Last week, PwC announced that they were testing the use of drone technology. The tests were in a wide array of industries, from construction to insurance. They were testing the drones in Poland because of their drone laws. It’s one of the only countries in the world that allows the use of drones at a distance exceeding the line of sight.
This says a great deal about the general attitude to unmanned drones at present. But this skepticism could soon be about to change. The drone industry could take $127 billion worth of human work by 2020. This could include work currently too dangerous or difficult for humans to complete. Drones could prove invaluable in detecting gas leaks at power plants. Fighting forest fires in the Canadian wilderness. Or even searching for survivors at the sites of natural disasters.
The many uses of drone technology
There are many key implementations of drone technology that could have significant benefits. A team from the University of Zurich have developed a tiny quadcopter. This can follow paths in dense forests from above and could help search for missing people. The Phantom 4 drone, developed by Chinese company DJI and Apple, can autonomously follow its user. Whilst avoiding obstacles such as cars, pets, and trees. It could be useful for filmmakers, or people who just like a drone to follow them around! DJI estimate that their drones make up 70% of the total market share worldwide. They retail their drones at $1,399. A bargain considering the sophistication of the technology.
Commercial drones
Amazon amazed us with their Prime drone delivering a package in under 30 mins from order. While many were skeptical, Amazon is clearly ambitious. One of their teams in Austria is currently developing drones hoping to be operational in the next couple of years. From window cleaning to filmmaking and everything between, drones could impact every industry. PwC reports infrastructure, agriculture, and transport will be the areas of most utility. With a value of over $80 billion. So what’s the catch? If this affordable, transportable and customisable technology is available… why is it not already available on a global scale?
Drone technology: good or bad?
Unfortunately, the word ‘drone’ has some rather unfortunate connotations. Mention it to some people and rather than see an opportunity, they see a threat. Type the word ‘drone’ into Google. It’s likely that one of the articles you will see appear will have a title like ‘When Good Drones Go Bad’. One of the most popular Box Office films at the moment is ‘Eye in the Sky’. The film focusses on the moral dilemmas facing the pilot of a weaponised drone in Kenya. Associations like this highlight the reasons why drone regulations are being enforced. Particularly in the United States and the UK. A British Airways pilot reported he’d hit a drone approaching Heathrow Airport before landing the plane safely. At the moment, anyone can buy a drone from a shop or online, and anyone can fly it. Drones have flown over soccer stadiums and political demonstrations. And, although 99% of users are conscientious and safe in the use of their drones… it is the 1% who aren’t that appear most in the public eye.
In safer hands
Some clarification might be in order. First of all, it is unlikely that the drones in the industry will have just anyone piloting them. Especially with health and safety being what it is today. With legislation, drone licenses might become the only way of being able to use them. There are fears that drone technology is the latest stage in the automation of traditional jobs. And, if developed to their full potential, could replace human work altogether. That fear might be nothing considering the biggest issue they’re currently looking to solve… Their paltry battery life. Which doesn’t stretch much beyond 45 minutes at present. Let’s hope you don’t get lost an hour or more from Mountain Rescue HQ before they fix that issue!
Working Collaboratively
Drones are clearly a huge opportunity, hence the billions of dollars of investment in the industry in recent months. But, does their development spell disaster for workers? Or could the drones make their lives easier? They could by doing the jobs that are monotonous, dangerous or hard to reach.
There is a phrase that has appeared recently in relation to the development of autonomous tech. ‘Augmented Intelligence’. This term means that AI will actually look to work alongside humans, rather than replace them. It is here that the drones could be most useful. Drones can search the wreckage after a natural disaster, but don’t have the strength to pull a survivor free. this is where the human element will be invaluable. Likewise, many drones won’t have autonomous capabilities. This means they’ll need a human to pilot them. So drones don’t appear to be replacing the human workforce anytime soon!
