i3 - March/April 2019 - 14

By Susan Schreiner

DRONES AT CES 2019

C 4 T R E N DS

It's a Flying Taxi

magine getting around New York City, and instead of using
Uber or Lyft, you could avoid traffic congestion by hailing a
flying taxi, soaring above the traffic. This scenario is moving out of science fiction and closer to reality, as we saw at CES
2019 with the Bell Nexus, a cross between a drone and helicopter.

The drone industry is moving beyond novelty and into industry adoption with
greater functionality, scale production and
applications. Adoption of aerial drones
and drone technology will monitor agricultural operations, oil and gas inspection,
and be used in industries such as insurance, utilities, telecommunications, construction and survey engineering.
Drones are also used for search and rescue, disaster management and the delivery of medical supplies. Companies like
Zipline International, which runs a medical drone operation in Rwanda and
Ghana, is delivering blood, drugs and vaccines to remote areas. Aeryon Labs'
Skyranger Drones are being deployed
after hurricanes or fires by executing
autonomous aerial
searches to deliver
live drone data for
first responders.
Drone technological developments are also focused
on flight endurance for
expanded commercial applications, improved battery life/
power, as well as more energy
efficient machines. A 2018 article
in Nature Communications concluded that drones like a DJI
Phantom would generate less carbon
emissions than a delivery truck - even

MARCH/APRIL 2019

one that's electric - for short distances
and deliveries of packages of under
1.1 pounds.
In his CES 2019 keynote, Verizon CEO
Hans Vestberg said 5G will transform
technology, including commercial
drones. He introduced Mariah Scott,
president of enterprise drone software
developer Skyward, who noted Verizon's
commitment to be the first to connect
one million drone flights on its 5G network. Verizon acquired Skyward in 2017.
Technology such as new imaging sensor
integration including smaller, more lightweight LiDAR, and the entry of more aerial imaging, geofencing, computer vision,
tracking and GIS data integration is expected this year. 2019
might just unleash a
new era in transportation, delivery
and safety.

1. The Bell Nexus, a flying taxi captivated CES 2019 attendees. Bell is partnering with Uber Elevate to use the
Nexus for its flying taxi service Uber Air,
scheduled to launch in Dallas-Fort
Worth and Los Angeles, starting by
2023. Nexus weighs 6,500 pounds and
has a range of 150 miles, with speeds
reaching up to 150 mph. This fullscaled, six-rotor vehicle can take off and
land vertically and uses hybrid-electric
propulsion to power efficient air travel.
Bell says the craft will initially be
piloted, but like a self-driving automobile, may eventually operate by itself.
2. DJI announced AirSense, a feature in
the DJI Pilot application that displays
warnings to its Mavic 2 Enterprise or
Matrice 200 Series pilots when a signal
from a nearby airplane or helicopter is
detected. FLIR and DJI also announced a
new partnership. The Mavic 2 Enterprise
Dual is equipped with the smallest, dualsensor, 4k and thermal micro-camera
from FLIR. DJI also introduced a powerful, smart remote controller with built-in
full HD resolution monitor, compatible
with its newest imaging drones: the
Mavic 2 Zoom and Mavic 2 Pro.
3. Sunflower Labs Home Security Drone
is a home security system that includes
an autonomous camera drone called
Bee. Sunflower sensors learn your
property's routine and alert the user to
any unusual activity. If
the security system
detects something
amiss, it sends Bee
to the scene to
capture precisely
what's happening.
Bee then returns to
its Hive - the selfcharging, weatherproof home for
the drone.
4. The
PowerVision Marine
Drone is a new lifestyle
robot for water sports, photography and fishing and can help
scientists explore marine life. Equipped
with an intelligent sonar device and
GPS waypoint function, drawing underwater topographic maps is a first in the
marine drone industry.

I T I S I N N O VAT I O N

Courtesy of Bell

Tech

i3 - March/April 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of i3 - March/April 2019