Drone World Expo, which serves the commercial drone industry, opened yesterday at the San Jose Convention Center in the San Francisco Bay Area. Nearly 60 exhibitors filled the crowded exhibit hall, with companies offering everything from purpose-built agricultural drones to multiple types of drones designed for industrial inspection, surveying and monitoring.
Chip-makers Intel and Qualcomm highlighted how their technology is powering drone design. Qualcomm’s exhibit area included a small drone cage for live demos of its Snapdragon Flight single-board drone technology. Intel showed off all of its UAV group’s products, including the LED-carrying Shooting Star drones, which recently flew in a 500-drone nighttime lighting effects demonstration.
For drone operators concerned about the potential expense of an accident due to power loss or other problems, Fruity Chutes offers parachutes for drone ballistic rescue systems powered by CO2 cartridges.
There is no shortage of business opportunities in the drone world, and exhibitor Measure is bringing the franchise model to drone operators, offering exclusive county-based franchises that include marketing and back-office support.
An interesting session held yesterday delved into issues of drone insurance, which is readily available from underwriters such as Global Aerospace and on-demand drone insurer Verifly. Drone insurance currently is limited primarily to liability for damages caused to third parties, but the industry is looking into hull coverage policies that would cover drones as well.
In addition to the exhibitors, Drone World Expo hosts a number of Tech Talks and conferences, including live drone demos in a large drone cage. Visitor traffic and exhibitor numbers were up 30 to 40 percent over last year's show, according to the organizers. Next year’s Drone World Expo will return to the San Jose Convention Center on Oct. 3 and 4, 2017.