Drones in America (MarketScale)

In this week’s episode, Guillot is joined by Matt Coleman, Senior Director of Business Development at Volansi; Michael Currie, Founder and CEO of Fling; and Will Stavanja, Chief Technical Officer of AirBox Technologies. These three service providers are utilizing drone technology to assist with the social distancing mandates and economic hardships brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Volansi, which focuses on drone-based cargo delivery and pickup for industrial, medical, and other medical supply chains across the world, builds and operates long-range, high-payload unmanned aerial systems for time critical parts and supplies. The company, which is based out of Concord, California but operates globally, helps its customers save millions of dollars on down-time costs, receive life-saving supplies when needed most, and conduct demanding industrial jobs. As explained by Coleman, “Besides being a drone company, Volansi is really an all-inclusive delivery drone solution utilizing user-friendly mobile platforms, automation, and the UAVs themselves to revolutionize the way that materials are delivered to increase equipment uptime, shorten critical delivery times, and save on unnecessary warehouse inventory downtime.”

Fling is a leading drone consulting company that designs custom solutions for clients in Southeast Asia. The company, which is based out of Thailand, works across industries, using its in-depth expertise of drone technology and regulations to solve business challenges and build better cities for tomorrow.  “We specialize in AI cloud software as well as unmanned aerial system solutions for commercial applications in three industries – electric power line, warehousing, and last-mile logistics,” Currie says. “We’re also a service provider for these services as well as being a technology provider.”

AirBox Technologies, based out of Richmond, Virginia, revolutionizes last-mile postal package delivery through it virtual GPS solar smart IOT mailbox, AirBox Home. The mailbox allows anyone in the world to receive endpoint secure package delivery by motorcycle, truck or drone. “The box itself gives you all sorts of information, such as who, what, when, and where,” says Stavanja. “It physically secures a package, so, for those of you fighting against porch pirates, this is a perfect solution.”

The guests discuss with Guillot the ways their companies are assisting businesses across the globe with enforcing social distancing and isolating supply chains in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. They also address the lessons drone operators in the U.S. can learn from their respective international operations.

In addition, the guests discuss the significance of global regulatory environments and how their businesses have experienced increased interest in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In this week’s episode, Guillot is joined by Michael Healander, President and CEO of Airspace Link.

The Airspace Link platform is an all-in-one FAA-certified, cloud-based platform simultaneously connecting all constituents involved in legally flying a drone. In addition to airspace safety, Airspace Link focuses on ground-based risks and provides a municipal-planning platform that is already finding success with various communities, including the cities of Taylor, Michigan, and Ontario, California.

State & local governments use the Airspace Link portal to define areas of risk, special ordinance and event restrictions within the community. Drone pilots plan and submit operations to the FAA through Airspace Link, enabling faster approvals and a stronger mitigation plans for complex flights (BVLOS, inspection, package delivery). With the combined data, Airspace Link is building new drone airspace infrastructure (similar to toll roads).

Guillot and Healander discuss Healander’s history providing geospatial technology services to the defense, logistics, precision agriculture, retail, and transportation industries. They also chat about Healander’s experience working with state and local governments to develop permitting systems and asset management systems.

With Airspace Link, Healander now utilizes spatial technology to assist government agencies with the integration of drone into the national airspace and local communities. Airspace Link’s cloud-based platform, AirHub, focuses exclusively on merging the needs of state and local government with the operational planning tools pilots already use.

Healander explains that despite public perception concerns regarding the privacy and safety aspects of drones, many government agencies are ready and willing to incorporate advanced operations into their respective communities. Agencies are envisioning a “connected smart-city infrastructure that they can offer businesses,” Healander says.

Airspace Link is also an FAA-certified LAANC provider, and drone pilots can now use Airspace Link to apply for instantaneous approval to fly in restricted airspace. Healander notes that “this combined authorization and integration with FAA, state, and local data makes for the safest possible mission.”

Join host Grant Guillot of the law firm, Adams and Reese for Drones in America with new episodes available where ever podcasts are found.

According to Miriam McNabb, CEO at JobForDrones and Contributing Editor at DRONELIFE, drones are stepping in when humans really need to step away for their health and safety. She explained that drone technology has really allowed certain workspaces, such as industrial sites and mining sites, to keep functioning with fewer people on the ground and more distance between them.

