Drones and their Increasing Number of Applications

Drones Technology and Entrepreneurship Opportunities
MT5009 Analyzing Hi-Tech Opportunities
Bian Zhiwei
A0110169N
Chang Chiew Yuen
A0098596A
Matthew Peloso
A0001558M
Wang Gao
A0110164Y
Gao Liang
A0119183E

Agenda
Introduction
Brief talking about the applications
Improvement in drones technology (cost, materials, GPS, flight controller, MEMS sensors, ICs etc.).
How drones becoming cheaper
Cheaper application from cheaper drones
 Media, Civil Services, Delivery
Complementary assets
Conclusion

You bought something in Amazon, then waiting for delivery guy?

What is drone?
Drones: formally known as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV)
Essentially, a drone is an aircraft without a human pilot aboard; a flying robot
Historically, UAVs were simple remotely piloted aircraft, but autonomous control is increasingly being employed.
Its flight is controlled either autonomously by onboard computers or by the remote control of a pilot on the ground or in another vehicle.

Different Names
Drone
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle UAV
Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle UAV
Unmanned Aerial System UAS
Remotely Piloted Vehicle RPV
Remotely Piloted Aircraft RPA
Remotely Piloted Aircraft System RPAS
Remotely Operated Air Vehicles ROAV
Micro Aerial Vehicle MAV

Different Types of Drones
Micro-UAVs
Biomimetic UAV
Blimps or balloons
Fixed-wing Drone
Rotary-wing Drone

Scope of Drone
UAS Category
Max Takeoff Weight (kg)
Range Category
Micro
0.10
Close Range
Mini
W <10
Close Range
Small
10-150
Close Range
Medium Short
150-500
Short Range
Medium
500-2000
Medium Range
Large
W >2000
Long Range

Use of Drones
Military Use
Civilian Purposes
“Nowadays, new laws and valuable commercial applications could spark a revolution in the civilian world.”

Civilian Use of Drones
“The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) believes 30,000 drones could be over U.S. skies by 2020. UAVs will be the most dynamic growth sector of the world aerospace market this decade — with $89 billion spent over that time, according to a forecast by Teal Group.” “The FAA’s $64.4 billion funding bill passed in 2012 required the agency to fully integrate UAVs into the nation’s airspace by September 2015. Although privacy concerns have delayed the FAA’s first step — selecting test sites — the law has powerful friends on Capitol Hill, and the agency still is under the gun to meet the deadline.”

Civilian Use of Drones
Lockheed Martin’s (NYSE:LMT) acquisition of UAV company Chandler/May is an early salvo in what could become a “drone war” among defense contractors seeking new revenue streams to offset hefty Pentagon budget cuts.
Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC), Boeing (NYSE:BA) and privately held General Atomics are all major players in this market

What features does drone have?
Unmanned, remote control
Varieties of sizes, shapes and functions
Portable and convenient
Computer control: Precision
Economic feasible
Efficient

Computers do things more precisely and faster than humans,
but we need humans to deal with uncertainty. It's this combination that interests me.
People are running around, relying on intuition, and accidents happen.
I want to make that go more smoothly.
‘Computers do things more precisely and faster than humans …’
Prof. Mary Cummings
- 1e female US Navy F18 fighter jet pilot, landing on aircraft carriers (1988-1999)
- Professor Aeronautics & Astronautics at MIT Univ. USA

How does it impact the society?
Drone technology provides us with a totally different lifestyle in different aspects agriculture, goods delivery, photography, medical services, etc.
Benefit
Existing Work
Dirty Work/ Dangerous Work
Expensive Human Resource
More efficient
Work people were not able to do before
Applications
Possible Problem
Human Rights
Security Risk
Invasion of Privacy
Accident
Regulation and Policy
International standard? Territorial?

