Drones at CES and on the Slope behind Marcel Hirscher

Drones at CES and on the Slope behind Marcel Hirscher posted: 18/01/2016

by Andy Marken

Skier Marcel Hirscher escapes injury as drone smashes behind him during race

The slalom skiing champion Marcel Hirscher escaped unharmed after a drone carrying a camera fell from the sky and narrowly missed him on his way down the slope during a race in Italy. The Austrian, who has won the overall World Cup title for the past four seasons, was competing in a slalom race in Madonna di Campiglio in Italy.

Footage posted online shows the large camera drone crash to the ground just two feet after Hirscher has sped by. He does not appear to have noticed it at the time and continues with the race. This is horrible, Hirscher, who finished second, said. This can never happen again. This can be a serious injury.

In Britain, the Government is considering regulating the use of drones following a surge in the number flown just a few metres from planes during take-off and landing at major airports. Safety experts have warned that the unmanned aircraft could bring down a passenger plane after four potentially fatal near-misses in September.

Keep Your Eyes to the Skies as Drones Fly Out of Stores

These people, they have no jobs, no food, no education, no future. I just figure that we have two things we can do. Help, or we can sit back and watch a country destroy itself on CNN. - Eversmann, Black Hawk Down, Revolution Studios, 2001

It's estimated that 1M UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) or drones if you prefer were gifted this Christmas.

All I can think of are my two favorite orators:

- Will Rogers - You can't legislate intelligence and common sense into people.

- George Carlin - Just think how stupid the average person is and then realize that half of them are stupider than that.

The industry is so exciting there's a convention every other week, professional/casual publications, training/educational schools, professional organizations (like the Drone Coalition) and clubs cropping up everywhere.

I get it.

I understand all the drone paranoia:

- they're unproven - don't agree with this one

- they're dangerous - see Will's, George's comments plus really nasty folks

- threatening to privacy - of course they will (see above)

That's why I'd suggest:

- Go online with the FAA (Federal Aviation Agency) and register your (or kids) drone

- Get some training because fines for ignorance can run $27,500 - $250,000

- Get some good personal liability, medical drone insurance (see above) and you know people will want to sue

Problem is the excitement surrounding drones is a fever as big as it was around tablets, smartphones and is around wearables, IoT (Internet of Things) and IoE (Internet of Everything).

Drone Bundle - Seemingly out of nowhere, drones or UAVs flew off the shelves for recreational flying. They have already caused their share of problems for the general public and firms that want to use them for a wide range of commercial applications. Proposed regulation of the free-flying aircraft is still a work in progress.

It's all because people like Teal Research, CBInsights, others estimate that worldwide sales of drones, accessories, apps, etc., will leap to $90B by 2024.

The rapid growth is not just drone sales but all of the technology that goes into them like chips that power/control them, apps that manage specific operations and activities and obviously the capture/storage of the data.

There are industry leaders most of us never heard of until a couple of years ago. China's DJI leads the pack with a complete family commercial and recreational UAVs followed by 3D Robotics, Parrot and a herd of others.

That herd received over $100M in startup funding in 2014 from VCs (venture capitalists). Probably a ton more last year.

Then there is the world of cheap knock-offs that copies its way in to sell a crap load of crap at a cheap price to anyone who's got $50 - $200.

In addition to the toys there are some seriously good applications for drones.

Commercial Use - While retail package delivery may have garnered early headlines for UAVs, they have already been in widespread use in commercial applications. Leading the demand for using the aerial devices are the photo and film industries.

They are being used quietly and successfully in farming/land management, firefighting, disaster relief, search and rescue, mapping, surveying, scientific/environmental research, law enforcement, education, real estate, conservation, utility monitoring/management and especially M&E (media and entertainment).

People in each market segment say theirs is the most important, exciting drone market but M&E really is (ok I'm biased).

Drones are increasingly being used for television, film production, covering breaking news (disasters, crimes) and sporting events from new and unique viewing angles.

In the U.S. news folks are making a case for their First Amendment rights to use drones as governing entities struggle to develop privacy and safety guidelines.

Actually what the NMC (New Media Coalition) said was privacy, bureaucracy and tech logic doesn't fit with their journalistic protection.

Jeezz, folks!

Fortunately there are sane and professional organizations that are trying to help the M&E industry get it right, do it right.

NAB (National Association of Broadcasters), IBC (International Broadcast Convention) and national/regional/local events are doing a lot to ensure content producers (and people in other industries that use video) act and work in a responsible manner and still get the shots they want/need.

Follow the Rules - Filmmakers like Jeff Foster, of Sound Vision Media, have found a growing demand for drone film work for commercials, businesses and creative story telling. Bu

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