It was only five years ago that CNN first used a drone to collect footage of an event. Since then, drones have become integral and imperative to CNN’s gathering of imagery, collection of data, and production of breaking stories. Perhaps no one knows the development of drones in journalism better than guest Greg Agvent, speaking on this episode of “Drones in America.” Agvent recounts the storied history of technology in journalism, explaining how he was first introduced to drones in the field of reporting, and why drones have forever changed how news stories are told.

In Agvent’s long career in editorial operations, he developed a fascination with how technology can make jobs in the field easier. This fascination lead Agvent to drone work with CNN, where today drones are used to report on everything from breaking stories to sports events. The benefits to drone footage go beyond just high, cinematic media quality. “Drones save lives,” said Agvent. In adverse weather or violent events, drones can survey the affair without putting live journalists in danger. Whatsmore, drones aren’t just fancy flying cameras, they’re data collectors. During the California wildfires, Agvent recounts, CNN’s drones helped create a 3D map of the fire zones.

It’s clear that drones are imperative to making dangerous reporting situations safer, particularly by offering the bird’s eye view that humans lack. So will drones make helicopters irrelevant? Agvent explains why not fire your helicopter pilot just yet. Drones are still new to sharing the sky with helicopters, planes and the like, and there is still much to learn about regulatory, lawful, and safe practices for public space drone use.

3 Trends Driving the Drone Industry Right Now:

• Increased Hardware Competition Signals Market Shift
• Rising Global Tensions and Move Toward Dual-Use
• Improving Autonomy and Shifting Regulations

In this week’s episode, Guillot is joined by Frank Segarra, President and CEO of ConnexiCore.

ConnexiCore is a nationwide commercial UAS Drone Solutions Provider with a deep network of expert (FAA) pilots, solution architects, and business process consultants across the United States. It specializes in drone aerial data collection, image & video analytics, drone telepresence, and aerial mapping services.

ConnexiCore is a full-service provider, explains Segarra, providing “everything from the drone services to the data analytics to the full-blown training and consulting to be able to bring organizations up to speed and get their own drone operations up and running …”

Guillot and Segarra discuss Segarra’s beginnings as a CB radio hobbyist. Segarra, at a young age, caught the attention of the FCC when he was able to reach listeners in Australia, South America and the Caribbean. The FCC gave the young Segarra, who did not possess an FCC license, a pass, but his early experiences led to a lifelong interest in technology.

Segarra recalls an earlier drone mission his company, ConnexiCore, undertook at the request of an insurance adjuster, who sought information regarding the extent of crop damage caused on a farm by a cattle stampede. ConnexiCore flew a drone over 1,000 acres of farmland and utilized thermographic imaging, 3D imaging, and orthromosaic photography to provide a report of the crop damage.

“A lot of drones will do real-time monitoring of job sites, and a site supervisor may not have to go out and inspect the job,” Segarra says, noting that the construction and engineering industries are among the sectors most frequently served by ConnexiCore.

Segarra adds that drones can also help mitigate the risks associated with dangerous jobs, identify hazards and enhance safety before a the commencement of a construction project, allow information to be provided to project managers and stakeholders in a quicker fashion, and track assets in a manner that improves the efficiency of workflow.

Segarra also explains how drones are uniquely capable of assisting with construction management during the Covid-19 pandemic. “You can [conduct construction management and inspections] with the drone and stream that video either in real-time time or send that video to [project team members and/or stakeholders] on a link, which…with everything that is going on today with the coronavirus and SARS and terrorism, a lot of people are being strongly advised not to travel,” Segarra says. “So if you could get inspections done and you can use a drone that’s onsite to take care of some of these problems that are solved by drones, you’re actually helping the situation out right now.”

Join host Grant Guillot of the law firm, Adams and Reese for Drones in America with new episodes available where ever podcasts are found.

Brasfield & Gorrie is a general contracting firm, making Hittie uniquely qualified to touch on the subject of this episode – how the potential lessening of regulations surrounding the use of drones and UAVs over people could impact the construction industry.

