A common view of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), known as drones, seems to center on their use as weapons, invaders of privacy, or annoying (to others) toys But despite such negative images, drones are proving themselves invaluable in an increasing number of applications. This, in turn, is gathering investor interest, turning drones into a hot prospect for 2015.
Unlike traditional radio-controlled (RC) hobbyist aircraft, UAVs exercise a great deal of autonomy in their operation even though they might have a (remote) human pilot. Sensors and onboard computing, for instance, automatically stabilize the UAV's flight in the presence of wind and other perturbations, eliminating the need for flying skills. Some UAVs are even able to follow pre-defined flight plans or automatically return to their launch point without additional human intervention at all. UAVs are to RC aircraft what CNC machines are to manual lathes; a robotic version.
Robots designs are proliferating
In the last year we have seen robots for farming, search and rescue, and law enforcement, as well as a continuing stream of industrial robots. UAVs are simply another genre in the robotics field, and one that is gathering increasing interest.
In a recent webcast on Investing in Robots by Robotics Business Review, UAVs – drones – were a center of discussion. An online survey conducted among participants had drones emerge as the top investment idea for 2015. More than 40 percent of respondents expressed investment interest in drones, well ahead of consumer, industrial, and medical robotics.
Commercial applications of drones are responsible for much of the interest. Speaking at the webinar, venture capital firm Foundry Group founder Brad Feld said "drones are at the sweet spot" in an ongoing transfer of technology from military to commercial purposes. He pointed out that in the last 24 months commercial drones have undergone dramatic evolution.
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