<!–Uday Deb

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As we live in the ‘new normal’, the technology around us is fast transforming the world beyond our anticipation. While technological developments have been evolving for years now, COVID 19 further accelerated the process. The pandemic pushed people and businesses to adopt new ways to do things and reoriented their behaviours. The outbreak increased the usage of contactless technologies, which are is revolutionizing every aspect of our life, from payments and food delivery to health care.

Drones or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) are robots that can fly autonomously under their embedded systems which uses remote sensing, software development, GPS etc. Such amalgamation promises a great future for extensive use of drones in providing services especially in areas that are remote or cannot have humans serving physically. They had been in the nascent stage up until now, however, mass adoption of such services will see a huge uptick in the future. Increased work efficiency and productivity, decreased production costs, improved accuracy, refined service, better customer relations and security are a few major advantages that drones offer industries globally.

According to the Drone Industry Insights Report 2020, the worldwide drone industry is predicted to increase at a 13.8 percent CAGR to $42.8 billion by 2025. With Ministry of Civil Aviation updating the Drone Rules 2021, efforts are to make India a global drone hub by 2030. By 2025, India is anticipated to be the world’s third-largest drone market, according to the results. The unmanned aerial vehicle market in India is expected to grow at a CAGR of 20.9% between 2020 and 2026 which further gives us an estimate on the investments from industrial conglomerates, chip companies, IT consulting firms, etc.

Drones are being used by the Indian defense forces since 1999, therefore they aren’t new in the system. Besides that, there was not much use because they were restricted due to security concerns and the absence of a robust UAV ecosystem in the country. It was in 2018 when drones were legally allowed to fly for business purposes. Now, that the Government of India has issued fresh guidelines, drones are going to be the next big thing for India.

While we are looking into drones and their capabilities, let’s take a look at key five sectors where drones can make a difference:

Agriculture

The agricultural sector, which is the backbone of the Indian economy, accounts for 58 percent of India’s population. Drones have a lot to offer here which consists of carrying out everyday tasks like fertilizing crop fields on an automated basis, monitoring traffic incidents, surveying hard-to-reach places among others. They can also assist farmers by measuring the height of crops. They use a remote sensing technology called Lidar that illuminates the crop with a laser and calculates a distance by measuring what is reflected. During wildfires, drones can survey the extent of the affected areas and determine how quickly the fires are spreading. Images taken can provide details of the damage in specific areas.

Healthcare

Given that India is a huge country with 67 percent of the population residing in rural areas, besides conventional means, a new, effective way of distributing medicines is required to overcome logistical problems. This is where a drone-based delivery system comes in handy. Drones could make medicine delivery more accessible and faster, especially in distant locations. Drone delivery of medical goods and time-sensitive transplant organs will also aid in improved resource management of limited supplies and permit just-in-time delivery to the present supply chain.

Inventory Management

The e-commerce business is experiencing high demand because of the COVID-19 outbreak. The management relies heavily on warehouse and inventory management. Mechanically identifying and tracking these many orders is a time-consuming operation. As a result, drones are being used to scan inventory at warehouses. These machines, which are coupled with sensors, can quickly monitor and transmit data in real-time to enterprises, allowing them to manage warehouses efficiently.

Security and Surveillance 

A pilotless protector in the skies – these flying devices can give eyes that can reach and hover above certain sites and areas. Drones can be used for critical surveillance and intelligence gathering as well, thanks to their remote monitoring capabilities. They can also be used to inspect and offer real-time footage at construction sites.

Disaster Management

In the event of a natural disaster, such as an earthquake or flood, authorities can dispatch drones to monitor the affected areas. Drones can potentially be used as a social rescue device, detecting and directing trapped persons to safe regions. One such example is Chennai-based Garuda Aerospace that helped National Disaster Response Force (NDRF)'s relief and rescue operations at the Chamoli glacier burst site in Uttarakhand.

There is no doubt about the fact that use of drones has the potential to have a far-reaching positive impact on society. Furthermore, it is likely that these flying machines will soon find their way into a variety of businesses in the future which will create a lot of job opportunities for engineers and technical experts thus becoming a major contributor to the Indian economy.

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Disclaimer

Views expressed above are the author’s own.

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Disclaimer

Views expressed above are the author’s own.

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Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/voices/drones-are-the-future-air-we-ready/