Drone Arrival’s Helen Pukszta contributed “Growing Drone Usage in Business in 2019” article to Cutter Consortium’s annual “Business Technology Trends and Predictions” issue of the Business Technology Journal with predictions on what’s in store for drones in business for 2019.
Here are some excerpts. The full “Growing Drone Usage in Business in 2019” article is available here.
Applications of drone technologies other than air taxis and delivery of goods over public spaces garner less media attention, yet they open up new paths to efficiency, safety, and accuracy, and are being implemented and producing tangible benefits. Insurance, agriculture, construction, and oil and gas are some of the industries that have experimented with UAS and have started fine-tuning, operationalizing, and turning their use of drone-based technologies into a competitive advantage. Public sector use, such as for infrastructure inspections and public safety, is also increasing and will continue to grow in 2019.
[…] The operation of drones within the confines of a business or a professional service tends to face fewer barriers and restrictions than anything involving the public, and adoption in those contexts will continue to make good strides in 2019.
[…] Current regulatory restrictions (for example, automated flight paths are fine, but autonomous flights without a pilot and those beyond visual line of sight are not) lessen the industry incentive for autonomous drones for business and curtail innovation in that area. Those areas are crucial to fully unlocking drones’ ability to disrupt and improve business models and processes. This will change in tandem with regulations as pioneer operators push the envelope and demonstrate on a repeated basis the safety and efficacy of autonomous UAS.
[…] It’s a fast-moving technology, and there tends to be a gap between what is available and a vision for how to apply it effectively. Competitive pressures are already pushing for widespread adoption in entertainment, real estate, surveys, and insurance. That competitive urgency will increase in 2019 in other sectors where UAS can bring immediate value within the current regulatory framework (with or without FAA waivers).
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