Hittie has experienced the benefits of drones in data collection firsthand, which led him toward a career in drones and eventually to Brasfield & Gorrie.

This week, Guillot was joined by Darshan Divakaran, Founder and President of AIRAVAT, LLC. AIRAVAT works with commercial and government clients to provide UAS program integration, flight training and safety operations.

Guillot and Divakaran discussed Divakaran’s history in both the commercial drone industry and aerospace (Divakaran is a commercial pilot), the struggle to provide widespread, base-level knowledge about drones and overcome a lack of education, demystifying regulations, and more.

In 2014, when Divakaran first became involved with drones, the industry was taking its first steps.

“That was the time when people were unsure about this technology,” Divakaran said. “They were not sure if it was a toy or really a technology.”

After being absorbed into the rapidly growing world of unmanned flight, Divakaran has now committed to helping agencies learn about and leverage a technology that’s clearly here to stay.

“Education is what is lacking,” Divakaran said. “We can see this in many states with how slow the progress is. … The technology is not being used to its max capacity.”

Join host Grant Guillot of the law firm, Adams and Reese for Drones in America with new episodes available where ever podcasts are found.

On New Year’s Eve 2019, the Federal Aviation Administration released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for Remote Identification of drone users.

“It was 88,000 words of seemingly good intention, and 87 pages of common sense,” Tom Walker said. “There wasn’t any thing in there [the NPRM] that should have surprised anyone.”

Drones continue to disrupt various corners of the private sector that very few people predicted. Presenting Drones in America an all-new podcast by MarketScale centered around drones.

Every week, Drones in America will introduce listeners to guests who are leaders, influencers, and experts from various areas to talk about America’s drone industry.

Topics discussed will include the history of drones, new technology, policy, and the rapidly-growing commercial market.

Tom Walker is Founder and CEO of droneUp, a company that provided “end-to-end aerial data collection services for large, autonomous missions.” He appeared on the inaugural episode of Drones in America to talk about the FAA’s NPRM, how he got into the drone industry, and the relationship between policymakers and drone users.

“When I was first exposed to the consumer drone market… I felt like there were two key issues,” Walker said. “First, there would be a person in the unnamed space. Second, most organizations would be unable to manage the fleet of equipment and pilots.”

In short, Walker saw a need for a scalable drone platform, so he founded droneUp in 2016.

droneUp worked with local emergency response services for wildfires in the West and Hurricane response in the Southeast.

Join host Grant Guillot of the law firm, Adams and Reese for Drones in America with new episodes available where ever podcasts are found.

Grant Guillot, host of Drones in America, was joined by Lisa Murray, Linda McLaughlin, and Lee Corkhill of Diversified Communications to preview this year’s Commercial UAV Expo.

With the global pandemic present, many events have been postponed or cancelled. The Commercial UAV Expo has opted to take the event virtual.

“It’s been challenging. It’s been interesting. It’s kind of exciting” said Murray, Group Director.. The overall goals of delivering excellent content to expo visitors, providing a platform for companies to showcase their innovations, and being a premier networking event have remained the same. How the content is delivered is the main difference.

On this episode of Drones in America, host Grant Guillot was joined by Brenden Schulman, Vice President of Policy and Legal Affairs at DJI.

DJI, headquartered in Shenzhen, China, is an industry leader, providing flying and stabilization systems and more than make image capture via drone simpler and more effective.

Schulman and Guillot dove into new use cases for drones created by the COVID-19 pandemic, the shifting landscape of the public’s perception of drones, and more, though a majority of the duo’s discussion centered around a key topic – what role do foreign-made drones play in the American drone industry?

It’s a key consideration, particularly in light of growing concerns about foreign powers, notably China, gaining access to sensitive American data.

In this week’s episode, which focuses on unmanned aircraft systems (“UAS”) traffic management (“UTM”), Guillot is joined by Amit Ganjoo, Founder and CEO of ANRA Technologies, and Ken Stewart, CEO of AiRXOS, part of GE Aviation. 

ANRA is an official NASA collaborator for their UTM solution and is closely working with NASA and the FAA-approved UAV test sites. ANRA’s platform has been used for multiple UTM national campaigns as well as FAA Research Transition Team (“RTT”) demonstrations.

