A little-known fact around Hood’s campus is that the college now owns a fully-functional unmanned aerial system, more commonly known as a drone.
According to the Frederick News-Post, a Phantom 3 Professional drone, worth around $1400, was bought by Hood College’s Marketing and Communication Department in May. Its intended purpose was to take photos and videos of campus events and student activities for marketing purposes.
Dave Diehl, the executive director of Marketing and Communications at Hood, said, “We had seen what other colleges and universities were doing with them and saw great potential for Hood. We had also planned to make an aerial tour video of the campus.”
Unfortunately, the drone will not be flying around Hood’s campus anytime soon. FAA regulations state that drones cannot be flown within five miles of an airport without notifying the air traffic control tower first.
For now, the drone will be left unused. However, Diehl and the rest of the Marketing and Communication Department are petitioning to get a Section 333 Grant of Exemption for Hood, allowing them to immediately resume the drone’s intended purposes.
“Our intent is to use it in the future following all of the necessary rules and regulations required,” Diehl said. “We are looking into the best ways to do that.”
At the time of this article’s release, Hood has not applied for an exemption. In order to be eligible, the college’s representatives have to explain in the petition what public benefits it would have, in addition to saying how allowing it to use the drone would not affect public safety.
According to Diehl, the Marketing and Communications Department has considered possible uses for the drone in education and instruction, but has not yet had the opportunity to discuss them with faculty.
Advertisements for the Phantom 3 Professional drone say it features a 12 megapixel camera and can support video and image files up to 4k resolution. Any photos that Hood’s drone take would have a sharp, high-quality appearance.
Despite the delays, Diehl said that the drone will not be decommissioned or abandoned by the college.
“I see drones playing a role in the future of marketing and creative media in general,” Diehl said. “The footage these vehicles can capture can be unique and creative.”
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