2013 The Year Commercial RPAS Went Mainstream

(Originally published in the UVS International yearbook in 2014) 

Some of the only folks who did not understand, or were aware of, the mainstreaming of UA would appear to be the FAA. For years now proponents have been pointing out examples of an industry that is already established and alive. The 2013 sales estimates from the two major manufacturers of multi-rotors are purported to be between 12,000 and 15,000 units a month not including autopilots.

Thus far in we hear in the news every day about supposedly new and unique uses for what in the popular vernacular is deemed the “Drone”.  I share laughs with those who have been around the technology for the last decade or so reminiscing about how amazing this new application was seven or eight years ago. Probably even more fantastic when one considers the advancements in the current COTS available technologies.

Now, however, the drones innocuously deliver beer to ice fishermen, tacos and burritos to hungry hipsters, capture selfies, deliver wireless internet access, CD’s/DVD’s and a plethora of other useful and novel consumer goods and services. The Internet titans are all in and the figurative cloud is not the only revenue stream in the sky.

Unmanned aircraft systems technology has almost reached the benchmark consumer level, and by I mean something in the acceptable business tool price range. On par with a laptop or camera or some other business peripheral, one would usually purchase to improve efficiency with an anticipatable ROI. Within the next few iterations, we should see them technically accessible to the masses as end users and obtainable for purchase at the local home improvement store, camera shop, farm and ranch supply, maybe even office shops and the boutiques of Paris. 

I know many of you are thinking “not so fast!”, and I tend to agree. Many of these applications are not quite ready for prime time or Prime Air as the case may be. However, looking past the details missed by our optimistic and new brethren are those amongst the general public who believe that this work is currently going on around them and they not only accept but in some cases embrace the idea of the wonderful worker drone.

Public perception is key to our global progress if this industry is to flourish. The technology sector (Google, FaceBook, et al) has finally come to embrace unmanned aircraft technology, but they have kept a noticeable distance between them and the traditional DoD promoters and advocates. Rightfully so, as the American public is distrustful of a government that has overrun and set up camp in their collective personal privacy zone. Furthermore, many do not relish the notion of a police force with an Extrajudicial Killing Machine at their disposal. Many believe that futuristic military hardware is really cool to watch on the TV or at the cinema, but it rapidly starts to lose luster when it could be running amuck in (or over) your neighborhood.   

We stand at the crossroads where the civilian commercial market will eclipse the defense. It is with a collective sigh of relief that we can start to shed our reliance and distance our association with the DoD vendors, as they are no longer the only income stream in town. Some of us who wanted to make money in this industry had to learn to love in our teeth and postings in far-flung garden spots like Afghanistan, Iraq, or Yumastan just to pay the bills. 

Don’t get me wrong; I look back with fond memories on the privations that included swarms of killer bees, microwave cuisine and temps north of 120 degrees Fahrenheit or 48c. I know what you are thinking, “but it’s a dry heat”. True enough, but it is still hot! I did, however, enjoy supporting the coalition members whose men and women who were deployed in harm’s way. Not to mention, give villager’s some semblance of safety and security. Many of us embraced that mission and worked long hours to provide them remote sensing capabilities and support.

On a side note, I will say that I firmly believe that the commercial sector could offer up better capabilities at a better and more efficient value than what I had witnessed inside “the machine”. 

All of the nostalgia aside many of us would be commercial operators look toward Europe with growing admiration for the inroads and accomplishments made towards commercial airspace integration. Every story I read about a business succeeding and expanding gives me to look forward to the day when we too can legally work locally again.  No longer will we have to spend months and years away from our families in order to have a professional future in unmanned aircraft systems.