AiRXOS, part of GE Aviation, provides reliable, safe UTM platforms, a wide-range of regulatory services, and powerful hardware, thereby expanding advanced operations and safely integrating unmanned traffic into the National Air Space (“NAS”).

The FAA defines UTM as a “traffic management” ecosystem for uncontrolled operations that is separate from, but complementary to, the FAA’s Air Traffic Management (“ATM”) system. UTM development will ultimately identify services, roles and responsibilities, information architecture, data exchange protocols, software functions, infrastructure, and performance requirements for enabling the management of low-altitude uncontrolled drone operations.  In short, UTM provides the FAA, drone operators, and other stakeholders with the means to communicate and coordinate efforts.

ANRA and AiRXOS were participants in Phase 1 and have been selected to participate in Phase 2 of the UTM Pilot Program (“UPP), an initiative established by the FAA to define an initial set of industry and FAA capabilities required to support UTM operations. The UPP is meant to foster infrastructure to manage the widespread expansion of drone operations within the NAS, including goods delivery, infrastructure inspection, search and rescue, and agricultural monitoring.

Guillot, Ganjoo, and Stewart also discuss the importance of BVLOS (beyond the visual line of sight) operations, Remote ID, and the efforts of industry leaders and groups such as Lisa Ellman with the Commercial Drone Alliance to encourage public acceptance of drones.

In this week’s episode, Guillot is joined by Ian Annase, CEO of Zing; Cameron Chell, CEO of Draganfly; and Ryan Walsh, CEO of Valqari. Each of these three service providers are utilizing drone technology to assist with the COVID-19 relief efforts.

Zing, which is headquartered in St. Petersburg, Florida, offers an autonomous drone delivery platform that provides last mile delivery solutions. Noting that the platform is compatible with the most common drones on the market, Annase explains, “We turn the most common DJI drones, such as the Mavic, Phantom, and Inspire, into fully autonomous, last-mile delivery robots within the current FAA regulatory framework.”

Canada-based Draganfly is the oldest operating commercial drone manufacturer in North America, and its services are especially relevant with the COVID-19 pandemic necessitating social distancing.

“We can actually identify not just temperature, but fever, heart rate, respiratory rates,” explains Chell, noting that the company is “known for specialized sensors and [its] capability to deliver a drone package to…customers that gives them a strategic advantage because of the data they can collect.”

Valqari, based out of Chicago, offers a drone delivery solution that solves the last inch logistic problems with its patented Smart Drone Delivery Mailbox ALIS, which provides a secure and convenient delivery receptacle for both drone and traditional deliveries.

“We’re really focusing on the endpoint infrastructure,” Walsh explains, “so you can have automated collection of packages…for drone deliveries for medical [supplies] or meals, or other items you need, and we are really seeing the highlight of that during the quarantine and the lockdowns across the world right now.”

The guests discuss with Guillot the ways their companies are assisting business and agencies, including restaurants and public safety offices, with enforcing social distancing and isolating supply chains in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Having an autonomous rural pharmaceutical network is imperative,” Walsh says. “If a drone can deliver a test kit to [an individual’s] home, they can take the test, put in back into our mailbox, and if a drone comes and takes it to a lab and they test positive, then we can schedule drone deliveries for the next 14 days of medicine and meals and essential items so there’s much less risk of community spread.”

“We got super lucky and hooked up with one of our oldest customers, which is the University of South Australia and the Department of Defense there that supports them,” explains Chell. “They developed the technology that will sit at the bottom of a helicopter with a highly sensitive camera, and that camera would be able to pick up digitally with machine vision and AI the vital signs of people…We quickly [determined] what this could do for something like pandemic management or just general health monitoring. So we’ve adopted that technology now, which is in pilot in several places across the U.S., where basically a broad health monitoring can be done simply by using cameras. So if you’re doing a crowd control situation, you know if you are dealing with a crowd that has a 2% percent infectious rate present or not.”

“We are definitely seeing an increased interest [in drone deliveries] big-time,” says Annase. “Restaurants are really struggling right now to find any viable alternatives to take-out.”