Components of Drones
Flight controllers / GPS integration
Multirotor (eg. octocopter) revolving blades / control
Battery storage / time of flight
Gimbals for sensor payload mounts
Lightweight materials, carbon fiber, etc.
Components of Drones

Flight Controllers
Flight controllers
Improvements in technology
Programmability
GPS coordination
Waypoints
Why its important
Does not require user
Accuracy is improved
Flexible scheduling and flight paths

Improvements in Flight Control
GSP accuracy improvements
More way-points programmable
Source: http://ccar.colorado.edu/asen5050/projects/projects_2012/finch/finch_proj.html

Rotors
Multi rotors
Geometry of blades
Weight of blade
Number of drivers rotating blades
Reduce failure rate via redundancy
Greater balance, control

Falling cost of Material
Carbon fibres drop in price

Mounting Gimbals (for sensors)
Gimbals
Mounting of sensors and payloads
Movement counterbalance at sensor
Achieve stability for sensing systems
Major improvement on ability to gather accurate information (eg. no blur in filming)

Power Supplies
Power unit that is more efficient
Total time of flight increased
Longer flying duration  wider coverage
Larger Mass Supported
More stability

Improvements in Energy Storage
Improvements in Energy Density
Same or lower cost

Sensors
 Improved ICs and CCD’s
 Smaller more precise
sensors
 Hyperspectral and
spectral systems
 Light-weight
 Efficient in power
consumption

Falling costs of IR cameras
Less expensive, more accurate optical detectors
Eg. cost of thermal cameras

Reduced Cost of Drones
Falling cost of the components
Better ability to engineer those components into a working product
Falling cost of Drones
Technology
Dimensions of measure
Time / Period
Changes Per Year
Integrated Circuits
Number of transistors per chip
1971-2011
38 %
Power ICs
Current Density
1993-2012
16.1 %
Battery Storage
Energy Density
2009-2014
~ 8 %
Price level
2013-2015
- 20 %
Communication (GPS)
Accuracy position per MB
1980-2013
~ 20 %
Processors
Instructions per unit time
1979-2009
35.9 %
Instructions per time and dollar
1979-2009
52.2 %
Flight Controller
Cost per unit (incl. software)
2010-2014
- 30 %
Materials (Carbon fiber)
Cost per kg
2005-2013
- 15 %

Reduced Cost of Drones
Commercial drones price estimate to drop
~ 10% p.a.
Technology
Dimensions of measure
Time / Period
Changes Per Year
Integrated Circuits
Number of transistors per chip
1971-2011
38 %
Power ICs
Current Density
1993-2012
16.1 %
Battery Storage
Energy Density
2009-2014
~ 8 %
Price level
2013-2015
- 20 %
Communication (GPS)
Accuracy position per MB
1980-2013
~ 20 %
Processors
Instructions per unit time
1979-2009
35.9 %
Instructions per time and dollar
1979-2009
52.2 %
Flight Controller
Cost per unit (incl. software)
2010-2014
- 30 %
Materials (Carbon fiber)
Cost per kg
2005-2013
- 15 %

Drones and their Increasing Number of Applications

Current Commercial Platforms
http://www.star-helicopters.com/aerialservices_aerialphotography.html
http://airads.com/aerial-advertising-media-options/blimps/remote-controlled-blimps.html
http://modelballoon.com/aerial.html
Platform
Price
Mobility
Launch time
Operation team
Helicopter
$1500/hr
Very Good
Fast
5 to 10
Blimps
$1000/day
Good
Slow
2 to 5
Balloon
$200/hr
Bad
Slow
2 to 5

Drones for Media from aerial perspective
Photography
Filmmaking
Sports
Journalism

Why Drones are applicable ?
New footage which is never or seldom seen before
Small/Mobile/easy to carry
Less expensive/cost efficient (as low as $15 per hour, 1 pilot is enough)
Less dangerous to operate
Fast to launch (5 to 15 mins)
Easily hover in the air

Drones: Innovating Aerial Photography
It can be cost up to 100 times as much to achieve the same shots with full-scale alternatives.
The average traditional manned helicopter consumes roughly 129L of fuel per hour.
By purchasing one or hiring a professional to help capture your photo with a drone.
Drones typically take around 10 minutes to setup ready for filming and taking quality photos
Drones can operate indoors and in tight locations
They are much quieter than a full size helicopter
Most come with a flight case or light carry bag and with the drone being light itself
Drones are reliable whether at high or low temperature.

