Look! Up in the sky. It's a bird! It's a plane! It's ... sorry, it's not Superman.
As much as many people like the idea of a guy flying around with his underpants over his pants protecting us, it is much more likely that if you look up in the sky today you will see a drone.
With a third company recently cleared by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for commercial drone deliveries we continue to edge closer to the vision of a 30-minute turnaround from order to delivery in metropolitan areas.
Although we see drones as a modern invention, the groundwork for our current crop has a history of over 100 years. The first quadcopter was created way back in 1907.
Apart from requiring four people to launch it to its maximum flying height of a metre and with no control over steering, it was a huge success! Modern inventions need to start somewhere.
By 1917, the first remote controlled (RC) winged aircraft took flight.
It was based on RC technology from Nikola Tesla and the aim was to use the device as a flying bomb.
Despite never being used in a combat scenario it paved the way for future military projects.
The transistor was invented in 1947 which was the breakthrough needed for a multitude of electronic products.
By the 1960s, transistors were being used in RC planes allowing an entire industry to be created that continues on today.
When most people think of a modern drone, they think of a wingless vertical take-off device controlled via their smartphone.
That format was pioneered by the French company, Parrot, which released its Parrot AR Drone in 2010. It sold over half a million units.
By 2016 we had drones with smart computer vision using machine learning technology to allow them to avoid obstacles and intelligently track and photograph moving objects.
DJI's Phantom 4 was the first to market with this technology - and as impressive as it is, I still managed to crash my first Phantom 4 drone into a tree within about 10 minutes of my first flight. Ouch!
The recreational drone market is really taking off (couldn't resist, sorry) with approximately four million drone sales last year and double-digit growth, but the really interesting space is with the variety of commercial applications.
You may remember the world's first pizza delivery that occurred in New Zealand in 2016.
Quick access to fresh food is a great practical application of a commercial drone.
Various companies are now delivering coffee and donuts and burgers and even beers.
Medical goods and blood supplies and, incredibly, body parts are other sensible uses of the convenience of the air compared to the congestion of the road.
Agriculture is taking advantage of the labour saving and technology tools offered by drones, with winemakers to rice growers using tools such as infrared cameras and crop yield analysis algorithms.
Technology is even being used to deliver technology, with internet access drones being trialled in areas without internet access.
The list goes on with development of drones to be used for window cleaning; wildlife conservation; construction inspections; ambulance services ... you name it and it is probably being developed.
As battery development continues to charge ahead (two puns for the price of one today) and wireless technologies such as 5G improve, expect even more uses for drone technology.
On the negative side, drug cartels and governments are creating more effective weaponised drones, which I hope to never see when I look up in the sky.
Tell me your best idea for the use of a drone at ask@techtalk.digital.
- Mathew Dickerson is a technologist and futurist and the founder of several technology start-ups.