Annase explains that Zing has been successfully delivering food over the past few weeks from Hurricane Seafood, a local restaurant in St. Petersburg. Zing successfully made the delivery within the pilot’s visual line of sight, which took only two-minutes, flying the drone over a channel that separates St. Petersburg’s Beach from Tierra Verde.

“The alternative of driving would have taken about 15 minutes by car and you would have had to cross over a drawbridge as well as go through a toll,” Annase explains, “so this 500-home community that was on the other side of this channel, [the drone delivery] actually opened up that entire customer base to that restaurant which previously did not have access to any of those 500 homes due to…the distance and the toll and the extra delivery charges that would entail.”

The guests also discuss the significance of Remote ID, the federal regulatory environment, and how their businesses have experienced increased interest in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.

While the COVID-19 pandemic has required politically divergent factions to work together, this election year continues to be a time of great division in our country.  Americans are experiencing heightened anxiety and economic uncertainty due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and they are looking to sources of strength, inspiration, and, above all, unity during this trying time.

Lisa Ellman, Executive Director of the Commercial Drone Alliance and Partner and Unmanned Aircraft Systems Practice Chair at Hogan Lovells, is one such source. 

In this episode of Drones in America, Grant sits down with Lisa Ellman who is widely considered a trailblazer and visionary in the commercial drone industry. Ellman reflects on her career in the industry that began with a series of jobs working for President Barack Obama’s administration (prior that that, President Obama was Ellman’s constitutional law professor at the University of Chicago!).

While President Obama’s administration commenced the initiative to integrate drones into the national airspace, President Trump’s administration has continued those efforts without regard to the political differences between the administrations.

Ellman says, “It’s absolutely a bipartisan issue – this isn’t something where political differences are stark in any way and, in, fact, I think we can all unite behind seeking to enable commercial drones and public use of drones in a way that benefits society for all of us.”

Foreseeing how important the commercial drone industry would become for the country, Ellman realized she could have even more of an impact by moving to the private sector, which led her to establish the UAS Practice at Hogan Lovells, as well as the Commercial Drone Alliance with Gretchen West, now President and CEO at Schiebel Aircraft.

In this episode, Ellman also discusses the importance of educating young girls and woman as to the increasingly import role they will play in the industry.  She also addresses the importance of gaining the public trust and the significant role remote identification will play in the integration of drones into the national airspace. 

Every week, Drones in America introduces listeners to guests who are leaders, influencers and experts from various areas to talk about America’s drone industry.

Topics discussed include the history of drones, new technology, policy and the rapidly-growing commercial market.

On this episode, host Grant Guillot sat down with leaders of the largest American drone manufacturer, Skydio. The CEO and Founder, Adam Bry, and the Head of Regulatory Affairs and Public Policy, Brendan Groves, joined the show to discuss the major announcements regarding the X2 line of enterprise drones and what that means for autonomous drones in the commercial and public safety segments.

Bry helped launch Google's drone program in the early 2010s and, in 2012, was concerned the FAA could potentially kill the drone industry. It has been an up-and-down roller coaster ride since then, but Bry is very optimistic about the regulatory landscape in the UAV industry and is excited by the way the policymaker decisions are trending.

"Overall, I am optimistic, but you kind of have to be when you start a company," Bry said of why he founded Skydio in 2014.

The Future of Autonomy

Bry likened the operation of drones to the early days of computing. When the computer industry first began, only specially trained experts and hackers were able to use the machines, and everything was done through the command prompt. But the first graphical user interface with "the first Mac and Windows totally changed the paradigm, [making it] a software-based experience accessible to way more people".

In this week’s episode, Guillot is joined by Michael Blades, Vice President of Aerospace, Defense and Security in the Americas at Frost & Sullivan. Blades’ main areas of research and analysis are unmanned systems and training and simulation markets, and he is widely-regarded by the commercial drone industry as an expert and visionary.

Guillot and Blades discuss the types of drone service providers who are poised to continue succeeding in the evolving industry, such as Tom Walker’s company, DroneUp. Blades believes 2020 will see the accelerated consolidation of various service providers and that the companies who establish themselves in niche end-user industries, such as energy/oil & gas, construction, and precision agriculture, will survive the economic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Blades also discusses his recently-released report, Global Commercial UAS Market Outlook, 2020, wherein he concludes that the commercial drone market is set to transition from a “nascent” to a “growth” stage. Blades echoes Walker’s suggestion that the drone companies who wish to continue growing should focus less on perceived regulatory lags and more on the opportunities available to drone operators under Part 107.

