So recently I've got a huge hard on over drones, and the implications of that technology advancing.
They are quickly taking over as the best way to film things from angles that were before near impossible to capture before, (cheaply and safely).
People are jumping on this all over the world, especially for sports.
There's badass drones that follow you and film you automatically, Snowboarders and other sports enthusiasts are using these to capture their moves. Cool stuff no doubt. Check this thing out!
Sports teams are incorporating drones into their practice, using them to get a different view of the field, in order to catch things they might not have before, as mentioned in this article.
http://www.sporttechie.com/2014/10/01/the-future-of-drones-in-sports-is-up-in-the-air/
I have a feeling there will be an explosion of drone based occupations here soon, whether that is flying a video drone for shooting movies, or flying them into a place that is hard for people to reach, such as examining bridges structural integrity, who knows, possibilities for use are near endless. Might not be a bad idea for people to pick up a cheap drone and familiarize themselves with how to fly them. Personally I'm interested in the First Person View flying and racing, and whatever other drone sports emerge. I'm thinking obstacle course navigating will be a fun thing, and could be made to be an extremely fun sport to watch.
There are dozens of would be Drone Racing based leagues, vying for the spot as the pro-standard. These guys seem to be crushing it so far. I like where they are headed with this!
http://on.aol.com/video/the-drone-racing-league-features-futuristic--flashy-events-572381cee4b0e6cbf9c10887
check them out here to subscribe and get in the action!
http://thedroneracingleague.com/
"We are going to see an explosion of drone entrepreneurship in the coming years," said Timothy Reuter, president of the D.C. Area Drone User Group, a community organization dedicated to teaching people how to build and operate personal drones. "Aerial photography and videography will be the gateway drug, but it's going to extend so far beyond that, and we're going to see people do really exciting things with this technology."
read the whole article here.
http://www.livescience.com/45242-future-of-drones.html
All you entrepreneurs should get those gears grinding on unique uses for drones, concepts, and things drone related, its gonna be a giant market.
How cool would it be to participate in drone races, flying around like you're in star wars?
Or better yet, Drone dog fighting, like laser tag, with drones! Also, knowing people and our ways, I bet you all there will be a battle bot style competition for drones soon enough. Sick, Right?
In addition to all that, the economic and environmental uses and value of drones will be coming to light in the next few years. It will be interesting to see how regulations develop and how people try to control drones, even hobby drones. You know the government is already all over that, and big corporations who want to monopolize the commercial use of drones, such as Amazon and their delivery project.
They touch on that here on the HUFF.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/daniel-burrus/the-future-of-drones_b_4731851.html
We would do well to keep an eye out for the introduction of bills and such, that would throttle the use of drones for public and commercial use.
Drones are an extremely powerful tool, and I would like to see us utilize them for the betterment of the planet, rather than as weapons.
An Idea I was playing around with, is pairing Virtual Reality, with drone flying. So for instance, imagine flying around first person in an alternate world or reality. We could really take the star wars feel to the next level. Super cool to think of all the implications, RIGHT? Another idea I had recently was the use of drones in fighting fires, how we could save a lot of lives by having more things flying around monitoring fires and where they are headed and such.
Thinking about getting a drone, but have no clue where to start? Check out review lists! Here's one to get you started!
http://www.tomsguide.com/us/best-drones,review-2412.html
All I know is that drones are really cool, and the future is gonna be CRAZY!
What are you excited about, with the ongoing development of drone technology? What would you use a drone for? If you are currently a drone enthusiast, hobby or otherwise... Whatcha flyin? :)