Current Uses of Drones
Delivery
Express shipping and delivery
Supplying essentials for disaster management
Unmanned cargo transport
Delivery services to remote and rural communities
Tracking, Scanning, Filming, and Analyzing
Aerial photography for journalism and film
Gathering information for disaster management
Thermal sensor drones for search and rescue operations
Geographic mapping of inaccessible terrain and locations
Law enforcement and border control surveillance
Storm tracking and forecasting hurricanes and tornadoes
Public safety for search and rescue missions in life-saving circumstances
Long-range surveys, infrastructure inspections and precision agriculture
Drone Delivery
One of the most popular uses for drones in the commercial space is drone delivery. Back in 2013, Amazon announced its major plan to use drone delivery for Prime Air drone delivery. However, other companies like Alphabet’s (Google) Wing and Wal-Mart’s Zipline companies have seen much more success. While thousands of deliveries happen around the world, there are a number of limiting factors delaying drone delivery:
-federal/state/provincial autonomous flight regulations
-cost of production
-complex terrains and extremely populated areas to fly around
-public acceptance (i.e., privacy issues when approaching the home, noise levels of drones)
-all-weather proofing (rain, heat, fog, snow, freezing temperatures)
-Supply chain delays for parts
Watch this video for a more in-depth look at drone delivery application around the world.
Drones Used for Tracking, Scanning, Filming, and Analyzing
Here are a number of video examples that showcase current uses of drones used for tracking, scanning, filming, and analyzing…
Watch this short video on how 5G drones can be used in search and rescue situations.
Watch this short video on how Samsung is using drones to help reconfigure attena position.
Read this article for more instances of current drone technology.