Drone industry landscape primer
Whatever you prefer to call these amazing machines — small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), remotely-piloted vehicles (RPAS), remote-control aircraft, flying robots, or drones — this nascent industry is poised for rapid growth and impact. I thought it might be helpful to explain a bit about how the industry is shaping up and how all the players fit together. This article is certainly not intended to provide an exhaustive description of the industry, but I hope it gives some context as you read and learn about drones.
End Users / Applications
In 10 years, we’ll be taking drones for granted. Most drone applications that we’ll all enjoy in 10 years haven’t even been dreamt up yet. Few would have anticipated 10 years ago that you’d be able to request a private car using a smartphone.
Today, the most prolific end user for small drones is the recreational aerial photography enthusiast. These machines are fun, easy to fly, and can capture amazing pictures and video. Have a look at these incredible and popular videos:
Farmers around the world are using drones for many purposes. In Japan, drones have been used for aerial application for years and years.
Farmers also use drones for remote sensing, observing crops and livestock from above to monitor health. Multispectral sensors provide better information about watering, nutrients, and diseases than the naked eye or cameras recording visual light alone can. Precision farming informed by remote sensing has increased crop yields significantly.
Drones delivery services are being developed. Amazon, Alibaba, DHL, Google, and even Dominos Pizza have all tested drone technology. Last summer, Google demonstrated their Project Wing by delivering dog food to a farmer in the Australian outback.
Drones are great for doing jobs that are dirty, dumb, or dangerous for people. You can put a drone with a camera essentially anywhere that needs to be inspected-the top of a bridge, a long oil pipeline, a refinery flare stack, or even deep inside a mine.
Manufacturers
Perhaps the best known companies in the industry today are drone manufacturers. Most of the non-military drones delivered to date, approximately 2,000,000 units in 2014 alone, have been sold to recreational users, largely for aerial photography and videography. The two largest manufacturers are DJI and 3DRobotics. Other manufacturers include Walkera, Yuneec, Ehang, and Parrot.
DJI products have gained rapid adoption because they are easy to use. Here is a great review video of the DJI Phantom 2 Vision+.
3DRobotics is closely tied to its hobbyist / DIY roots, offering open source flight control software and customizable, configurable hardware. The company has recently delivered increasingly finished products, including customized products for certain industrial applications.
Service Providers
Many people don’t actually want to operate drones — it’s the data or the package the drone delivers that is important to them. Service providers of all types are popping up, usually specializing in particular industry verticals like agriculture, inspection, or delivery. Many of these service providers are also building some technology in order to deliver vertical-specific solutions.
Flirtey is offering drone delivery-as-a-service. While Amazon Prime Air is likely focused on fulfilling Amazon orders, Flirtey will empower any merchant to deliver goods in a very short period of time.
Skycatch is providing data to the construction, mining, agriculture, and solar industries. 2D and 3D high-resolution maps can belp businesses make better decisions.
Platforms / Operating Systems
Several platforms have emerged. These include Airware, DroneDeploy, PixiePath, Universal Ground Control Station (UGCS), and others. Each is differentiated from the other in various ways, but ultimately there will likely be one or two clear winners, like iOS and Android.
These platforms integrate airframes, sensors, and application-specific software to deliver drone solutions for enterprise.
Smart Sensors
A drone can’t do much if it doesn’t have sensors. The purpose of most drones is to put a sensor in the air — whether that be a visual camera, multispectral camera, chemical sniffer, or other device. But drones also need smart sensors for navigation.
Skydio is developing intelligent navigation systems that allow a drone to navigate near obstacles and without GPS reception. See Skydio’s video below:
MicaSense has developed the RedEdge multispectral camera which is small and lightweight and can be fitted to almost any drone. Coupled with MicaSense’s data services, the RedEdge camera delivers valuable information to farmers.
Airspace Management and Compliance
The company that I founded, NoFlyZone, is focused on helping drones operate in a safe, reliable, and responsible way by helping operators assure compliance with airspace requirements. NoFlyZone is the first provider of a comprehensive database of global airspace information for drones. This database includes boundaries of civil and military airspace, temporary flight restrictions, and other sensitive sites like schools, hospitals, industrial plants, and private properties that have requested privacy.
Two other companies are also developing pieces of the airspace management and compliance layer. These include Verifly, which is building drone registration and authentication technology, and Skyward, which is doing many things including working on traffic management technology and helping operators obtain insurance and writing operating manuals.
In Summary
It’s an exciting time to be part of the young and rapidly developing drone industry. A host of amazing entrepreneurs, engineers, policy experts, and investors are collaborating to create incredible value for the world.
