Think about ordering a digital camera or an electric guitar on Amazon and 30 minutes later you are already able to use it. It seems quite unrealistic, but Amazon is busy these days testing its new Prime Air initiative, which service promise a half hour delivery by specially designed drones. Prime Air is likely to take four to five years to become a mainstream service, as public acceptance and demand evolves alongside the business model.
This potential delivery service is not the only thing where drones can be used for. It could even replace some roles and systems in your own street, like speed cameras, traffic wardens and other forms of policing. Also monitoring structures such as wind turbines and to keep an eye on crops in the agriculture sector are different applications for this technology.
However, the technology still faces a great deal of resistance, especially when it comes to safety issues. There is no mandated training for basic drone models so the possibilities of unintended consequences are endless. Only basic rules like “Avoid flying over private property”, or “Keep your drone in sight, where you can see it with your own eyes” exist, but even these rules people often do not respect. One of the many examples, which had luckily no dramatic consequences, was the drone incident at Schiphol Airport, where pilots saw a drone passing by from thirty meters.
To tackle these issues, the government has to create a safer urban environment for this technology through legislation and supervision. Regulators already have worked on formulating rules how to incorporate commercial drone operations into U.S. airspace and trying to educate hobbyists about staying out of the way of airliners. In this state of the technology, all governments have to focus on putting in place more laws that get the balance right between protecting civilians from harm and allowing this technology the chance to grow.
I think we need high-profile trailblazers such as Prime Air for the technology to realise the drone market’s potential. And looking at all the attention and resources being devoted to drones the past years, it seems inevitable that more and more companies will follow.
References:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-04-04/drones-are-the-new-threat-to-airline-safety
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/10/02/amazon-drone-testing-poses-a-threat-to-british-wildlife/
http://theconversation.com/heres-how-drones-will-change-cities-65385
http://nos.nl/artikel/2104838-opnieuw-incident-met-drone-bij-schiphol.html