Drones: The future of filmmaking
http://visual.ly/drones-future-filmmaking-0

Drones: Faster, Closer, Cheaper
Drones were used in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi for filming skiing and snowboarding events
They allow video to get closer to the athletes. More flexible than cable-suspended camera systems.
http://wintergames.ap.org/latimes/article/sochi-drone-shooting-olympic-tv-not-terrorists
http://skyvantage.co.uk/drone-filming-sochi-2014-winter-olympics/

Drones: Changing the way TV reporters work
Offer a bird’s-eye view of news scenes
Let journalists capture scenes that previously would be danger
Help journalists overcome logistical hurdles
Shots that once required a helicopter or a complicated set-up of gantries and wires are now achievable on a tight budget with drones.
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-24712136
http://www.economist.com/news/international/21599800-drones-often-make-news-they-have-started-gathering-it-too-eyes-skies

Drones for Civil Services
Surveillance
Security and safety
Traffic monitoring
Firefighting

Drones: Surveillance
In Jan 2012, Federal Aviation Administration(FAA) has released 60 public entities and 12 private drone manufacturers to fly drones in US.
FAA estimates as many as 30,000 drones could be flying in US in 2020.
Surveillance at construction sites
Ability to create more accurate 3D models in a very short time period
Source: https://www.eff.org/issues/surveillance-drones

Drones: Security and safety
Drone-aid search and rescue
Emergency services, fire, EMS (emergency medical service) etc

Drones: Traffic monitoring
Satellite monitoring (probably £100,000 a day)
Drones monitoring (between £2,000 and £3,000 a day)
Speed enforced by drones?

Drones: Traffic monitoring
Mission #1: Roads Surface Condition Monitoring
Mission #2: Highway Traffic Monitoring
Mission #3: City Traffic Information and Management

Mission #1: Roads Surface Condition Monitoring
Monitoring road icing and surface condition with respect to meteorological situation
Prediction of danger traffic situations
Gritting vehicles management

Mission #2: Highway Traffic Monitoring
Providing real-time video information for traffic information system (e.g. car accidents, traffic jams, road work information, weather conditions)
Characteristics: as quick as possible reaction on actual occurrence

Mission #3: City Traffic Information and Management
Monitoring of city traffic situation
Insist on traffic during morning and afternoon peak time
Monitoring of critical areas (highway exits, cross-roads, …)
Adaptive semaphore algorithms regarding actual situation

Drones Payload
Electro-Optical/Infrared sensor (with ability see through clouds and fog)
Surface temperature measurement system (thermal camera)
High resolution camera in daylight condition, infrared imaging system in case of night operations
Effective data processing of flow of moving vehicles
Providing real-time video information for traffic information system (e.g. car accidents, traffic jams, road work information, weather conditions)

Available Drones: HAES Scanner
Payload: 10 kg
Range: 25 km
Altitude: 1000 m
Speed: 80 - 150 km/h
Endurance: 2 hr

Drones: Firefighting
Spraying or spreading a large payload to the targeted release point (like glided-guided bomb) with great precision
Source: http://www.nitrofirex.com/?page_id=4&lang=en

Forest Fire Statistics in Spain
In the last 20 years (1993 – 2012)
Average annual fires 18 fires/Year
Average number of aircraft used >160
Economic loss 307 mill €/Year

Drones: Firefighting
Current airborne firefighters:
Slow
Manual water drops
Daytime operation
Single role aircraft
Risky Operations
Drones:
24 hour operation
Fast Reaction time
Higher water drop per capability per operation hour
Lower Cost per dropped liter
Maximum precision of the water drop
Unaffected by Wind, Clouds and smoke
No Risk for flight crews
Direct support to ground crews

Drones For Delivery
Mail, Package
Grocery, Food
Medical Prescription
PO Box
Commodities

Cost for delivery
The current transportation system is expensive
Direct expenses
Fuels / Parts
Labor
Capital
USD 125.3 billion p.a. spent on road and bridge construction. Most of the cost are spent to repair damages from heavy vehicle usage*
*Source : Federal Highway Cost Allocation Study, Final Report, US Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, 1997

