Drones – “unmanned aerial vehicles” (UAVs) – are becoming an increasingly familiar aspect of life and work in the UK today, playing a growing role in areas ranging from emergency services to construction to assessing claims. But these uses are just the start.
Accident response drones could become a routine sight by 2030, the audit firm PwC suggests. Besides streaming live video, a drone could act as a ‘5G cell tower’ to provide communications for the emergency services at a scene. The data could be sold to insurance companies, a report by the firm adds, of use to insurers in case of claims.
During a time when organisations are under pressure to be more efficient, innovative and ambitious in how they deliver services, drones offer a unique lens on the world below. Gathering data quickly and accurately from hard to reach places, they can create a ‘golden record’ in real time. This can make a crucial difference in managing costs, controlling risks, increasing safety and influencing outcomes. So says the audit firm PwC in a report on drones, which predicts 76,000 drones in UK skies by 2030. A good third, 36pc, will used by the public sector, including for defence, health and education. This will mean ‘greater need for data scientists and robotics engineers’.
The report sees uses in inspections, in the oil and gas sector and utilities, surveying on building sites, and fighting fires; and ‘delivery drones could become business as usual by 2030’.
The auditors suggest a ‘drone-enabled world’ in 2030, and suggest four questions for any business to address now, if it wants to make the most of the opportunity:
How vulnerable is your business model to drone-driven disruption – and how soon will that disruption arrive?
What game-changing openings are there within your market, and how can you take advantage of them?
Do you have the talent, data and technology you’ll need to do this?
How can you build transparency and trust into your drone platforms and applications?
For the full 28-page report, Skies without limits, visit the PwC website.
Comments
As for the security of drones, Raj Samani, chief scientist and fellow, at the cyber product firm McAfee, said: “It’s no surprise to see that more drones are expected in British skies in the next few years. They have the potential to make certain processes cheaper and easier, from parcel deliveries right through to inspecting key infrastructure for safety. However, the increased use of drones will not only present security challenges, but also privacy considerations.
“Many drones are manufactured in a way that makes them relatively easy for criminals to compromise, for example the use of unencrypted video feeds have allowed malicious actors to view video from military drones in the past.
“Any business looking to invest in drones must ensure that appropriate due diligence is taken so that even the basic security measures are in place to protect these assets and the information they produce. Ideally, security should be implemented to not only protect drone systems but to also detect any unusual activity and correct the system if a breach does occur. In addition, the ICO has produced guidance since drones with a camera have the potential to be covered under the Data Protection Act.”
Robert Garbett, CEO of Drone Major and Chairman of the BSI Committee on Drone Standards welcomed the report and added it was ‘just a small fragment of the wider drone picture’. He said: “As technology advances in this field, we are witness to the emergence of a new wave of hybrid drone systems which are able to operate across different environments from ground vehicles that can fly to aircraft which can dive into the sea, monitor and inspect underwater and then move out of the water to become airborne again. Indeed, there are now systems available which are integrated surface (marine), underwater and air drone systems combined, such as those being developed by Marine Advanced Research, an American company which embraces the concept of the ‘Hybrid’ drone system.”
