Using Drones to Speed Global Progress

How can we harness the full potential of drones while addressing regulatory and privacy concerns?
Chris Anderson, the former editor-in-chief of Wired and the CEO of 3D Robotics, believes that the potential applications of drones extend far beyond commercial and recreational use. Anderson believes that drone technology can dramatically transform the fields of agriculture, criminal justice, and environmental preservation – just to name a few. 3D Robotics manufactures more drones weekly than all U.S. aerospace companies combined, and is playing a pivotal role in revolutionizing the accessibility of this relatively new technology.

Anderson believes that commercial drone delivery could become a reality within the next few years, with drones that are fully autonomous, the size of a human hand, and less than $10 in price. While Anderson acknowledged the privacy concerns that drones raise, he pointed out that, “all new technologies challenge our presumption of privacy,” from the first Kodak cameras almost a century ago to Facebook. Anderson noted the difficulties inherent within drone regulation, particularly since airspace is regulated at the federal level while privacy is regulated at the local level. Yet despite the complication of regulation, Anderson is confident that the tremendous potential of drones and their rapidly increasing accessibility will reinvent the world as we know it.