Also the Indirect Costs
~6,4000 highway deaths (11%) from commercial trucks annually
Highway vehicles responsible for 62% of CO, 32% of NOx and 26% of VOCs emissions
Disposal of tire, oil and battery ~ USD 4.2 billion
Traffic congestion cost estimated USD 182 billion annually
Crash cost estimated USD 840 billion annually
Trucks are responsible for ~33% (USD 340 billion)
Source : EPA & DoT reports

Source : http://www.sv.uio.no/esop/english/research/news-and-events/events/guest-lectures-seminars/esop- seminar/dokumenter/soderbom.pdf

Drones For Delivery (how it works?)
Drones could allow businesses to deliver products to customers without having to send a driver.
Able to carry a payload about 2kg
Over short distance about 10km (about 15 mins)
GPS and sensors to navigate between points
Software for route planning
Cost 24 cents (2kg over 10km)

The Drone Mesh Network will do for
Physical Transportation
what the Internet did
for flow of information
Concept: Drone Mesh Network (DMN)
Drone Docking Stations (DDS)
DDS 24/7 availability for battery charging
Drone stand-by position
Remote controlled and Managed by Licensee

Drones For Delivery (Logistic)
Amazon Testing Drone Delivery System
Domino's Flying Drone Delivers Pizza
Lakemaid Beer Drone Delivery
Google Project Wing
A revolutionary drone-based delivery network is being tested—in Bhutan
Matternet

Slow and non flexible infra development

Project Wing Australia
Source : http://rt.com/news/183556-google-drone-delivery-australia/

Prime Air India
Source : http://thediplomat.com/2014/08/amazon-will-test-drone-delivery-system-in-india/

DHL Germany
Source : http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/sep/25/german-dhl-launches-first-commercial-drone-delivery- service

Matternet (future)
http://techcrunch.com/2013/12/10/how-matternet-wants-to-bring-drone-delivery-to-the-people-who-need-it-most/ http://vimeo.com/28247681

Disruptive Innovation??
Capital Costs
Operational Costs
Operational saving outweigh capital costs
Source : Georgia Tech

Horizontal Delivery System Topology
Hub & Spoke
Point to Point
Hybrid Distribution
Dynamic Network Topology
Vertical Delivery System Topology
Single, All Purpose Vehicle
Separate Delivery Vehicle and Transfer Vehicle
Package Type
Document
Standard Mail
Small Parcel (<50lbs 2x2x2 ft)
Freight (large)
Shipment Time
Same-day (SuperExpress)
Next-day (Express)
Same-week
Variety
Vehicle Type
Fixed Wing
Trucks and Vans
Autonomous Heavy Drones
Autonomous Light Drones
Small Mobile Vehicles (Bicycle etc)
Mission (Range)
Urban (<50 miles)
Regional (50 - 500 miles)
National (>500 miles)
International
Air Traffic Control
Current ATC
ADS-B
ADS-B (TIS-B, FIS-B)
Drones corridors
Free-Flight
Operation Control
Autonomous
Semi-Autonomous
Non-Autonomous (Slave)
Strategic Control (Dispatch)
Centralized
Distributed to Hubs
Distributed to Vehicle
Package Sorting
Current System
Sort at each stop/hub
Package Tracking
No tracking
Update Tracking at each stop
GPS Tracking / per vehicle (RT)
GPS Tracking / per package (RT)
Hang tagging
Number of Handoffs
Two (Pickup & Delivery)
Three (Pickup, Transfer & Delivery)
Four
Five
Six
Pickup/Delivery Approach
Fixed number of standard "smart containers"
Customer packaging, restricted in size and volume

Complementary assets
‘Refueling’ Charging Stations - solar
Open development platform – programming
3D scanning
3D printing services for replacement / accessories
Nanotechnologies – Graphene, Carbon nanotubes
Solar cell, flexible
Light weight Sensors
Drones services
New Jobs – Drones drivers….

