Regulations
Three Forces That Shaped the Drone Industry in 2018
This was a big year for the commercial drone industry as a whole. It saw a significant increase in the business adoption, the expansion of the FAA’s LAANC program (the Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability that provides access to controlled airspace near airports), the launch of the UAS Integration Pilot Program from the FAA … Read more
Four Commercial Drone Trends to Watch in 2018
In my last post, Five Biggest Commercial Drone Trends of 2017 and the Challenges Ahead, I used data from our 2017 Drone Market Sector Report to illustrate the major trends of the past year and describe the major challenges ahead for the drone industry. That post looked back, but this one looks forward, offering our … Read more
Five Biggest Commercial Drone Trends of 2017 and the Challenges Ahead
Last year at this time, I reflected back on the news and trends of the commercial drone markets of 2016 and wrote about the mixed state of affairs ahead for 2017. Throughout the year, I offered my perspective on how the drone industry was still motivated by hype and how assessing forward momentum required hard … Read more
Who Benefits from Airmap and its Digital Certificates for Drones?
Airmap, with its low-altitude airspace management platform for drones, continues to garner international market share and new investment, but some uses for its digital certificates raise questions about their role in future airspace regulation. THE FACTS: AirMap provides low-altitude navigational data and communication tools to the drone industry. In February 2017, they announced $26 … Read more
Can PrecisionHawk Tame Drone Traffic in the Sky?
PrecisionHawk’s LATAS delivers an innovative air traffic control system for drones, but it’s one of several that depends on the not-so-imminent success of all aircraft using ADS-B. THE FACTS: This past week (August 29, 2016), the FAA granted PrecisionHawk a waiver from Part 107.31’s visual line of sight (VLOS) limitations, which gives them the ability … Read more
Will the U.S.’s New Drone Pilot Certification Accelerate Commercial Growth?
FAA testing and certification for small UAS remote pilot certificates begins in earnest this month, but does that mean the commercial drone industry will see rapid growth? THE FACTS: Beginning August 29, 2016, the new small UAS Rule for commercial drone operations in the U.S. takes effect. One very important change is that operators will … Read more
New Report: Drones in Public Safety and First Responder Operations
It may not seem like it, but drones are still in their infancy and only proving themselves through the rigorous testing done privately, commercially, and by state and federal government agencies. Despite the tangible benefits that drones can provide, the public has mixed sentiments about their use by law enforcement, firefighting, and search & rescue … Read more
Commercial Drone Markets: 2015 Year in Review
What a difference a year makes. Last year at this time, I reflected back on the news and trends of the commercial drone markets of 2014 and wrote about the mixed state of affairs in the U.S. Back then, drones got considerable media hype and you would have thought that drones could do anything from … Read more
5 Tips on Finding a Good Drone Attorney
By Jonathan Rupprecht, Esq. for Drone Analyst In response to the rapidly growing drone industry, there are now many attorneys and law firms that are seeing an opportunity to make money and are offering drone legal services as a part of their regular practice areas. Although many of these attorneys and/or firms may have experience … Read more
New Commercial Drones Report: Current State of the U.S. Industry
UPDATE: September, 2016. This report has been updated to include the latest market trend and FAA Part 107 rules I just released a new research report. It details the state of the commercial drone industry in the U.S. as of the end of September 2015. It looks at recent innovations, business applications, key ecosystem companies, and market forecasts. It … Read more