Now that a new decade is upon us in this fast-changing world, it's time to assess what it may hold for us as UAV pilots. Here's my two-cents worth, but I'll bet real dollars that ALL (well, almost all) I predict will come to pass.
Demand for drones will continue to increase. Manufacturers in the US, Asia and the UK/EU will try to cash in on the market. DJI will redouble their product development efforts to maintain dominance.
Electronics will continue to get more powerful, faster, smaller, more energy efficient, and cheaper. New chips, capable of trillions of operations/sec, coupled with multiple, cheap 4K cameras will allow precise navigation thru dense environments. The Skydio 2 has this now. Such capability is a given in the next generation of Mavic.
Centimeter-accurate GPS is available now. Its incorporation into future drones is virtually certain. Lost drone? No problem.
Camera technology will continue to evolve and be passed down to the consumer market. 8K video cameras are available now (for over $4,000). 6K doesn’t seem unreasonable for drones. Today you can get a name-brand compact camera for $65 with a 5:1 ratio optical zoom lens. By 2029 only toy UAVs should have less.
Battery performance will advance markedly. With some EU nations considering banning sale of new internal combustion engined cars as early as 2025, manufacturers are desperate to meet the anticipated demand for electric vehicles. They’re investing billions as they scramble to develop batteries with greater energy density (175% is the current estimate), are nonburning, much faster charging, and longer lasting. Their goal: safe batteries that provide at least 400-mile range, charge in 20 minutes, and don’t lose capacity for at least ten years. A very likely solution: solid-state (solid-electrolyte) batteries. Before autos, they’ll find their way into small devices like cell phones, laptops, and drones(!). Possible benefits: one-hour-plus flight times, built-ins like remotely-controllable high-power strobes to extend VLOS, or downward-facing floods and loudspeakers for SAR operations, or ???.
Regulations and restrictions will expand but become more sophisticated. With on-board transponders alerting us to the presence and precise locations of other aircraft (and them to ours), aircraft collisions will become much less likely. UAVs may be required to have automatic collision avoidance systems built-in. This could lead to less restricted airspace and possibly allow UAV flight beyond VLOS!
Just imagine the possibilities!
Press Like if you like
Reply if you care to.
Demand for drones will continue to increase. Manufacturers in the US, Asia and the UK/EU will try to cash in on the market. DJI will redouble their product development efforts to maintain dominance.
Electronics will continue to get more powerful, faster, smaller, more energy efficient, and cheaper. New chips, capable of trillions of operations/sec, coupled with multiple, cheap 4K cameras will allow precise navigation thru dense environments. The Skydio 2 has this now. Such capability is a given in the next generation of Mavic.
Centimeter-accurate GPS is available now. Its incorporation into future drones is virtually certain. Lost drone? No problem.
Camera technology will continue to evolve and be passed down to the consumer market. 8K video cameras are available now (for over $4,000). 6K doesn’t seem unreasonable for drones. Today you can get a name-brand compact camera for $65 with a 5:1 ratio optical zoom lens. By 2029 only toy UAVs should have less.
Battery performance will advance markedly. With some EU nations considering banning sale of new internal combustion engined cars as early as 2025, manufacturers are desperate to meet the anticipated demand for electric vehicles. They’re investing billions as they scramble to develop batteries with greater energy density (175% is the current estimate), are nonburning, much faster charging, and longer lasting. Their goal: safe batteries that provide at least 400-mile range, charge in 20 minutes, and don’t lose capacity for at least ten years. A very likely solution: solid-state (solid-electrolyte) batteries. Before autos, they’ll find their way into small devices like cell phones, laptops, and drones(!). Possible benefits: one-hour-plus flight times, built-ins like remotely-controllable high-power strobes to extend VLOS, or downward-facing floods and loudspeakers for SAR operations, or ???.
Regulations and restrictions will expand but become more sophisticated. With on-board transponders alerting us to the presence and precise locations of other aircraft (and them to ours), aircraft collisions will become much less likely. UAVs may be required to have automatic collision avoidance systems built-in. This could lead to less restricted airspace and possibly allow UAV flight beyond VLOS!
Just imagine the possibilities!
Press Like if you like
Reply if you care to.
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