Drone Trends: How far can we go on the road of flying technology?
Drone popularity is rapidly growing, so we can only begin to ask ourselves one question – how far can we go on the road of flying technology? Gone are the days where drones were strictly used for military purposes and only the richest of us could afford such an amazing flying robot.
In today’s society, there are residential, commercial, and even agriculture drones taking over the skies. By the year 2025, it’s expected that the spending by both residential and commercial consumers will be approximately $14 billion which is a great future to look forward to.
But, since we mentioned the future, let’s take a look at the trends that specialists expect to catch on.
#1: Organizing Aid Within Organizations
There are drones helping organizations run their day-to-day operations right now. Because the technology in drones is constantly being tested and upgraded, advanced sensors are now being fitted onto the drones for some serious activities.
For example, infrared and ultrasound advancements are being made for the purpose of going into the public sector for aiding in multiple different applications across the world. Multiple industries are now getting ready, if they haven’t at this time of writing, to use drones in law enforcement, agriculture, retail, health care, and much more.
We all know about Amazon beta testing their delivery drones, which are expected to make deliveries within a 30 minute time period (see pic below) but Microsoft is also putting their foot in the drone door.
Microsoft’s Project Premonition has multiple plans to use drones for the purpose of identifying new diseases within the wild. This is being done to ensure that any threat, be it to human life and/or property, can be identified and dealt with by any means as soon as possible.
At this time of writing, Microsoft has already deployed a number of drones in Houston, Texas for the purpose of expecting and monitoring the flow of the Zika-carrying virus which is found in mosquitoes.
If want to know more on this topic, take a look at this article on new drones available on the market today.
#2: The Future of Drones and Our Agriculture
Multiple studies have been conducted since as early as 2012 for the purpose of figuring out whether or not drones will have a definite place within our agriculture system.
In fact, multiple software vendors have been targeting the space of our agriculture to find useful solutions that can be conducted and monitored by a newly made generation of drones that are created for this very purpose.
While it has yet to be fully finalized, there is one major solution circulating throughout the United States that is gaining speed in regard to becoming a fantastic solution and tool.
Japan, however, is way ahead of the game in this area. For example, Japanese company MUNOZ has been making incredible progress with drones in agriculture with crop dusting drones now common place.
UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) that are being used for this purpose will help save both costs and precious time on agricultural methods that are being pushed to elimination. This includes going on foot throughout the many fields, using manned planes for the purpose of fly-over filming, and many more methods.
Not only can drones be used for crop dusting, but they can also be used for basic surveying, as well. Without the help of drones, this process is costly requiring personnel as well as surveying systems, such as planes or helicopters.
#3: We’re Finally Getting Our Flying Cars
Those who hoped we’d be flying to work instead of driving may soon be able to fulfil their dream. The 184 by EHANG (pictured above) was designed for the purpose of carrying people from a short Point A to a short Point B. It is expected to be an aerial version of many transport services, such as Uber, for example.
However when the idea was released during CES 2016, the majority of those the concept was presented to assumed that it would never get off the ground and that it was nothing but wishful thinking.
Thankfully this is no longer the case. During January of this year, EHANG released more information that shocked everyone. Footage showing successful testing was released to the public, showing us that the future of flying cars is definitely more than just a bit of wishful thinking.
While the testing is nowhere near complete, and willing test subjects and aviation agencies that will take it into appropriate airspace are scarce, the future is on the way. We can also hold hope in the many other flying cars and bikes that are slowly creeping their way into the public market.
Interestingly enough, Uber has its eye on the flying car prize, along with a handful of other companies and manufacturers. Uber Elevate, The Volocopter, Project Vahana and Airbus, CityAirbus, Terrafugia, Zee.Aero, AeroMobile, PAL-V and Moller International are just a few of the many companies which are currently in the flying vehicle game.
Our Future with Drones
Technology has never been bigger, especially now that we are working side by side with drones to make our lives better, make our dreams come true, and to help our world save on resources. Who knows what else we can expect in the future!
Jack is a true drone enthusiast. He graduated the Drone/UAV Pilot Training Certificate program and is now a a member of the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International. His main purpose is to find and develop new features and help others discover the wonderful experience of flying a drone. He is the main editor and content creator at MyDroneLab.
