The drone market showed incredible growth in 2016 and Drone Dispatch expects more of the same in 2017. The reasons for the unrelenting rise of drones in everyone’s day to day life are far stretching and all encompassing. We are going to highlight many of the key factors contributing to the rising tide of drones in 2017.
The first point to explore is the fact that a great number of major companies are going to transition from learning about the scalability and benefits of drones to incorporating them into their day to day operations. Many of these large firms have realized that they stand to save money, save time, reduce risk, and benefit from unparalleled utility by making drones a part of their organization. Another key factor is the amount of venture capital introduced to the commercial drone space in 2016. Although the rates of investment in the drone space have slowed down in recent months, all signs point to continued heavy investment in the commercial drone industry. Public concerns over professional drone operations have been an a consistent decline over the last several years and will continue to do so. This makes using drones for large firms a more viable option and less of a public relations problem.
Drones are now more accessible and safer than ever. The reliability and functionality of drones have increased by a significant factor over the last several years. Many drones are very accessible now due to the competitive consumer drone market consistently driving the average cost of drones down. Drones will be safer in 2017 than in 2016 because most drones are being equipped with a multitude of sensors and technology that are meant to prevent crashes and many of the other problems that cause drone operations to take a dangerous turn. 2017 will also see a rise in the utilization of streamlined autonomous flights. Drone pilots will simply be glorified drone chauffeurs on a great number of commercial operations.
DJI has been, and will continue to be the top drone manufacturer on the planet in 2017. DJI has a huge portion of market share and we expect their share of the market to continue to grow over the next twelve months. Their application program interface (API) and software development kit (SDK) have opened the floodgates for many companies and individuals to create custom solution drone applications that are specific to them or their clients needs. The number of companies using DJI is expected to grow during 2017 due to their intuitive pilot interface and simple operations as well as their ability to integrate independently produced third party software. We do expect far more legitimate competition against DJI due to the increasing number of reputable chinese manufacturers moving into the drone space. We also believe there is a void that can be filled by engineering and manufacturing high end drones meant for consistent big industry solutions in 2017.
Drones will play a huge part in connecting the world in 2017. Drones have the capability of connecting far off places to the rest of the connected world as well as making smart cities even smarter. With unmanned autonomous operation rates expected to soar in 2017, connecting the world is going to be easier and more important than ever. Swarms of drones are also going to be a thing of the present in 2017. This technology already exists, but will be utilized even more by a growing number of sectors moving forward. Virtual reality will also be elevated to a whole new level via drone technology in 2017, helping connect us all.
In conclusion, drones have a huge role to play in modern culture. 2017 is a tremendous frontier to be conquered by the skyrocketing drone industry. The world has been confronted with its first global society and connecting everyone together is a huge step forward. Drones are the bridge to connect the modern world with the far corners of The Earth. Keep an eye on the sky in 2017, drones are going to be everywhere.
Guest Contribution by Drone Dispatch