The drones’ technology has sparked amazing business ideas due to the many applications these gadgets have. If you’re one of the many people who are looking to explore and monetize on the commercial applications for Drones, this post can bring some light to your ideas.
Drones or unmanned aerial vehicles, are revamping the business and technology niches while creating opportunities to develop novel business concepts. Now, the Federal Aviation Administration has released a report covering the rules of commercial drone usage.
The report put clarity on the legal requirements for drone use in commercial settings. With the removal of the high limiting costs and technical aspects which earlier impeded the use of drones, it is now possible for us to revolutionize the industry.
Drones have now become a crucial component of businesses, both in the large and small-scale businesses arena. The main application of drones in business has largely centered on video and photography aimed at marketing, but numerous other drone use cases have proved that imagination and creativity is the key to succeed with drones.
Estimates by Goldman Sachs show that $13 billion will be spent on drones by various businesses and governments by 2020. The most prominent benefits with drone use are the increases in work efficiency and productivity, improved accuracy, lowered costs, and improved security capabilities.
But before you go wild with drones and start applying them in one of the many commercial applications they have right now, it would be a great idea to start small and pilot one of the best cheap drones for beginners in the market right now. This will greatly develop and improve your piloting skills and will prepare you for more advanced gadgets.
New Uses for Drones are being developed and discovered every day
Architecture and Construction
Innovative architectural firms are now utilizing drones to enhance their competitiveness in the real estate business. The drones capture detailed images and videos that are then used to develop 3D renderings of structures they can design. Timely and low-cost aerial shots of buildings can help create incredible designs. Additionally, real-time aerial inspection using drones can help architects to detect mistakes and correct them, and alleviate threatening accidents at the construction site.
Easing Agriculture
Drones’ technology has benefited numerous farmers due to its versatile capabilities and ability to cover great distances. Our farmers now use drones to check crop health, take inventory of their crops, map the land, do soil analysis, capture heat signatures, and check irrigation systems. The data captured using the drone can be used to make informed decisions.
The cost savings arising from such practices are exceptional with farmers citing that drones are cheaper than mini-crop dusters in spraying fertilizers, pesticides, or water on their crops. Expensive aerial surveillance that could only be done occasionally can now be done weekly or daily using technology costing hundreds of dollars. For farmers with animals, drones are also suitable for gathering data about the population and health of animals.
Commercial Deliveries
We often visualize a world where we get our packages delivered to our doorstep minutes after ordering online. This possibility is slowly metamorphosing into a reality, right in front of our eyes. Even though there are restrictions on the drone weight, capped at 55 pounds inclusive of the drone, there are innovators who have utilized drones to do mini-deliveries across short distances. Some innovative restaurants utilize drones to serve meals at their premises.
Enhancing Emergency Services
Some startup companies have recognized our country’s need for quick emergency services using drone technology. Due to the drones’ ability to access difficult areas, they are used to deliver medical supplies to stranded victims; improving emergency response in disasters. For example, Zipline utilized the concept of drones to drop medical supplies in Rwanda where poor road infrastructure inhibits health care delivery.
Other companies are in the process of seeking approval to allow them to deliver medicine, vaccines, and blood to remote places in America.
Improving Engineering Practices
Different companies utilize drone technology to survey their projects. For example, oil companies can inspect oil pipelines and conduct maintenance inspections. Energy companies also utilize drones to inspect power plants and power lines, and analyze the effect of storm damage. Some airplane manufacturing companies also use drones to take an accurate view of commercial jets looking for damage, dents, or scratches.
Conventional methods of inspection can take two hours, while the same task lasts only fifteen minutes when using drones, however, this requires high dollar drone technology to be applied.
Animal Conservation Initiatives
Governments utilize drone technology to protect land and species of animals that inhabit protected zones. Like drone use cases in agriculture, drones in animal conservation initiatives help officials to cover large distances in a short time.
Conservation agencies utilize the drone technology to monitor populations of wildlife and determine the best land management practices to implement.
With the data collected, it is possible to get an accurate picture of the distribution of animals and thus raise awareness in the quest to enhance conservation efforts. Drone technology is also helpful in identifying poachers. Subsequently, officials can keep animals safe. The images and videos captured improve intelligence efforts and help save the human lives working on the front lines against poaching.
Surveying Bad Weather
With the current unpredictable trends in weather, it is essential that we can study weather patterns to better prepare for eventualities. Drones can charge into storms at no risk to human life. Companies collaborate with agencies such as NASA to study storms to understand how they develop. Tropical storms can be monitored, and this knowledge helps improve prediction capabilities and consequently, save lives.
Drone Assisted Removal of Landmines
Researchers postulate that there are millions of landmines buried across the world. Around 70 people die a day from buried landmines. Some research companies fit drones with innovative hyper-spectral technology to capture images which they use to assess soil and plants for evidence of leaking landmines. Such drone use cases prove how resourceful the technology can be in saving lives.
Search and Rescue Missions
Search and rescue operations are often difficult because of the imminent danger rescuers face. In some cases where victims are concealed within debris, it is difficult to pinpoint the exact position. Helicopters are bulky which hinders maneuverability and exposes rescuers to danger.
Drones with heat-sensing equipment can find victims in tight spaces and over great distances. Drone usage thus cuts down on the time and cost factors associated with search and rescue missions because they can fly lower than helicopters.
For the final thoughts, we can say that
In conclusion, it is evident that over the last few years, drones have managed to revolutionize not only the technology space but also the business space. They have been considered the most helpful and innovative inventions in recent times.
Drones have been able to penetrate business sectors that had either reached a plateau or were altogether impenetrable. The limits on drone use and application only exist in our minds.
Creativity in the application of drones can ensure more companies utilize them to grow their businesses, so they can now access new markets and niches never conceptualized before. Our aim should be to identify how to solve more problems with drone technology.
Well, here is a brief review of one of the best drones for beginners in the market right now, the Holy Stone F181 Drone Series. Some of the key facts about this drone are: There are 3 versions of this drone available in the market right now: C, W, and G. The difference is C model has a camera but cannot live-stream video to a mobile device. W model has a WiFi camera, so it can transmit video. And the G one, comes with an LCD screen integrated to the transmitter, besides, it works with 5.8G video transmission, also, this last one does not work with a smart phone. It definitely is a very high seller, since this drone has thousands of positive customer reviews from those enthusiasts of the hobby. As I've said before, you can't go wrong if you choose this one as your first drone. The equipped camera is a 720p HD one, with wide-angle capabilities. Flight time is decent and ranges from 8 - 10 minutes. Charging time oscillates between 60 - 90 minutes. Flight range is up to 100 meters or 328 feet. Just for the price you pay, these features are fantastic, but, this drone comes with other very useful addons that will definitely improve your flight experience. Holy Stone F181 additional Features Altitude hold mode Headless mode Spins and 3D flight enabled One Key take off/landing FPV Capable (not the C model) And these are the features which make the F181 a great drone. I actually wrote a full review of this gadget at https://www.rchobbiesonair.com/holy-stone-f181/, if you want to know more details, feel free to check it and leave your comments and questions. Thanks! Jose