 series, and M600 series. Larger UAV’s are capable of supporting advanced payloads such as the XT2 or Z30. For indoor use, we recommend smaller UAV’s such as the Mavic Air 2, Mavic Air, Mavic Mini, or the Tello.
Qualified Entities Program (QEP)
Managed the Qualified Entities Program which was designed to unlock government and public safety agencies for long periods of time to enable our users to quickly deploy without being restricted by local No-Fly-Zones.
Utilities
How can UAV's help the utilities industry?
UAV’s have been used in utilities for several years and only recently, these programs started to scale into larger fleets. The utility industry is made up of three parts: generation, transmission, and distribution. The transmission sector has seen the fastest adoption in UAV technology, which is used for inspecting several thousand miles of electrical cabling. Most transmission lines are in remote areas or hard to reach places such as a mountainous area, over water, or in heavy forestry. This makes traditional inspection methods more complicated and much more expensive when trying to reach remote areas. This is where using a UAV is advantageous, taking as little as 20 minutes for a tower inspection compared to the traditional method of 4-8 hours. The time required to complete an inspection also makes economical sense.
The utility industry uses UAV technology for infrastructure inspection, asset management, lifting cables, and boiler room inspections.
Which UAV's should you use?
We’ll go over the best UAV’s to use depending on key use cases.
For Infrastructure inspection the Mavic 2 Enterprise, Phantom 4 Pro, M200 series, or M300 RTK would be good options.
Asset management could utilize the M200 series or the Phantom 4 Pro. It’s important to take advantage of a high megapixel sensor when capturing data, this will allow the user to apply more advanced algorithms for post analysis. With the data set it is possible to generate an orthomosaic or 3D model with third party software or DJI Terra.
A larger UAV would be required for lifting cables, this is where the M600 series would be a great option. This is a very unique use case we have seen among utility companies.
Finally, the Mavic 2 Enterprise series would be a great option for inspecting boiler rooms which are typically in GPS denied environments.
For a USA made vehicle option, the Astro A7R4 with a 50mm lens is a great option to leverage the 61MP sensor to capture detailed information.
Film & TV Production
How have UAV's helped the film and television industry?
The film and television industry has been the quickest to adopt UAV technology as we’ve demonstrated the immediate impacts of using small UAV’s versus traditional helicopters. UAV’s are being used for filming, asset management, 3D modeling, pre-visualization, and carrying larger cameras for feature films.
Which UAV is right for film and television?
The type of UAV will really depend on your camera requirements. For example, a camera payload with 2.7k resolution will vary greatly from one with 6k resolution. For smaller productions, a Phantom 4 Pro would suffice while larger productions can take advantage of the Inspire 2 with the X7 gimbal camera. In the film industry, camera configurations can easily go over $50,000 USD and most find it too risky to fly their expensive cameras. In these cases, the Inspire 2 with ProRes and CinemaDNG RAW would be the best alternative. The picture featured here was taken on the set of the music video “Dead Inside” by Muse where Francisco helped support early in his career as two dji S900’s were flown with a small gimbal with a GH4 and a flashlight.
Achievements
Francisco worked closely with product managers to provide feedback , workflows, and software/hardware requirements about the film and television industry. This lead to the quick adoption of UAV’s and gimbal technology within the industry which is now a standard.
Francisco has had the privilege of working with academy award winning cinematographer, Claudio Miranda, pictured on the right. The director required repeatable framing which meant supporting on the set of Only the Brave where the real time kinematic GPS system was utilized to get repeatable results for the first time in the United States.
UTC Program
What is UTC program?
The Unmanned Aerial Systems Training Center (UTC) program is a global drone training initiative created by DJI Enterprise to set professional education and safety standards for drone pilots.
Archievements
Francisco led the efforts to implement the UTC Program in North America and was responsible for reviewing/editing the training and exam curriculum to ensure it was up to standards for the North American market. Additionally, the trainers were instructed by Francisco to provide a high quality training experience. The UTC program utilizes a written portion and a pilot skill section to provide a foundation ideal for enterprises.
As the commercial UAV industry grows, the UTC program is designed to accelerate the adoption rate by educating UAV program managers on the basic principles of flight. The program has a baseline curriculum that teaches users about flight controllers, GPS, gyroscope sensors, motors, weather conditions, and industry specific payloads.
ABOUT
Meet Solution Engineer Manager
Francisco Javier Toro is an active UAV professional helping develop the industry since 2013. He’s been involved across all vertical applications gaining valuable insights on industry requirements.
He’s worked across the United States, Canada, Australia, China, and Japan to provide engineering solutions for industry leaders in mining, utility inspection, public safety, and film production.
During his free time, Francisco likes to go hiking, explore new cultures, dance, and try foreign dishes.
UPDATES
May 25, 2024
As a long-time Southern California Edison (SCE) customer, I was especially thrilled to get some flight time with their UAS team this past week.
A big thanks to the SCE team—Robert Ford, Todd T., Alejandro Arteaga, and Sean Parker—for an excellent few days of testing and pushing SOTEN to its limits. I’m excited about the progress we’ve made and look forward to continuing our collaboration to further enhance SOTEN's capabilities in supporting critical infrastructure inspections