Today, drone manufacturers have started to extend their area of operations and evaluate a drone program's feasibility by revamping their workflows and handling information.

FREMONT, CA: This year, the drone industry has seen rapid expansion, and the use of UAVs will only grow in sectors such as farming, mining, construction, resource discovery, and surveying. This year, the companies took advantage of the opportunities of vision operations beyond the visual line. Let's look at some of the trends in the drone industry.

Consistent Growth

Drones need drone operators at the ground station, and the qualifications for becoming an operator in most parts of the world are quite stringent. Many countries have adopted drone laws that provide for at least one pilot per drone service. The number of licensed remote drone operators is, therefore, an indication of where the industry is going and whether it is appealing for people or not. Over the past year, the number of drone operators licensed and accredited by the FAA has tripled, reaching 100,000.

The increase was mainly due to operators who employ organizations with their drone programs and not with suppliers of amateur drones. This is representative of the commercial drone industry's broader mainstreaming and is the biggest development driver in the drone market. Although the growth in the number of pilots is slow, it is believed, and if more businesses do not make profits, it will not rise rapidly. Yet growth patterns would be consistent. Big drone companies will continue to explore new revenue generation opportunities, and this would, of course, boost growth.

Regulations

Drone regulations are a contentious debate, with multiple viewpoints being proposed by many market players and large companies. But they all agree on one thing: if the regulatory framework is not stifling, drone regulations will ensure reliability and improve competitiveness. The growing use for civilian purposes of drones around the world has presented a challenge to regulations. In order to ensure public safety and standardize the emerging industry, the regulations are necessary. It might also be possible to implement a new rule for small drones. Now it remains to be seen whether the plan takes the form of legislation or not.

Debates are ongoing within the FAA about the nature of Drone ID. Whatever the result of the official negotiations, however, Drone ID would be critical to seeing the light of day for Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM). UTM will help to dissipate some of the drone cynicism, make people feel safer and more comfortable about drones, and serve as an enabler for potential drone-based projects such as drone taxis and a drone package delivery network.

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