Drone Technology
Five Observations about the Camera Drone Market from NAB 2015
By Steve Maller for Drone Analyst My brief but productive visit last month to the 2015 National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) in Las Vegas showed me just how fast the camera drone market is heating up. More than 97,000 people in media and entertainment attended this year, and the show featured for the first time … Read more
FAA Proposed Drone Rules: Market Opportunity Winners and Losers
On February 15, 2015, the commercial drone industry breathed a collective sigh of relief. The Federal Aviation Administration’s proposed new rules for small unmanned aircraft systems seemed, at first blush, somewhat practical. The FAA regulations will eventually allow commercial operations of drones that weigh under 55 pounds in U.S. airspace, without requiring operators to acquire … Read more
Commercial Drone Markets: 2014 Year in Review
Judging by the headlines, 2014 turned out to be the year for drones. I referenced in Tweets a total of 503 articles with the word ‘drones’ in the headline last year. A Google search brings up about 61.4 million results referring to ‘drones.’ Granted, that search includes references to military and hobby drones, but it … Read more
Why Drones Are the Future of the Internet of Things
What if you could talk to a drone? No, seriously. You can already talk to a locomotive, so why not talk to a drone? For those of you following the technology, you already know that unmanned aircraft systems (a.k.a. drones) are finding their way into Internet of Things (IoT) implementations. IoT applications are typically composed … Read more
Does DJI’s New Drone Hit the Target Market?
I think it’s futuristic – the drone that is. The camera, on the other hand, is another story. The drone For a guy like me who not only follows the commercial market for drones but is also an avid photography and multirotor enthusiast, the new DJI Inspire 1 is, well, inspiring. It’s chock full of … Read more
GIS: The Biggest Little Drone Market in the World
Last week I had the pleasure of participating in a two-day symposium on unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) hosted by the Northern California American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS). The event was held in Reno, Nevada, (otherwise known as “The Biggest Little City in the World”), and its purpose was to assemble UAS experts … Read more
Commercial UAS Market Opportunities: Do defense avionics and electronics suppliers have a head start?
This post also appears in The Market section of sUAS News. As the Federal Aviation Administration prepares new guidelines for the use of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) in the U.S. national airspace, startups and aeronautic mainstays are chomping at the bit to start selling drones for commercial ventures, from filming to crop scouting to inspecting … Read more
When Lockheed Meets GoPro: Ohio UAS Conference Wrap Up
Over the course of three days in August, I along with more than 670 participants at the Ohio UAS Conference 2014 in Dayton, OH, witnessed a large number of government and aerospace company attendees interested in taking drones into commercial markets. From the dozens of presentations and interactions I had with academics, military contractors, aircraft … Read more
Drone Tech Winners and Losers at the Precision Aerial Ag Conference 2014
Last week my colleague Mitch Solomon and I were privileged to be in the company of more than one thousand farmers in rural Decatur, IL, for the two-day Precision Aerial Agriculture Show 2014 (PAAS 2014). Mitch covers five key takeaways from the show in his post about the event – including the most salient one: … Read more
Film or Farm: Which is the Bigger Drone Market? – Part 1
This is Part 1 in a two-part series that summarizes my views on why video/film/cinema – not agriculture and farming — will be the largest driver of sUAS commercial businesses. In this part I explore thoughts on the market for video/film/cinema, and below I outline why I believe film and video will lead in market … Read more