Target drone business opportunities across industries

Recently, we published a PoV on how drones have been helping both authorities and enterprises fight COVID-19. The drone industry got a much-needed boost from COVID-19 when the pandemic restricted free movement. The COVID-19 emergency has provided real–time use cases and shown how helpful drones can be. It has changed society’s perception of drones from being just fascinating military surveillance technology to being useful technology for businesses and consumers. 

Drone usage is no longer limited to transportation or surveillance; use cases span sectors

Historically, drones have been used in military applications and for remote transportation, such as for delivering medicine. Now, however, drone use cases are becoming popular in other sectors, as Exhibit 1 describes. For example, Amazon and Walmart are using drones in their warehouses to manage inventory by scanning each item and reporting missing stock. If a human performed this task, it would require weeks and months to complete. Drone technology can quickly scan and interact with software to update inventory data. 

Exhibit 1: Drone applications have expanded to a large number of industries 

Source: HFS Research, 2020

Be mindful of regulatory guidelines for drone applications 

The drone industry has been booming during the COVID-19 crisis, and government regulatory bodies are having a tough time keeping regulations updated. While some countries have established drone laws, many others have not. The drone landscape is changing, and some regulations need to be reevaluated and updated to reflect new use cases. 

Rules for drone usage vary around the world. Regulatory requirements include 

• In the USA, according to the US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA), flying a drone is legal, but rules differ as per work/hobby activities. 

• For Flying for Work: Rules hold such as Remote Pilot Certificate issued by the FAA, registering the UAV, UAV must weigh less than 55 pounds, should be within visual line-of-sight,  speed less than under 100 mph, restriction to fly directly over people, etc. 
• For Flying for Fun: Rule should such as UAV be within visual line-of-sight, not to fly near other aircraft, not to fly near emergency response efforts, etc. 

• In Europe, some of the rules include of having manufacturer approval required for any changes, letting a drone fly at an altitude of more than 120 meters, the flight is not allowed over groups of people, not to fly in the proximity of airports, helipads, areas affecting, public safety or where an emergency response effort is ongoing, not to fly over large groups of people, etc. 

Drone usage is rapidly growing and changing; as regulations evolve, they should improve to reflect new use cases.  

The Bottom Line: New drone applications look promising; service providers should prepare themselves for potential business opportunities as these applications become mainstream. 

Interest in drone technology is evolving. The pandemic created an opportunity that spawned previously unimagined drone use cases; with advancements in technology, drones will become more robust and useful. Service providers should develop business cases to expand their drone project portfolios.