Drones or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) are flying vehicles / robots. They can be human operated or fully autonomous. Drones come in many form factors, sizes, weights, and prices. Their flexibility on these verticals, as well as their aerial capabilities, make them useful for navigating spaces efficiently.
It’s expected that the drone market will reach ~$58B USD by 2026, with an expected compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 16% between 2021 and 2026 (source: Statista). In this article, we’ll highlight three applications of drone technology.
(Note: this list isn’t exhaustive. There’s a lot of great work being done, and it is at a rate much faster than what can be covered or written about).
Delivery
Drones can revolutionize logistics and delivery. Using drones can potentially offer faster speeds, lower costs, and more reliability. Unlike ground transportation, drones evade traffic allowing for faster shipping time. Furthermore, drones can potentially operate autonomously, especially when flying high enough or in areas with little obstacles, thus reducing labor needs and cost.
It’s no surprise that major tech, retail, and logistics companies are investing into drones. For example, Amazon is working on their Prime Air program, which involve using a fleet of autonomous drones guided by GPS to tackle last mile deliveries (this is often the most expensive part of the delivery process). Google is also developing drones, through their subsidiary Wing, which focuses on delivery goods from businesses to homes. Similarly, UPS and Walmart are also in the space, launching new programs and filing patents for drone technologies.
As the technology develops, we can expect a lot more deliveries and packages to come via drones.
Entertainment
If you’ve flickered through various New Year broadcasts on TV, you’ll notice some cities feature very coordinated light shows. These light shows are possible due to drone technologies, which are equipped with lights and fly in unison to achieve patterns / shapes. For example, Seattle for the 2023 New Year, utilized drones by the Space Needle to create various graphics such as hands holding the planet and a satellite interacting with a satellite dish. Similar drone-power shows happened in Dubai, Singapore, and London. Some advantages of drone light shows are that they are much more precise, and compared to fireworks, can be more eco-friendly (as they don’t release pollutants into the air).
Beyond just drone light shows, drones are also transforming Hollywood. Many movies are utilizing camera-equipped drones to record scenes and create unique visuals. For example, Skyfall (2015) utilized drones to capture various action sequences and provide aerial shots. Drones can be much cheaper and are more nimble than traditional camera solutions (which typically involve crews in helicopters or elevated rigs). Moreover, with the accessibility and affordability of drones, we’re also seeing many smaller creators utilize drones for their content as well.
Ecological Conservation
Thanks to drones aerial capability, nimbleness, and speed, they are great for quickly surveying vast areas. As such, nations and organizations are using drones for ecological surveying and conservation. They enable an efficient way to inspect conservation sites, which otherwise be very difficult, time consuming, and potentially invasive if done by a person or by driving around. A great example is the organization Air Shepherd that has operations in Malawi, South Africa, and Zimbabwe.
Combining drones with computer vision techniques, conservationists and scientist can also determine various metrics. They can track animal populations and movements (this is especially helpful with endangered animals), detect new species / diseases, and identify anomalies (e.g., flooding, drought, fire, etc.). Drones are also used to track and catch poachers (as drone patrol can happen 24/7 and covers more ground more quickly).
Conclusion
The applications of drone technology is wide and varied. In this article, we looked at drones for delivery (by discussing efforts from Amazon, Google, UPS, and Walmart), entertainment (for light shows and filming), and ecological conservation (through surveying, measuring, and monitoring).
