A Look At The Drone Industry

Valued at $127 Billion by PwC, The Commercial Drone Industry is one of the fastest growing industries in the recent few decades. With the first quadcopter being established in 1907, Drones flew under the radar for almost a century, being used primarily for militaristic operations and having no utility in commercial or recreational activities. This all changed in 2006 when the Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration, upon realizing the massive potential of drones, issued the First Commercial Drone Permit, allowing businesses to utilize drones in their ventures and projects.

Ever since that FAA Announcement there has been a massive influx of drones, being used for almost every transportational task imaginable, leading to the emergence of the tech- centred drone industry as we know it. We will now be looking at 2 details:

1)How Drones Are Utilized &

2)The Future of the Drone Market

How Are Drones Utilized

i) Transport – Without a doubt, the Primary use of the Drones is their capabilities of transporting objects. Massive Online Retailers such as Amazon, Ali Baba & many more have started their own individual projects (Amazon Air) in order to deliver packages, items, food etc at a rapid pace. Increasing the efficiency and timeliness of delivery, while at the same cutting delivery costs has proved to be highly profitable for the companies and is what Kickstarted the growth of the industry.

ii) Research & Reconnaissance – Scientists all over the world are utilizing drones in order to reach difficult to traverse areas to obtain more data to analyse. A prime example of this would be the research on Global Warming and the melting of the Ice Caps or the observation of wildlife. Bridge Building company Balfour Beatty uses drones in order to inspect & sustain bridges.

iii) Photography – Primarily used as for recreational purposes, photography emphasized drones also possess a massive market with consumers offering the ability to photograph and record form angles and distances previously thought inconceivable and at incredibly high resolutions.

While there are many more functions of the drone the above 3 capture the majority of the ways its used. Now let us have a look at how the industry is going to stay relevant

Future of the Drone Market

i) Improved Performance Via Artificial Intelligence – There is heavy emphasis on using A.I. on drones in order to increase navigational capabilities. The ability to have self-piloting will not only help in cutting costs through wages but will also greatly assist in efficiency as Computers as much more likely to calculate the best path.

ii) Improved Coverage & Battery Performance – Cell service Providers like AT&T are already looking at ways to help communications through having drones work over a cellular area, helping transport signals. Battery Performance, Flight Speed etc is something every company is looking to improve.

These are just some of the ways in which the Drone Industry indicates that its here to stay and will be a very profitable investment.