CES 2019 Drone Tech Insights
CES or Consumer Electronic Showcase is produced and owned by the CTA or the Consumer Technology Association. It is the world’s meeting place for all tech enthusiasts and those who wants to have a business in that area. It is the providing ground for breakthrough technologies and for innovators for the last 50 years, and it is the stage where innovations are introduced to the global marketplace.
DRONE TECH INSIGHTS FROM CES 2019
CES has always given a few innovations to look forward to each year, fancy technology, startups, products that are over hyped and little follow ups on the. CES 2018 did not bring many product addition to the drone community, but there was a total and complete retraction of drone manufacturers and companies for the CES presence overall.
Some of the key takeaways on unammened tech featured on CES:
Network infrastructure: 5G Internet connection offering scalable networked drone operations
5G has been the topic of CES multiple times but for this year, the ecosystem and the ripples effects of it may appear. The 5G internet is an upgrade from 4G we are all used to, and in a higher magnitude of scale. 5G is 2 to 3 times faster than the wireless internet that you currently have. This is a huge increase in internet speed that could allow a lot of gadgets to function, including cellular connected drones. This type of connectivity will also give companies like Amazon and Google more opportunity to explore autonomous self-driving vehicles ie. delivery by drones.
Orqa FPV.One Goggles
Startup team from Croatia – Orqa – presented their goggles FPV.One. Qrqa has steered away from the VR centric approach of most hardware designed as they are making a display technology around their premium MOLED panels currently, and they are being backed up by Sony Semiconductor Solutions Group.
FPV.One are first person view goggles intended for FPV racing & freestyle. They are targeting prosumer users that demand top quality. Orqa’s FPV.One became big hit inside FPV community, and most of the people are interested to see if Orqa can dethrone current market leader Fatshark.
One of their headset can be make in a setup that is sophisticated including a gimbaled dual camera that is pan and tilt and is controlled by a gyroscope sensor in the googles, giving you a true stereoscopic view. This will be on display at the 2019 CES.
DJI Introduces A Smart Remote Controller With Built-In Display
The company DJI will introduce a smart remote controller with built-in display at 2019’s CES. This controller can expand the ecosystem of different accessories that are built around the company’s drone technology which is industry-leading. It uses a 5.5” screen that is built into the controller and it allows you to see FPV streem without you needing to connect it to a 3rd party device. It can also be paired with DJI’s drones including Mavic 2Pro and Mavic 2 Zoom. It can display images in Full High Definition resolution. It has also been optimized for use in sunlight.
Yuneec Named as CES 2019 Innovation Awards Honoree
Yuneec is named as an Innovation Awards Honoree in 2019’s CES, and that could be because of their drone’s voice control. While a lot of consumer models that we see in the market can be controlled by an amount of gestures, the Mantis Q by Yuneec is the first of its kind to respond to voice commands. This drone that is foldable was launched back in August 2018. into a space that dominated by DJI. It will be interesting to see their further development.
Lidar and Thermal Sensors
There are advances in Lidar sensors at 2019’s CES from companies like RoboSense and Ouster. The technology from Lidar uses range and light detection in order to provide precise and measurable data. Lidar used in drones were made to make surveying, inspection and mapping activities. The Lidar technology that was showcased was made for use with large vehicles like self-driving cars. The Lidar multi-beam flash sensor from the company Ouster was given the CES Innovation Award in the Vehicle Intelligence and Self-Driving Technology category.
Autonomous Wireless In-Flight Charging
Global Energy Transmission is a company that claims that they can enable battery-powered drones to fly perpetually. These types of drones can hover over for a few minutes over GET power hotspot which is a charging area. The power hotspots for drones can be installed at least kilometers apart along their flight routes for the Beyond Visual Line of Sight operations. Once in their hotspot, the drone is charging through the company’s wireless power receiving system.
The Curious Case of Underwater Drones
In the year 2011, Eric Stackpole and David Lang launched OpenROV with their Kickstarted underwater rover kit that is desktop-sized, bringing the ability to exploration underwater to a whole new demographic, the amateur scientist. The ROV for research was quickly adopted and inspected and to augment different ocean adventures.
The developers embody the whole core maker essence, the developers have bonded on the promise to make a tool that can help find the lost treasure, and in doing this they created what then became the best and largest underwater robotics maker, all run out of their Berkeley, California offices.
They are made through their original design, they are pushing updates for a better resolution and control and they launched a new Kickstart for the past few years for a refined, new and sleek underwater exploration technology named Trident.
Will Amazon Actually Deliver by Drones Anytime Soon?
The CEO of Amazon, Jeff Bezos is persistent to make a delivery that involves drones, so the answer is ‘we’ll see’. It is motivating and inspiring. Amazon is intelligent and they have the motivation to be ahead of their competitors. They have a certified new aircraft under the FAA’S 14 CFR 135, Not 107 so it allows them to operate under their own guidelines and rules that all of the air carriers have to follow. This new pathway that is regulatory has been in the book and planned out for a long time.
2019’s CES has showcased a lot of practical and useful drone ideas and upgraded technologies as the market has matured the past decade.
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