Drone use has grown rapidly in recent years with more of us purchasing consumer devices than ever before. It's expanding beyond consumer use too, with the number of organisations making and investing in drones set to soar even more this year.
Amazon might be the company most well known for its public testing of drones with Amazon Air, however the list of businesses using drones for a variety of reasons is growing.
From delivering pizza to aiding search and rescue missions, drones have huge potential. Although, the grey area around regulation could stop some businesses in their tracks - see here for further information on drone regulations.
Read on to find out how leading companies in tech and outside of it are investing in drone technology.
1. Microsoft
Microsoft announced at its annual Build developer conference that it was teaming up with DJI to create drones for the enterprise.
The partnership with DJI - a Chinese drone manufacturer - aims to bring Microsoft’s machine learning capabilities to commercial drones and will see the launch of a software development kit (SDK) for Windows enabling developers to build native apps to control DJI drones.
Previously, Microsoft has also created and released a simulator designed to help drone pilots navigate around and avoid any potential dangers. These tests use machine learning to recreate common flying conditions such as shadows, reflections and other accident-causing obstacles.
Microsoft has released this technology on GitHub as a beta version.
Microsoft has also sold a variety of consumer-facing drones and drone parts online, so this flight simulator is the next step in supporting its drone users.
2. Alphabet
Google's parent company Alphabet launched an Amazon-style drone delivery project called 'Project Wing' in 2014 with tests being carried out in Australia.
Alphabet has partnered with Australian-based Mexican restaurant Guzman Y Gomez to deliver food and pharmacists Chemist Warehouse to deliver its products.
The drones can fly 120 kilometres per hour and can take off and land vertically.
3. BT
BT has been experimenting with using drones to provide temporary internet coverage to battlefields, disaster zones and hard-to-reach areas. If networks are impaired by floods in the future, UAVs could first assess the damage and then provide internet access to the area through tethered drones and balloons.
Techworld learned about the technology during a tour of BT's main research facility in Adastral Park in Suffolk. BT also revealed a further potential application for drones, as supporting vehicles for kinetic mesh networks using mounted devices as nodes to improve connectivity and flexibility.
Winds, weight, and battery life are current barriers to effectiveness, but tethered connections and ongoing developments in areas such as lighter batteries and GPS tracking are rapidly reducing the limitations.
4. UPS
In January 2017, UPS unveiled its first residential delivery drone. The drone itself will be 'launched' from an electric van which is fitted with a recharging station for the battery-powered drone.
This should extend the battery life of the drone (which is about 30 minutes) and mean more deliveries are able to be completed.
UPS began testing drones in 2016 to make commercial deliveries to remote locations, working in partnership with drone maker CyPhy Works.
In its initial test, UP staged a mock delivery of urgently-needed medical care from Beverly, Massachusetts to an island three miles off the Atlantic coast.
5. YO! Sushi
Back in 2013, UK-based Japanese fast food chain, YO! Sushi tested its waiter-drone delivery prototype. The result: cold burgers and large dry cleaning bills, according to the Telegraph.
The drone was wirelessly connected to a smartphone and a staff member controlled its flight across the restaurant's outside dining area.
While this probably won't become common practice in restaurants across the globe any time soon, it highlights how keen businesses are to get involved with the tech.
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