Drone Ecosystems

Despite a slow and hesitant start in legislative terms, the United States now seems to be laying the foundations for the development of a whole ecosystem related to using drone technology for commercial uses.

Less than three years after Amazon’s first announcement about using drones for logistics, which it was later detailed, along with the first battery of doubts about their viability, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has just announced that we are “one of the most dramatic periods of change in the history of transport “, predicting that there will be more than 600,000 commercial drones in the air within a year, and millions by 2020.

The first official logistics shipping in the history of the United States, 4.5 kilos of medical supplies to a rural clinic, took place on July 20, 2015, just a year ago. The history of the commercial use of drones runs parallel to the development of the recreational market drones, but differs from it, as is logical, in terms of requirements.

Following the regulatory challenges raised by these devices when they became the top Christmas gift of 2015, with more than a million of them placed in the hands of mostly completely inexperienced users desperate to fly them as soon possible, aseries of rules were imposed, an online registry was set up for owners, althoughnot all bothered to, while an Android and iOS app, B4UFLY, were created for new owners, providing geolocated information on the limitations in certain places.

Regarding their commercial use, where there are other players in addition to Amazon, the FAA’s legislation turned out to be more lax and permissive than expected. Getting a commercial pilot’s license to fly a drone is apparently not as simple as passing a driving test, but there is now a specific exam requiring study of an 87-page guide.

Meanwhile, applications for drones of all kinds are being developed: Africa is seen by many as a test site for commercial uses, while Arab emirates like Dubai, with their towering skyscrapers, offer an ideal environment, and we may well seehomes redesigned to provide landing spaces for drones… although there is stillsome resistance.

Will drones really become the way goods are delivered in the near future, as the FAA says, a revolution in logistics and freight? Does the technology add up in terms of cost and operational use? Obviously, not all freight will be carried by air, but it could play an important role in some areas, especially if costs are reduced by no longer needing human drivers. Plans are already underway for fully automated drones equipped with anti-collision sensors. From being little more than an expensive toy, drones are now about to redefine transport in many ways.

In a few years, seeing drones flying across the sky will be part of everyday life, another scenario that many people still see as science fiction, but that the FAA and many industry players insist will be science fact. Like them or not, when the deadline for the launch of an ecosystem with technology, people, companies and legislative environments is between one and four years away, we can safely say that the future is already here.