In the commercial world, drone use is talking off. Companies now see them as a way to make extra profit rather than as a risk, something that any commercial firm would have called drones a decade ago. Below, you can see just a handful of companies and firms that are investing in drones and drone research. While these companies have many differences, they all have one thing in common. This is to use drones to their benefit, thus making their profits greater and in most cases, making life better for everyone using their services. So far, nothing drone related has been implemented on a large scale although strides are being made and many hope to see widespread drone use in the commercial world within the next decade or two.
- Amazon has invested money in building commercial drones. Main reasons for their endeavors in drones and drone related technologies are because of the fact that sales have been up so drastically over the past few years, 20% alone in the past year. Amazon needed a way to efficiently ship products, and quicker than ever before. Before drones, Amazon's primary way of shipping items was through postal services such as USPS and FedEx. These companies can easily take over a week to deliver products and do so inefficiently. Large trucks must be loaded, which in the process requires many workers. This then costs a lot of money, just for shipping the product. Drones are able to reduce this pressure on companies, which is why Amazon has chosen to invest time and money into their development. At this point, drones are not even close to being ready to make home deliveries at this point. Many issues need to be worked out such as delivery algorithms and the batteries in the drones. Distribution of the drones and their deliveries routes need to be assessed as well. To make drone delivery available to all customers, drone "warehouses" will need to be set up strategically across their customer range, something not feasible yet. Overall, expect many more years before drones are used for Amazon related deliveries.
Unlike Amazon, Google has a different interest in drones and drone related technologies. They wish to expand internet coverage for people all over the globe, and using drones to do this is showing great promise. The plan so far is to deploy solar powered drones to far fetched areas on earth, thus providing services such as Facebook to millions of people who would otherwise be without these services. These drones, when put into use, are to be powered by solar panels. This not only makes them "green" but reduces cost on Google's part as no fuel will be needed to run the drones. Expanding the internet is a big interest of Google's as it increases the demographics of internet users which in return increases the amount of ads they can run. In the end, Google still makes more money.
In mid-2013, Domino's pizza successfully delivered a pizza via drone. Although this was mainly for show, it is a good sign that such deliveries may become routine in the near future. Should Domino's be successful with their drone prototypes, other companies may follow suit, creating a new era of pizza delivery.
Many farmers have been exploring the use of drones as a way to survey their crops as a way to monitor their products. By doing so, they can check for crop damage due to lack of fertilizer or water. In return, the farmers will be able to yield more crops, allowing for more efficient farming.
A growing number of security firms have begun to invest in drones and drone related technologies for a number of reasons. Drones can go places that ordinary people such as cops cannot go due to safety concerns. Operating drones can also cost much less than it would be to pay a police officer to do the same job. Drones are able to provide air support as well, allowing almost instant backup for officers that are pinned down. Countless more agencies have also begun research on drones and drone related endeavors. Border patrol agencies have also begun to use drones as an alternative to monitor borders in search of illegal aliens. While a drone cannot hunt down and capture a person, it is able to report their location and direction of movement to local police who can then make the arrest. This saves a lot of time because border patrol agencies no longer need to leave and do "search and destroys". Firefighting agencies have even invested in drones as it allows them to get a bird's eye view of the fire before they actually leave to fight it. Weather agencies also are beginning to use drones to monitor flooding and other adverse weather scenarios as it is dangerous to put people in those situations. Some cities have even begun to incorporate drone use in their transportation segments to monitor traffic and alert of accidents. The drone can then communicate with police officers, firefighters, and paramedics so they can get to the scene faster. By doing so, they are able to help anyone who is injured, increasing their chances of survival. Countless other industries are using drones to monitor their assets, nearly any industry you can think of is investing in drones and their use. Drones becoming the future in the commercial industry.
- As you can see, drones are used extensively throughout the commercial world. They have to be regulated, right? Click the button to find out more about drone regulations!