Commercial Drone Professional has released the first in a new monthly series of in-depth reports featuring a host of industry specialists, with training the hot topic for February.
DJI’s vice president for policy and legal affairs has called on drone pilots in the UK to get involved with local and regional governments on regulation and legislation. In an exclusive interview with CDP at AirWorks, Brendan Schulman stressed how important it was for users to show the good they are doing with drones. Schulman, a prominent drone and aviation lawyer before he began his work at DJI, said: “I think we are doing well but it’s a lot of hard work and effort but of course it is always helpful to have the actual users engaged and talking to
A leading expert in UAV analysis has warned that further consolidation is on the horizon for the drone industry, which could force a wave of mergers and bankruptcies in the sector following the sale of the assets of Airware earlier this week. Philip Finnegan, director of corporate analysis at Teal Group, said that the end of Airware, one of the most promising venture-capital funded startups highlighted the ‘looming’ consolidation ahead, in an article written for Forbes. Airware unexpectedly shut down last month, leaving around 120 employees without jobs after the startup’s £92m in funding dried up. Supplier of commercial drone
Entrepreneurs and start-up businesses across sectors have been urged to consider crowdfunding websites to fund their new companies, rather than just relying on traditional investors or venture capitalists. New research into crowdfunding from the UCL School of Management claims that listening to investors at the start of a new business ‘can make the difference between success and failure’. Former PhD student Philipp Cornelius, who is now an assistant professor at Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University and associate professor Bilal Gokpinar from the UCL School of Management, found that entrepreneurs that used online crowdfunding to raise capital benefited from the
Managing director of Skyports, Duncan Walker, believes the UK could see passenger carrying drones sooner rather than later, and they could come even before drone delivery services. In an exclusive interview with Commercial Drone Professional, Walker gave his insight on the current state of the industry and went into detail on what Skyports is doing here in the UK and abroad. Skyports is a London-based infrastructure company that has installed 15 ‘Skyports’ already in the capital, as preparation for the emerging drone market. The company’s plan is to make congested cities ready for when the drone market takes off with
Skylogic Research has announced its 2018 Drone Market Sector Report, examining global drone sales, service providers and users. The research, carried out by a leading research and advisory services firm for the commercial drone industry and owner of Drone Analyst, is supported by DJI, DroneDeploy, DroneInsurance.com and Trimble. Primarily, Skylogic found a growing demand for businesses to use drone-acquired data in their day-to-day operations. Colin Snow, CEO and founder of Skylogic Research, outlined what he thought were the more interesting findings, he said: “If you believe the hyperbole, there are hundreds of thousands of drones in the airspace at the
As UK regulations tighten around drone safety, Andy Johnson, head of product and solutions management at business technology solutions provider Brother UK, explains how monocular head mounted display (HMD) technology is helping commercial drone pilots to comply with regulation, and to position drones while viewing camera feeds simultaneously. Regulatory bodies have fallen behind the UK’s rapidly expanding drone industry in recent years. But last month’s new drone laws coming into force was a sign that authorities are beginning to step up the pace – much to the delight of commercial drone pilots, with many in the industry rightly believing that
Nesta’s Challenge Prize Centre, in partnership with Innovate UK, has today released its findings from the first phase of the Flying High programme, outlining the opportunities and challenges for implementing drone technology in UK cities. Flying High comprises a collaborative engagement with five UK city-regions chosen earlier this year (Bradford, London, Preston, Southampton and the West Midlands), along with the NHS, police and fire services, national stakeholders from central government, technology experts, industry leaders, academics and regulators. The challenge seeks to position the UK to become a global leader in shaping drone systems that place people’s needs first. The Flying