In regards to the Covid-19 pandemic, Blades acknowledges that some companies operating in the commercial drone industry are experiencing economic difficulties. However, Blades also notes that “the smart people who operate drones are going to figure out ways…to help with the Covid response.” For example, Draganfly has been selected to develop a “pandemic drone” that could be used to detect infectious and respiratory conditions while flying over people.

“Expect forward-thinking drone service providers to seek those partnerships that allow them to present prospective clients with comprehensive demonstrations or case studies that prove how their services can help mitigate future black swan events,” Blades explains, agreeing with Guillot that the Covid-19 pandemic will result in a net positive for the commercial drone industry “At the end of this there might be a renewed interest in drones because many existing [uses], and even some uses that we didn’t think of before this, will arise out of this pandemic and…that may drive some different definition on what urgent needs are with respect to the FAA approving or fast-tracking waivers to do things during times like this.”

In addition, Blades and Guillot discuss the importance of shaping public perception of drones and calling attention the great work undertaken by various companies operating in the industry, including AiRXOS and DRONERESPONDERS, as well as by individuals such as DJI’s Romeo Durscher and Adam Lisberg. They also acknowledge the important role played by drone journalists like the Drone Business Center’s Christopher Korody, DroneLife’s Miriam McNabb, Unmanned Airspace’s Philip Butterworth-Hayes, and Commercial UAV News’ Jeremiah Karpowicz.

Join host Grant Guillot of the law firm, Adams and Reese for Drones in America with new episodes available where ever podcasts are found.

In this week’s episode, Guillot is joined by Jeremiah Karpowicz, Editorial Director at Diversified Communications, a well-known and widely-respected journalist who regularly reports on the commercial drone industry.

The two discuss the importance of leadership in the industry, especially at a time when companies in various end-user sectors are striving to economically recover while implementing social distancing.  Karpowicz sets forth his belief that company leaders who embrace drones in the near term, rather than delaying implementation of drone technology until after “things return to normal”, are more likely to rise above the economic devastation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Karpowicz and Guillot also discuss the Commercial UAV Expo Americas, the world’s largest commercial UAS event, and the import role industry leaders and organizations, such as the Commercial Drone Alliance, play in facilitating the collaboration of government and industry to safely integrate drones into the National Airspace.

The two conclude their conversation by reflecting on how, despite the fears and uncertainties that have arisen due to COVID-19, the commercial drone industry can look forward to once again congregating in-person once it is safe to do so.

On this episode, Guillot sat down with one of the most influential policymakers in the aviation world, Rep. Garret Graves (R) of Louisiana's 6th District. Congressman Graves serves on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and is the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Aviation.

Graves has been quoted supporting the use of drones in emergency response and disaster surveys and as believing in significant investments from the public and private sector to ensure job creation and economic growth in this new aviation space.

America is the birth place of aviation and has led technological growth throughout its history, but is currently falling behind the pace of innovation in a new industry. And, if it doesn't catch up now, it might always be behind.

Graves mentioned his concerns on how few drone manufacturers there are in America and how a single company having a majority of the marketshare is bad for competition.

With the U.S. having an increased sensitivity with China that will most likely not go away for quite some time, there is a space for American manufacturers to recapture the market, which could also help ease concerns related to data and national security.

If we are able to have "U.S. manufacturers that rival or even best the technology of Chinese manufacturers, when people have a choice, they will go with a U.S. manufacturer,” Graves said.

In this week’s episode, Grant Guillot is joined by Rhett Ross and Philip Burton with Deuce Drone, a UAS delivery service provider based out of Mobile and initially operating in cities within Alabama. Guillot’s firm, Adams and Reese, has been engaged by Deuce Drone to assist with regulatory and government relations matters.

“The ability to engage with the public and with federal, but, even more so, state and local leaders at the introductory stage of the development of a drone company is so critical to helping the operation become scalable,” Guillot states, noting that assisting Deuce Drone with its UAS operations falls within Adams and Reese’s “comfort zone in working with state and local officials to help embrace technology and advocate on behalf of our clients.”

