How Drone Technology is Changing Industries

For a long time, drones were perceived as toys. The quick start of the fascination with drone technology gave way to the imposition of bans on their use, and the industry seemed to be at a standstill.

However, everything changed in 2020. Unexpectedly, drone technology that had previously caused hesitation and even neglect has been redefined and quickly adopted as the ultimate tool for worker efficiency and safety.

Statista reports that drones were frequently used for inspection or maintenance-based activities, according to a survey conducted by DRONE in 2020. It was divided between companies using the technology as an internal service or from a drone service provider.

Advances in computer vision, autonomous flying, and safety systems have made drones more sophisticated data collection tools that can add value across all industries.

Forbes writes that Jeff Bezos originally announced plans to deliver drones back in 2013, offering a glimpse into a new era of e-commerce. There is more to online entrepreneurs looking for drones. They penetrate almost all industries. And drones are now starting to exploit their full potential.

Where will drones come in handy any time soon?

1. Health care

Now we know that the coronavirus pandemic has had a positive impact on the drone industry. Thanks to them, the non-contact delivery of vaccines, medicines, and other health instruments by drones has become very popular. Drones come to the fore because they can travel directly and reach isolated populations. They also provide remote delivery and minimal human-to-human contact.

2. Energy

Commercial drones are good helpers when collecting data at scale, altitude, or the need for mobile sensors. In the booming renewable energy industry, flying robots are helping to test the efficiency of solar farms. By combining drones with the latest remote sensors and artificial intelligence, inspection teams can cover vast areas and identify problem areas. And in the same way, it helps inspect the fragile equipment of wind farms.

3. Agriculture

Drones can spray water over fields, which can significantly help in agriculture, the volume of which is growing. Popular drone applications in agriculture include monitoring crops and livestock, irrigation management, and fertilization – DroneFly estimates that drones can spray fertilizer 40-60 times faster than manually.

4. Construction and mining

Techcrunch writes that Caterpillar invests in Airware, bringing drone tech to mining and construction enterprises. Using drones, large construction, mining, and insurance companies typically seek to cut costs, improve worker safety, or increase their income and productivity.

5. On guard of order

The police in our cities are also starting to use drones and are benefiting from this. Drones can monitor vast open areas, negotiate hostage-taking, pursue armed suspects, and investigate other threats.

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are an innovative and affordable alternative to helicopters, which can be very expensive and not readily available. Most importantly, they allow the police to navigate potentially dangerous situations while ensuring the safety of their officers.

6. Fire fighting

Drones now dominate firefighting with the most obvious advantage: where it is difficult and dangerous for a person to get close to fires, drones can quickly provide assistance. In doing so, drones can be used as situational awareness tools, providing first responders with information about the size and direction of a fire, especially at night or through smoke, when thermal imagery can be used to provide clarity from above.

7. Spills of toxic substances

Emergencies involving hazardous materials are always very dangerous for humans and nature. However, drones have a significant impact on field operations, providing situational awareness for teams that typically rely on radio communications, exploring problem areas to pinpoint where crews need to turn around and what kind of situation they will face.

8. Aerial photography

Aerial photography is an excellent example of using drones.

With pre-defined flight paths and extended payloads, you can use drones to create 2D and 3D orthomosaics, LiDAR point clouds, 3D models, heat maps, and multispectral maps. The application is usually industry-specific.

9. Artificial intelligence and drones

Advances in technological capabilities such as artificial intelligence and machine learning make it possible to connect these technologies with drones and gain more qualifications during damage detection or rescue operations. It is evident that this interaction of technologies will also be used in the space industry.

In conclusion

In 2021, the trend shows that drones are becoming an integral part of our lives and helpers in a wide variety of events. It is no longer a toy but a tool for a new interaction with the world. Any business can attract drones to help and benefit from it. If you already have an idea of ​​how a drone should work for your company, you can contact firms for custom software development services to get quality software for your drone.

It is already clear today that drones will continue to improve workflows and integrate into all areas of our lives soon.