RECHERCHE et TECHNOLOGIE

"La cartographie, la surveillance des pipelines, des lignes de chemin de fer ou à haute tension, l’inspection des ouvrages d’art, l’agriculture ou la sylviculture offrent un terrain de jeu énorme", dit-il. "Mais il va falloir du temps pour s’établir sur les différents marchés".

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Le mini-drone est plus agile et moins cher à l’heure de vol que l’avion ou l’hélicoptère. Il est plus facile à déployer qu’un satellite et, volant à basse altitude, offre une meilleure définition d’image.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    La ville de Lomé, au Togo, a du attendre 15 mois pour obtenir une carte par satellite complète, en raison de la couverture nuageuse, rappelle M. de Maistre. L’usage d’un drone aurait permis de réduire fortement les délais. Continent peu cartographié, l’Afrique est selon lui un marché prometteur pour les drones, d’autant qu’elle ne s’est pas encore dotée d’une réglementation contraignante.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              La France a été un des premiers pays à adopter en 2012 une réglementation sur l’usage des drones civils, et le premier à autoriser, à des conditions strictes, le vol "hors de vue du pilote". Résultat  : c’est le pays qui compte le plus grand nombre d’opérateurs  : plus de 350 enregistrés auprès de la Direction générale de l’aviation civile, devant la Grande-Bretagne qui en compte 300 et la Suède 130.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Aux Etats-Unis, qui ont les plus gros constructeurs de drones militaires au monde, aucun vol commercial n’est encore autorisé. "Mais les Américains se préparent et les choses peuvent aller très vite dès l’adoption d’une règlementation", prévoit M. de Maistre, également président de l’opérateur Redbird. La FAA (agence américaine de l’aviation civile), promet une réglementation pour les petits drones dès 2014.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              "En France, 2012 a été l’année de la règlementation, 2013 celle de l’expérimentation, 2014 pourrait être celle de l’industrialisation", estime le jeune entrepreneur. attention aux attentes déçues Le marché reste à créer, en répondant aux besoins avec une offre de drone économiquement rentable, client par client.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Le drone a déjà convaincu le groupe de BTP Monnoyeur. Sa filiale Sitech a testé avec succès les mini-drones pour créer les modèles numériques de terrain nécessaires au guidage des engins de chantier. Pour son directeur général Grégoire Arranz, "2014 est l’année où on voudrait entrer dans la production".

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              La SNCF pense poursuivre ses expérimentations de drones en 2014, pour passer à la phase opérationnelle en 2015. Ses besoins sont immenses  : 28.000 ponts et viaducs et 10.000 parois rocheuses et remblais à inspecter.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           "Nous sommes convaincus de l’intérêt technique et économique de l’usage des drones pour nos différentes missions", dit Nicolas Pollet, responsable du projet drone à la filiale infrastructure du groupe. Mais les opérateurs doivent encore s’équiper des bons senseurs, et les ouvrages doivent être géo-référencés, notamment avec … des drones.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Pour inspecter des pylones de ses lignes à haute tension, la firme RTE utilise déjà les drones. "En 2014, nous allons poursuivre les expérimentations pour élargir le champ d’expérimentation", notamment suivre la pose de nouvelles lignes, explique Cécile Rozé, responsable du projet Recherche et développement drones.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Bordeaux a lancé en septembre un appel d’offres pour cartographier par drone la ville, en complément des relevés établis par avion. Les opérateurs ont répondu mais il a fallu expliquer que les drones ne pourraient pas tout faire car "il ne faut pas susciter des déceptions", dit Emmanuel de Maistre.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            A cet égard, les livraisons de colis par mini-drones pour dans cinq ans que fait miroiter Amazon, le géant américain du commerce en ligne, ressemblent plus selon lui à un génial coup de publicité qu’un débouché réel. "Économiquement, la livraison par fourgonnette restera longtemps plus rentable".

(Source : AFP)