Guillot is also joined on the episode by his law partner, Britton Bonner, who leads Adams and Reese’s Economic Development Practice Team and represents commercial enterprises in various sectors, including manufacturing, shipbuilding, logistics and distribution, aviation and aerospace.

“[The drone industry] combines new technology with federal regulation that is going to necessitate local support and state support,” Bonner says. “Most of the projections…have estimated that the drone industry as a whole would have an economic impact that would support over 100,000 jobs potentially by 2025. Where those jobs go is going to be determined by the regulatory environment and the local acceptance of the industry. I think you’ll see states that are opening up sooner to the drone industry and embracing it. They will siphon jobs and opportunities away from state and localities that aren’t in support.”

Deuce Drone is designing a system whereby consumers can place orders from a retailer via an app, which will then interface with the retailer to transmit the order and confirm the time the order should be prepared and packaged for delivery. Once the package is ready, the retailer will then load the package onto an automated conveyor system that will transport the package to the roof of the building to be retrieved by a drone. The drone will then fly to the consumer’s location in accordance with all applicable regulations and deposit the package at the consumer’s location before returning to the retailer to retrieve the next order.

“We want to facilitate B to B and B to C delivery of packages from existing retailers and restaurants in local communities,” says Ross. “We will use off-the-shelf drone systems that our artificial intelligence and software design teams will design the background flight systems for to guide the drones from point A to point B safely, quietly, and with high quality for the packages.”

“The narrative [brick and mortar retail industry is] constantly battling is how are we going to stay relevant in a world where Amazon has massive market share,” Burton says. “So this technology, retrofitting it with…existing retailers seems like a logical play, and we’re really excited about it.” Noting the time savings drone deliveries are uniquely capable of achieving, Burton estimates that “in theory a package could go round trip within 12-minutes.”

The parties also discuss the importance of safeguarding against privacy and nuisance concerns and the significance of gaining the public’s trust of drone operations. Public perception and the regulatory environment “cannot exist without [each other] in the U.S.,” Guillot explains. “The FAA is going to be much more likely to facilitate a favorable regulatory environment if it has public support, and the public is going to be a lot more likely to accept drones if it knows the FAA is focusing on safety and requiring [drone service providers] to make that safety case.”

“You’ve got to have your local buy-in from your elected officials because they are going to be the biggest advocates for this and because it is a huge economic impact for the region,” Bonner says. “This is about quality of life, and this is about raising the quality of life of the citizens in the area in which the services are going to be provided so I think the local buy-in and the local support is a key ingredient.”

Deuce Drone is partnering with a large regional grocery chain as well as with a national fast casual restaurant chain that includes in-restaurant dining and delivery options. “The traction is there.  The people see it,” Ross says, noting the Deuce Drone is focused on designing their products and services to be safe and quiet, provide privacy, and facilitate community involvement.  “If we do that, we are going to be rolling this out across the nation I think very successfully over the next few years.”

DroneUp just announced a partnership with Walmart and Quest Diagnostics to deliver at-home COVID-19 self-collection kits. Walmart has already been experimenting with with the practicality of drone delivery for select grocery and household essential items, but has not advanced past the trial stage. Delivering COVID-19 tests is not only a highly relevant need in our society, but would be a big step forward in analyzing the efficiency of drones in deliveries.

Welcome to this week’s episode of “Drones in America,” a MarketScale podcast hosted by Grant Guillot.

On “Drones in America,” Guillot and industry leaders, influencers and experts explore the rapidly growing commercial drone industry in the U.S., guiding you through the complex web of technology, policy and more.

Alabama is Setting the Course for Drone Delivery

The future of drone delivery is bright but most of the stories revolve around the possibilities of the application and not establishing the timeline of when will we see drone delivery become a practical last mile solution. Grant sat down with the founders of Deuce Drone who have the mission of flying - performing paid-for commercial drone deliveries in the year 2020.

Which States Are Embracing Drones

In the past several years, the UAV market has exploded with technological growth, and aviation regulators have not been able to keep up with the amount of innovation occurring. A major cause for the road block by regulators goes back to a a fundamental question — should the local or federal level make key decisions?

