Few would have imagined the transformation of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), commonly known as drones, from toys for adults to revolutionary machines for businesses, the military, cinema, maintenance groups, fire-fighters, health services, farming and so much more. As a result, UAV sales have shot up: in the U.S. alone, they saw a 224% increase in the April 2016-April 2017 period alone. And a recent PwC analysis has priced the overall market at a staggering $127 billion.
But, as competition in the marketplace drives down prices, how exactly will drones revisit traditional business models? As the software evolves at blinding speed and drones collect data with growing ease, what new horizons will they take industry to? One thing is for sure: thanks to them, companies not only can design innovative value propositions, but also radically modify the way they operate.
Beating Swords Into Ploughshares
Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), is the all-encompassing term that includes the UAV, or drone. Military drones have been around since the World War One when the Dayton-Wright Airplane Company used aerial torpedoes to explode at preset times. But, a century later, drones are filling a totally different niche, as improvements in software and management of drones simplify their use and allow for greater autonomy in functions such as collision avoidance, data collection, pre-programmed flight routing, Bluetooth capability, active tracking, terrain follow, etc. 99% of all drones now sold in the U.S. are for the consumer market, with prices ranging from $100 (toy drones), to highly sophisticated UAVs with sensors and controls worth 100 times that figure.
These features set up the possibility for new value propositions. Take the typical farming requirement of spraying a field. Drones provide more economic and accurate methods of spray application (in comparison with helicopters and crop spray aircrafts). Crucially, they also help in the planting process, crop spraying and monitoring, soil analysis, irrigation and health assessment. Specialists believe there could soon be “hybrid aerial-ground drone actors that could collect data and perform a variety of other tasks.” Given all this it’s perhaps not surprising that the PwC analysis also believes that the use of drones in agriculture alone could be worth over $30 billion.
The Great Drone Roll-Out
Farming applications are easy to understand as is photography and videography. But what about industrial and business cases? Entrepreneur Magazine insists drones make several tasks such as roof inspections cost-effective, reducing time consumption six-fold. Major tech giants such as UPS, NASA and Amazon are building up their drone fleets to improve their customer services and maintenance. Identified Technologies claims it is improving drone mapping efficiency by 75%, allowing companies to acquire data faster. And commercial drones are being used in mining to save companies “thousands of man hours and drastically increasing the ease, accuracy and profitability of using a commercial drone solution,” according to one company.
Then there is the question of transport. Deliveries are being trialed and in some cases used, for example to deliver medication to remote locations. The US military is working on drones to evacuate wounded soldiers out of the battle zone. And, in a decidedly less dangerous setting, the day-to-day transport of workers and tourists is being developed in Dubai and other regions and could be operational in under five years.
False (And Not-so-false) Starts
Apart from the ability to place or move a remotely piloted vehicle on a predetermined course, there is the increased level of granularity of data that is being obtained. Perhaps the most important innovation is in the software, which can now create 3D images, count objects (cattle, plants, warehouse stock (RFID)), recognize plant diseases, estimate ore quantities, spot shark and deploy flotation devices in bathing areas, etc.
Another application being trialed is firefighting where a drone carries a hose far higher than existing ladders , which is then directed onto a fire. The power for the drone can also be supplied via a cable attached to the hose, thus reducing the battery weight and increasing flying time.
Admittedly, there have been false starts where drones have been trumpeted as the ultimate solution, but then sabotaged by limitations in airtime, noise or visibility or, simply, the weather.. An example is rare species protection. Drones were trialed in South Africa as the ultimate solution for rhino protection. However, while useful as a deterrent, they have been superseded or supplemented by more appropriate technology, such as the Internet of Things).
Getting The Regulation Right
In many countries, the regulations around drones can be seen as a stumbling block. However in most cases there are accredited pilot training courses and there are defined processes to register commercial drones and obtain the operational go-ahead when needed. New rules by the U.S.’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in 2016 have streamlined the process to legally operation a UAV for commercial purposes. Within the first month of the FAA opening its registration site, 300,000 drones were registered.
Drone-enabled strategic innovation continues rapidly with new versions able to land on water and film underwater. More recently, a drone was seen to operate both in the air and underwater. Whilst not the right tool for every problem, drones do offer niche opportunities to create efficiencies, reduce costs and even change business models. As such they are more than worthy of consideration for your organization’s strategic innovation.
