According to a recent report by BI Intelligence, the market for commercial/civilian drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19% between 2015 and 2020.
The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International predicts that within 10 years, drones will create approximately 100,000 new jobs in the US alone, and around US$82 billion in economic value.
Drones are being utilized by an increasing number of industry sectors, for all kinds of different applications. Drones, therefore, will almost certainly soon become as ubiquitous as smartphones are today.
Get ready for some "bluesky thinking"! This event will not only be concerned with how drones are being used today, but also what this incredible technology will be used for tomorrow. You may think the sky is the limit, but who knows? Maybe one day, instead of using nanosatellites (nanosats), we will all be able to own and operate drones that are capable of going to outer space!
One thing's for sure, within the near term, drones will cause major disruption across many different industry sectors. Here are some examples,
Agriculture: crop management using GPS and big data to boost crop yields and reduce water consumption.
Insurance: streamlining and reducing the cost of claims post-catastrophe, weeding out fraudulent (agricultural) claims.
Healthcare: medicines, bandages, and defibrillators will be transported to remote locations for first aid. Drones could also be programmed to administer medications to patients with life-threatening communicable diseases.
Emergency response: Drone swarms will be capable of detecting tiny changes to the atmosphere or surrounding environments to predict earthquakes, floods, fires, hurricanes etc.
Please have a think about how you believe drones will be used in the future, and get ready to join the conversation!