Futuristic Applications
 Smart and autonomous/Microscopic and
cheap
 Pollination: bee-size drones pollinating
flowers
 Autonomous construction drones
http://youtu.be/i3ernrkZ91E
 Medical in-body drones
 Ubiquitous surveillance
 Mining drones (from another far remote
areas)

Source : http://www.google.com/loon/how/
Source : http://www.wired.com/2014/09/facebook-drones-2/
Internet-Connected Drones
Google Loon
Facebook’s Connectivity Lab
Internet connections via things like high-altitude balloons and flying drones
Solar-powered drones that can connect the billions of people currently living off the grid to the internet

Eco-system of Drones – Data+Comms

Integration of Artificial Intelligence and Augmented Reality into Drones
Incorporation audio and text with video and images captured in real time
Defining regulations by the FAA / Government for commercial usage of drones
Resolving privacy concerns around drones flying over backyards etc
Long term challenges

While drones are unlikely to become a part of our daily lives in the immediate future, they will soon begin taking on much larger roles for businesses and some individual consumers, from delivering groceries to revolutionizing private security, to changing the way farmers manage their crops — perhaps even aerial advertising
The FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) believes there will be around 20,000 drones in the sky by 2017, although some say that figure will be much higher
http://www.businessinsider.sg/drones-navigating-toward-commercial-applications-2-2014-1/
Conclusions

