What’s Next For The Commercial Drone Industry?

[RichWest]

Interesting read if you're trying to leverage UAV's for a commercial application. Just one perspective, but hearing what is said helps to understand what is next....

Under the editorial leadership of Jeremiah Karpowicz, Commercial UAV News has become an authoritative voice in the commercial drone space, with a distinct focus on the ways that drones are being used in verticals like civil infrastructure, mining & aggregates, surveying & mapping, and more. <snip>

Commercial UAV is obviously focused on drones, but ultimately it’s not about these specific tools or technologies, it’s about the practical applications of the technology, what it’s actually used for, and how it can actually make a difference for the construction professional, for example,....

What's Next For The Commercial Drone Industry? | 3DR Site Scan - Commercial Drone Platform

 

[just_bruce]

I'll be interested to see the applications developed as people move beyond thinking of them a simply flying camera platforms.

For example, what about a throwable with 50 yards of line it pays out to assist in water, vertical, or confined space rescues? I think that probably depends on heavily on positioning technologies beyond GPS, whether that is optical flow, sonar, radar, or lidar. But there seems like *so* much more these platforms can do beyond simply being "eyes in the sky". (Not that being eyes is AT ALL a bad thing)

 

[RichWest]

...whether that is optical flow, sonar, radar, or lidar.

You left out machine vision. That tech is developing quickly, here's an example at around $50. Refresh rates are increasing.

JeVois smart machine vision camera

 

[just_bruce]

You left out machine vision. That tech is developing quickly, here's an example at around $50. Refresh rates are increasing.

JeVois smart machine vision camera

If that unit could be upgraded to four orthogonal cameras with a single central processor with the necessary grunt, that has very interesting possibilities. Especially with something like Solo that has on board computing capabilities.