Grant sat down with Brent Skorup of George Mason University to discuss how Brent ranked all 50 states in terms of how open they are to allowing commercial drone operations.

Piloting the UAS World with the FAA

Companies and pilots have a lot of questions regarding how the government will implement Remote ID. Grant spoke with the Executive Director of the Federal Aviation Administration, Jay Merkle, to get his insight and clarity regarding what drone users can expect in regards to Operations Over People and the utilization of drones in public safety.

With social distancing in effect to counteract the COVID-19 pandemic, many companies and groups are seeking ways to respond to needs without making human contact. Drones may be an answer. Ken Stewart, CEO of AiRXOS, GE Aviation, as well as Chris Todd, Executive Director, Airborne International Response Team, and Charles Warner, Director, Drone Responders Public Safety Alliance, joined in this episode of Drones in America with Grant Guillot to discuss the prospect.

Stewart referenced the recent mission of a Blackhawk to bring supplies and virus testing kits to a cruise ship in California. “A crew of at least 3 could potentially get exposed,” he said. With drones, he added “you could control exposure to the contaminant.” On top of this, there could be significant cost savings in deploying drones instead. Drones fit into public health and relief efforts because they are effective for “limiting human to human interactions, which is really important,” explained Todd.

Despite these benefits of using drones in response to issues like COVID-19, there are also many challenges. Warner pointed out that one challenge is finding ways for companies and organizations to “limit their exposure while maintaining their service.” As drones are new technologies, and emergencies are not the time for testing, exploratory missions and reviews are what is current in this field.

Experts in the drone industry are launching task forces and exploring “the realistic possibilities without interfering with operations happening today,” Warner said. For example, delivery of medications or the use of drones to see what’s happening in areas that dispatch has been called to are viable applications being considered.

Overall, the goal of drone organizations at this time is not to explore and deploy solutions to advance the industry, but to find ways to meet very real and pressing needs. Tune in to learn more.

In this week’s episode, Guillot is joined by Anthony E. Zuiker, the creator of the CSI franchise – the most successful television series of all time, as well by Tom Walker, Founder and CEO of DroneUp.

Guillot, Zuiker, and Walker discuss Zuiker’s interest in crime scene evidence and how he came to develop the original CSI and its three spinoffs.

Zuiker explains his decision to back in 2005 to have an unmanned small-helicopter device serve as the murder weapon in “The Dove Commission,” an episode in Season 1 of CSI: New York.

Guillot, Walker, and Zuiker discuss Zuiker’s decision to use drones to film the final scene of the original series, in which Jorga Fox’s Sara Sidle and William Petersen’s Gil Grissom sail off into the sunset.

Zuiker also discusses how drones are currently used in crime scene investigations, pointing to the tragic October 1, 2017 Mandalay Bay Hotel shooting in Las Vegas and the recent helicopter crash that claimed the life of Kobe Bryant. Guillot notes the rise of drone use in law enforcement and emergency operations, pointing to the great work being undertaken by the DRONERESPONDERS Public Safety Alliance.

Walker recalls how DroneUp has conducted hydro spectral analyses of crime scenes using drones to determine the types of bodily fluids present on the ground and provide CSI investigators in advance with a “map” of where certain fluids were located.

On the subject of drone pilots, Zuiker said, “You are the future of Hollywood. You are the future of civil service. … I can’t tell you how valuable a drone pilot is. You are seeing it already from COVID-19, through amazing the work Tom and DroneUp have been doing as a civil service to provide materials and medication.”

“In the future, I predict that drones will be necessary and it will be a booming industry…Out of this virus will come many, many opportunities.”

The three conclude their discussion by discussing public perception of drones.

“The majority of the drones that are out there…[are being flown] by operators who are making a living by flying those drones who have certifications and licenses to fly those drones who are trying to build their career and feed their families by operating those drones…Nobody wants us to operate responsibly and safely more than me and us, and our industry and the people who are building companies around that,” Walker said. “I think we have to do a better job of articulating how important our industry is.”

“The world is not a crime scene,” Zuiker said. “It’s a great place. Stay healthy.”