Early Warning Systems
1. Earthquake Warning Networks
2. Hurricane Monitoring Swarms
3. Tornado Warning Systems
4. Hail Preventer/Sound Cannons
5. Avalanche Preventer/Sound Cannons
6. Impending Flood Alert Systems
7. Tsunami Forecasting Systems
8. Forest Fire Preventers
Emergency Services
9. Missing Child Drone
10. Thermo Sensor Drones
11. Infrared Sensor Drones
12. Insect Killing Drones
13. Poacher Drones
14. Endangered Species Drone .
15. Eyes on the Problem Drone
16. Missing Pet Drone
News Reporting
17. Accident/Incident Monitoring
18. Time-Lapse Weather Drones
19. Protestor Cams
20. Man-on-the-Street Interview Drone
21. Real-Time Stats Drone
22. Rapid Comment/Interview Drones
23. Locker Room Drones
24. Photo Drones
Delivery
25. PO Box Drones
26. Medical Prescription Delivery
27. Grocery Delivery
28. Mail, Package Delivery
29. Anticipatory Delivery
30. Send-It-Back Return Drones
31. Direct from the Farm Produce
32. Banquet Catering Drones
Business Activity Monitoring
33. Construction Monitoring
34. Topological Surveying
35. Instant Environmental Impact Assessment
36. Power Line Monitoring Drones
37. Thermo Imaging of Buildings
38. Sensitive Product Shipping
39. Open Seas Pirate Monitoring Drones
40. Geological Surveying
Gaming Drones
41. Three Dimensional Chess Drones
42. World of Warcraft in Space
43. Three Dimensional Treasure Hunts
44. Drone Jousting Matches
45. Monster Truck Vs. Flying Drone Matches
91. High Speed Chase Drones
92. Domestic Violence Monitors
93. Child Abuse Monitors
94. Neighborhood Watch Cams
95. Ankle Bracelet Replacement Drones
96. Instant Court Drones
Smart Home Drones
97. Airbrush Swarm
98. Dusting Drone
99. Lawn Manicuring Drone
100. Leaf Raking Drones
101. Home Security Drones
102. 3D Printer Repair Drone
103. Special Drone Docks
104. Diaper Changing Drones
Real Estate
105. Real Estate Photography Drones
106. Atmospheric Water Harvesting Drones
107. Home Inspection Drones
108. Battery Replacement Drones
109. Trash Removal Drones
110. Sewage Removal Drones
111. Insurance Adjuster Drones
112. Instant Listing Drone
Library Drones
113. Tool Loaning Libraries
114. Emergency Equipment Loaning Libraries
115. Pet Lending Library
116. 24-Hour Books, Audio Books,
Videos, Artwork, & Information Archives
117. Tech Lending Library
118. Borrow an Expert Library
119. Borrow a Big Brother
120. Drone Lending Library
Military and Spy Uses
121. Missile Launching Drones
122. Bomb-Dropping Drones
123. Flying Camouflage Drones
124. Communication Disruptors
125. Battlefield Medical Supply Drones
126. Invisible Spy Drones
127. Heat Seeking Bullet Drone
128. Solar Powered High-Altitude
WiFi Drones
Healthcare Drones
129. Humanitarian Applications
130. Canary Drones
131. Body Sphere Monitoring
132. Hovering Health Monitors
133. Physical Movement Analysis
134. Skin Care Monitor
135. Seeing Eye Drone
46. Drone Racing
47. Drone Obstacle Courses
48. Drone Hunting Season
Sporting Drones
49. Perfect Athlete’s Performance Sphere
50. Space Racing Camera Drones
51. Personal Trainer Drones
52. Instant Landing Pad
53. Marathon Trackers
54. Runner’s Metabolism Tracker
55. Bareback Drone Riders
56. Outdoor Bowling
Entertainment Drones
57. Comedian Drone
58. Magician Drone
59. Concert Swarm
60. Drone Circus
61. Performance Art Swarms
62. Mega Photo Stitching Competitions
63. Prankster Drones
64. Fireworks Dropping Drones
Marketing
65. Spot Advertising
66. Subliminal Advertising
67. Multimedia Formations
68. Banner Pulling Drones
69. Food and Product Sampler Drones
70. Grandstanding Drones
71. Flying Strobe Drones
72. Fresh Bread Drones
Farming and Agriculture
73. Artificial Bees
74. Seeding Drones
75. Insect Monitoring Drones
76. Fertilizer Monitoring Drones
77. Disease Monitoring Drones
78. Bird Frightening Drones
79. Crop Fogger Drones
80. Harvesting Drones
Ranching Drones
81. Cow Monitors
82. Horse Shadowers
83. Pig Monitors
84. Bee Observers
85. Sheep Trackers
86. Chicken Monitors
87. Turkey Trackers
88. Duck & Geese Monitors
Police Drones
89. Drug Sniffing Drones
90. Political Corruption Sniffing Drones
136. Infectious Disease Monitoring Drone
Educational Drones
137. Historical Reference
138. Real-Time Perspectives
139. Geometric Shapes
140. The Question & Answer Drone
141. Documentary Drones
142. Language Partner Drone
143. Basic Math Drones
144. SAT-ACT Prep Drone
Science & Discovery
145. Archeology
146. Whale Watching
147. Bird Migration
148. Forest Health
149. Ocean Currents
150. Aurora Borealis
151. Solar Flare Monitoring
152. Earth Noise Monitoring
Travel Drones
153. Commuter Drones
154. Taxi-Limo Drones
155. Bar Hopping Drone
156. Tourist Attraction Drones
157. Hop-on-Hop-off Drones
158. Emergency Rescue Drones
159. Trucking Drones
160. Overnight Sleeper Drones
Robotic Arm Drones
161. Hazardous Material Drones
162. Transporting Dangerous Chemical Drones
163. Rescuing Dangerous Animal Drones
164. Chess-Playing Drones
165. Arm Wrestling Drones
166. Spot-Welding in Difficult Places Drones
167. Mechanical Repair in Difficult Places Drones
168. Space Junk Removal Drones
Reality Distortion Fields
169. Odor Cancellation
170. Sound & Noise Cancellation
171. Visible Light Cancellation
172. Magnifying Drones
173. De-Magnifying Drones
174. Color Changing Drones
175. Thermo Cannons
176. Voices in Our Head Drones
Novelty Drones
177. Personal Periscopes
178. Plant Communicator Drones
179. Frisbee Turbo Fliers
180. Shade Drones
181. Mosquito-Free Zone Drones
182. Dating Drone
183. Relevancy Drone
184. Elevator Drones
Far Out Concepts
185. Massive Flying Drone Resorts
186. Artificial Earthworms
187. Personal Prep Swarms
188. Swarm Clothing
189. Protective Swarms
190. Mental Conduit Swarms
191. Remote Viewing Swarms
192. Superman Swarm
and more …

Increase yield and cut costs (save time and good return on investment)
Watch for disease and collect real-time data on crop health and yields
Distribute pesticides from the air onto plantations
Huge market potential with estimated $2 billion annual market size
Drones: Agriculture

