First used in military applications as far back as the Second World War, drone technology has now advanced to the point where they are used as toys, as photography and surveillance tools, and yes, as commercially viable appliances.
Far cheaper to purchase and operate than manned aircraft such as gyrocopters, drones can carry a wide variety of sensors and even light cargo. Informed observers expect the drone market to reach as much as $7 billion per annum by 2020. A great deal of this expected sudden increase will be based on regulatory reform, which has not kept pace with technological advances, even lower costs for greater capabilities, and – not to be overlooked – the improvements and wider application of machine learning and data analytics.
