The Rise of the Drones

Advancements in drone technology, and the proliferation of drone-based applications, are changing the way society functions now and how it will function in the future. With wide ranging applications, drones are creating significant potential in easing human endeavours and paving the way for new discoveries both on Earth and in space.

The mission statement for this project is to ‘’assess the potential benefits of drones in terrestrial remote sensing’’.

For the purpose of this project, a drone is defined as a reusable unmanned vehicle flown terrestrially or in space, controlled remotely or flying autonomously using on-board flight plans, sensors, positioning systems or controls.

The way drone technologies are helping life on Earth, the current state of those technologies and the future trends influencing new designs and applications are examined in Chapter 2. In so doing, drones are compared with satellites to gauge their relative strengths and weaknesses, opportunities, and the constraints both platforms experience in delivering their respective missions.

Drone technology and knowhow in such enabling areas as payload equipment, power sources and materials design is advancing at a pace. In Chapter 3 direction and trends for those technical advancements are researched and discussed. The results are subsequently used in this report to form a view on how drones could develop in the future and help to deliver economic and capable remote sensing functionality on Earth and in space.

Demand for goods and services is a key driver of technology advancement and the formation of new markets. In Chapter 4, the market for drone applications in remote sensing is investigated and the impact of a range of socio-economic and technical factors is analyzed.

Chapter 5 examines legal constraints affecting drones at national and international levels, leading to an understanding of how local, national and global agreements enable or hinder technology development. There is, at present, no universal legislation for drones that is applicable globally. There are, however, a raft of national legislation frameworks that are steering developments in the drone industry. Although national drone legislations are considered advanced by many standards, there is still significant scope left in developing further legislation to address key interests such as security, safety and privacy.

Dragonfly’s overall assessment and the prospective impact on remote sensing is presented in Chapter 6, where the report draws conclusions and makes its recommendations.

In conducting its analysis, Dragonfly has aimed to assess the impact of drones on existing and future remote sensing missions and industry. The outcome sought throughout this report has been to create a body of researched findings in key areas of technology, business and law with the view to raising readers’ awareness of drone applications and how they might meet societal needs now and in the future. In so doing the report identifies a number of barriers that could hinder the rise of drones and their greater take up by society and industry.

1 – Introduction

Project Justification

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1.1 Project Justification

With rapid development in recent years, drones are gaining market acceptance and popularity. Their use in filming and photography, transportation, communication and the arts is now commonplace. New uses of drones are currently being explored and developed, rendering this industry commercially viable. The development of this technology may, in part, lead to drones becoming a potential replacement for existing Earth and space-based systems in various applications.

The commercial satellite and associated services market turnover reached a peak, at more than $200 billion in 2015, nearly doubling since 2006. All market segments in the space sector experienced growth except for launch services. In recent years, however, satellite costs fell due to miniaturization (e.g. CubeSats, NanoSats) and the development of 3D printing technology lowered manufacturing costs. The future of the satellite market is thought to be heavily affected by the rapid growth of miniature satellites. New launchers are being developed to satisfy this market demand for cheaper prices and smaller spacecraft.

Drones are a suitable replacement to satellites in some remote sensing applications largely on economic grounds. Low complexity and rapid deployment gives this technology a significant edge over the more complex satellite, while low altitudes and rapidly improving stability and payloads make drones technically competitive. Furthermore, new design concepts for drones are being developed, with prototypes ranging from small consumer quadcopters to durable solar-winged drones with a 42 m wingspan. Each type presents advantages and limitations, depending on the intended application.

The potential benefits of drones are beginning to be exploited by the space community, with Lunar, Martian, and other planetary exploration platforms being developed. These systems allow greater ease and flexibility in mapping when compared to rovers, being of greater use to manned and unmanned exploration missions.

There is, therefore, interest in analyzing the ability of drones to be integrated into existing systems for remote sensing applications, on Earth as well as in space.

1.2 Project Aims and Objectives

The project aims are as follows.

1. To assess the potential applications of drones in terrestrial remote sensing missions as a complement or a substitute to satellites.

2. To analyze current capability and consider future technological requirements of drones for deployment to planetary exploration missions.

To meet the above aims, the following objectives are to be achieved.

1. Perform a general literature review analyzing current and future applications of drones and satellites, the state of these respective markets, and the international legal climate for the use of drones.

2. Assess the current state of the satellite market in remote sensing applications and the impact drones could have on that market.

1 – Introduction

Background

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3. Examine the current and future state of satellite and drone technologies, elaborating on the prospects of drone and hybrid drone-satellite system deployment for terrestrial remote sensing.

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