We talk quite a bit about the continual state of flux of the commercial unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) industry on this blog. Enterprising companies are eager to take advantage of the opportunities at their fingertips, but everyone has a stake in ensuring that drone flight regulations evolve so that the skies are as safe as ever.

Commercial drone flight is slowly becoming a reality as various industries realize the benefits that unmanned flight delivers. While much ado is being made of enterprising companies capitalizing on the Amazon delivery business strategy, the potential for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) flight expands far beyond college students’ ability to get a burrito in record time. From disaster relief and precision agriculture to utility inspection and film and TV production, UAS technology is delivering real-world benefits across the globe.

Drones continue to rise in popularity, for both commercial and private industry. Research firm Markets on Markets predicts that the global drone industry will grow to reach $5.6 billion by 2020. That’s a potential for quite a few drones in the shared airspace.

In countries with poor infrastructure and few delivery options, drone technology can be a literal lifesaver in times of crisis. Many humanitarian organizations have experimented with Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) to find survivors in disaster zones, deliver medical supplies and carry out other humanitarian tasks.

The 2016 Rio Olympics have come and gone—the first Olympic Games to be held in South America. As we saw Simone Manual make Olympic history or watched Michael Phelps wrap up his storied run as the most decorated Olympian, another type of history took place behind the scenes. Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) helped to power the Games and even changed the way we watched them.

Drones, aka unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), are becoming an asset to public safety. As the number of drones in our skies increases, the industry has faced concerns about safety. But UAS are actually very safe to operate and can even improve public safety, especially with the help of operational intelligence (OI) technology to improve situational awareness in shared airspace.

Business is booming for drones and the economic potential of wider use of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) is enormous. UAS for military applications have been around for decades, but recreational and commercial uses are new territory. With drones in the hands of novices, there’s been plenty of controversy around them.

The next time you pick up a ripe tomato or ear of corn at the farmer’s market, you might be surprised to learn the high-tech journey that helped ensure they grew healthy and pest-free. Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) are rapidly making a transition from the battlefield to the farmer’s field—helping growers oversee millions of acres throughout America and saving them big money in the process. 

Commercial businesses using drones, also called unmanned aircraft systems or UAS, is skyrocketing. And new developments are making adoption easier and less expensive for a number of companies that might have otherwise bypassed this attention-grabbing technology.

Following Simulyze’s successful support of NASA’s first nationwide drone traffic management test flights this April, we have even more exciting news – we successfully deployed our Mission Insight OI (operational intelligence) application again this month. During the first U.S. ship-to-shore drone delivery at the Cape May-Lewes Ferry Terminal in North Cape May, N.J., the application gathered, processed, transmitted and visualized situational awareness data from unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) during the June 22nd Drones in Disasters ‘Do Tank’ event.