Drone Tech Opportunities

RPAS, otherwise known as drones, are categorised as small aircraft and, in many parts of the world, are getting approvals to operate in the same airspace as manned aircraft and carry out some truly impressive tasks.

You might remember back about 10 years when we were promised pizza deliveries in minutes by one of these flying robots. We were astonished that such a task could be accomplished by somewhat of a flying robot, and were also intrigued as to how the regulators should accommodate such activity.

We waited with great anticipation, however nothing much actually happened. And so, as the years passed by, the hype died down as we lost interest and we accepted the fact that ‘flying pizza deliveries’ might simply remain a fanciful idea, much like George Jetson and his flying car.

When COVID swept across the world in 2020, contactless, remotely operated machines were put in the spotlight. Contactless delivery and low-touch activities became a necessity, not just a different way to do things. Instantly, the various capabilities of drones became centre stage and a new widespread audience became immediately willing to adopt these technologies.

Luckily, in the last decade, various drone companies had already been working hard to improve their flying robots and taken full advantage of technical breakthroughs, such as improved onboard computing systems, 5G connectivity, AI driven ‘sense and avoid’ navigation, and made rapid improvements in battery tech.

Regulatory bodies had also been doing their part working out how to integrate these new members of the aviation industry into common airspace. ICAO set up a working group to make recommendations and various aviation authorities in multiple countries quickly adopted these recommendations, and made their own decisions on how RPAS would fly in their county. In fact, CASA was among the first in the world to introduce RPAS rules and regulations, way back in 2002.

So, as it turns out, by March 2020 a number of factors were already coming together to make wide scale adoption of things like delivery by drone a reality – and the timing was just right with a real-world problem that the drone could help solve.

From inspecting infrastructure and building sites – reducing the need for human contact – to spraying disinfectant in city streets and football stadiums, to delivering life-saving medical products including vaccines to remote areas, these robots of the sky were starting to make a name for themselves, not just as children of war or a toy your neighbour’s kid flies around after school.

In more recent times, in particular the past 18 months, there has been an exponential increase in drone activity and use cases. Did you know there is an estimated 1.2 million small RPAS in Australia and 29 million in the US. That’s a lot of small aircraft getting about!

One company that has led the charge is Wing Copter – a pioneering drone delivery manufacturer based out of Germany. It has built incredible machines capable of flying over 150km/h and can stay airborne for over two hours all while also handling a decent payload. They have already sold and have taken orders for thousands of units around the world, including Australia where Aerologix will be the official operating partner utilising its enormous drone pilot network to fast-track operations.

In response to COVID, healthcare industries began to pay particular attention to the prospect of medical deliveries. Things that wouldn’t have even been thought of maybe a year ago, are now being piloted or put into action.

Wing Copter is currently looking at delivering vaccines with some partners in Indonesia. When you look at Indonesia geographically, you see thousands of islands, many of them disconnected. Some big companies, such as big pharmaceuticals, have looked at that and said, “People are going to die if they don’t get a vaccine.” Yet, getting vaccines to them is very difficult because the villages on these islands are so spread out.

So, what you’re going to see is an accelerated use of drones because it can be the cheapest and most efficient solution. You can’t take a helicopter and fly to thousands of islands. You can do some of them, and I’m sure they’re doing that already, but drones will speed up that process.

This drone quickly became a must have addition to current aviation fleets, complimenting or in some cases replacing helicopters. Not only did the unit economics make sense, there was a significant carbon offset without having to burn fossil fuels.

So, as the word recovers from COVID, will the adoption of drone technology remain as important? In my opinion, yes! Much like how other aspects of our lives have changed, the byproduct or silver lining of COVID has supercharged the drone industry like never before and has proven how this new member of the aviation industry is here to stay. Who knows, we might even be climbing onboard pilotless air taxis in the not-too-distant future. Anything is possible.