Drones: Conservation
 An urgent problem...monitoring of wildlife

Drones: Conservation
Monitoring of Forest
•2238 images
•5.22 sq. km / 1289ac
•5.22cm/pixel side
•91 orangutan nest in ground surveys
•Aerial images being analyzed

Source : Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International

Drones in USA
http://blogs.marketwatch.com/capitolreport/2014/06/25/are-drones-illegal-in-your-state-this-map-can-tell-you/
https://www.aclu.org/blog/technology-and-liberty/status-2014-domestic-drone-legislation-states

The Economics Behind Amazon’s Drone Delivery Service
http://www.johnswope.com/?p=83

Assumptions:
•No costs for additional infrastructure.
•Cost of skilled employees who need to maintain and manage the fleet of drones did not considered.
•Permits fees not included.
•However the lifetime cost of the drone would have to be greater than USD50,000 to even be on par with the cost of human delivery. And the difference between drones and humans is that the cost of drones goes down over time…

Source : http://www.ibtimes.com/heres-what-future-insect-nano-drones-looks-video-1532592
Nano-Drones
Nano drones are becoming every day more of a reality
Drones are becoming smaller and smaller every single day
Nano drones will be capable of surveillance without being detected
Huge financial advantage
The average nano drone costs about $25 per hour to run, in comparison to manned helicopters and planes, which can cost between $600 to $20,000 per hour.
Compact and Undetectable
Lives of pilots, airmen and police are not at risk

http://youtu.be/z78mgfKprdg
Some examples
Cyborg drones
Dragonfly drone
Hummingbird drone
Nano Quadrators
Black Hornet Nano drone
DASH Roachbot drone
Samarai drone
MicroBat drone
Spy-butterfly drone
Switchblade drone
Mosquito drone

•Alpha model - retail at $250 or more, comes with a MARC-Basic flight computer, solenoidal actuators, and flight accessories including a remote controller, battery and charger
•Delta model - same MARC-Basic flight computer and flight accessories, continuously variable transmission (CVT), retail price estimated to be around $500
•Gamma model - MARC-2 and adds a camera and Wi-Fi, can be controlled via a computer, iPhone or Android smartphone, expected to retail for $750
•Omega model - MARC-3 flight computer that boasts 20 onboard sensors (including two cameras), and features a CVT and Wi-Fi, expected price of $1,499 at retail
Source : http://www.gizmag.com/techject-dragonfly-microuav/24900/
Dragonfly drones - Biomimicry

•US government invested millions of dollars into the development of tiny drones inspired by biology, each equipped with video and audio equipment that can record sights and sound
•Could be used to spy, locate people inside earthquake-crumpled buildings and detect hazardous chemical leaks
•The smaller, the better
•6.5-inch wing span, the remote-controlled bird weighs less than a AA battery and can fly at speeds of up to 11 mph, propelled only by the flapping of its two wings. A tiny video camera sits in its belly.
•The bird can climb and descend vertically, fly sideways, forward and backward. It can rotate clockwise and counterclockwise.
Source : http://www.nbcnews.com/id/41837647/ns/technology_and_science-science/t/wings-technology-hummingbird-drones/
Hummingbird drones - Biomimicry

Type of energy storage and its range

Source: http://www.corephotonics.com/january-29-2013-corephotonics-closes-first-round
Improvement in sensors

Increase in resolution over the years
Higher pixel count = able to capture finer details
Source: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0079672702000241

Source: http://info.adimec.com/blogposts/bid/39656/CCD-vs-CMOS-Image-Sensors-in-Machine-Vision-Cameras
CMOS vs. CCD – Capture Speed

Source: http://www.eetimes.com/rss/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=224201255
Source: http://image-sensors-world.blogspot.sg/2012_07_01_archive.html
Cheaper Sensors
Time required to produce image sensor wafer is reduced over the years
Improved production rate leads to cheaper sensor

Improvement in Internet/Communications
Source: http://scalometer.wikispaces.com/singularity

Improvement in Processor

Mechanical Device Miniaturization

Patent Application in US
Resource from IP Tech.

Patent Count- Company/Inventor Life Cycle
Resource from IP Tech.

Drones and their Increasing Number of Applications

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