Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, there has been a growing attention on drones from a military perspective. State-funded hardware developments, fueled by limitless funds, have gained momentum to further advance and manufacture Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV in short). From a weapons manufacturing standpoint, drones that can be considered inexpensive are not only suitable for reconnaissance without risking human lives, but they can also be used for transporting goods.

As we all know, many innovations achieved by the military often make it to the commercial market as well eventually. Moving goods is one example that has been tested, for a few years now, but there hasn’t been a wide adoption yet. I believe this is about to change.

DJI recently released in Asia a commercially available delivery drone, the DJI FlyCart 30. It adopts a 4-axis, 8-propeller multirotor configuration. It has a maximum payload capacity of 30 kilograms, and a maximum range of 16 km with a full load.

What I see currently is that drone hardware companies could deliver innovation at a quicker pace, but what keeps new products back from the market is achieving certifications and regulations. It is still a time consuming endeavour, especially taking into account all the differences between countries, and regions. That’s also why the DJI FlyCart30 is only available in Asia for now.

Another interesting aspect is that the Chinese manufacturer has been under constant pressure in the American market for years, particularly in the non-consumer market, thanks to lobbying efforts by an American manufacturer, Skydio. Skydio recently has announced that it will turn away from consumer customers and exclusively focus on industrial use.

While the drone market continues to expand, it is noticeable that new drone models are appearing more frequently in the consumer drone segment. Instead of bi-yearly product releases, we started seeing yearly, or even half-yearly releases and upgrades. This has a positive knock-on effect on the number of new and profitable use cases in industrial sectors as well.

One thing remains unchanged: the entire industry is moving towards automation. There is a need for less human intervention, longer flight times, automatic charging, active obstacle avoidance, and secure operations.

It is similar to the topic of autonomous driving in the automotive industry. However, where are we on the roads? What actually works in reality? And how much money has the market invested in this field?

There are different levels of autonomy and interdependent functions that need to be tested and developed sustainably to ensure customer-centricity and safety.

It is difficult to predict what lies ahead in the drone market, which is undergoing similar processes. However, it can be assumed that autonomous drones will not be flying around cities in the next five years.

As the next realistic step, it is possible that pilots will be assisted by assistant systems, similar to how drivers nowadays have automatic headlight switching, lane-keeping assist, lane-changing assist, parking assist, or automatic alerts that prompt them to take control.

Even in fully automated flight tasks, there will be a need for people to monitor the systems, and these individuals are likely to be experienced professionals from previous drone development projects.