By Julio Gil-Pulgar

Drones for peaceful purposes are relentlessly converging with Bitcoin and its blockchain technology to defy obsolete ideas and introduce dramatic change in all industry sectors. Spectacular advances in artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things are providing increasingly omnipresent drones and robots with immense potential to create wealth, previously unimaginable business solutions, and new jobs.

Flying Robots Are Everywhere

Drones, also known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) or flying robots, are promising to have an impact as tremendous as the one the Internet had a few decades ago.

The Internet and drone technology are coming together to create amazing new possibilities. For example, Facebook is building drones to create an Internet network in the sky, with the goal of providing Internet services to people living in remote areas of the planet.

To measure drones’ technological impact across industry segments, PwC conducted the study, “Clarity from above: PwC global report on the commercial applications of drone technology.” The study forecasts that soon, all economy sectors will start experiencing the impact of drones.

The PwC study estimates the value of drone-powered solutions at over $127 billion USD, as follows:

The PwC study also highlights that “The application of drone technologies in existing business processes is allowing companies from those industries to create new business and operating models.”

Drones can perform many tasks that humans cannot, such as hazardous work in infrastructure industries. Indeed, as shown in the pie chart above, infrastructure industries are the biggest users of drones, reaching $45.2 billion USD.

“As the price of drones continues to fall and new technology to exploit them becomes available, we expect their use will begin to pervade the entire lifecycle of capital projects, and filter down to even the smallest infrastructure projects,” argues Richard Abadie, PwC Global Capital Projects and Infrastructure Leader.

Drones, Bitcoins and Blockchain

Bitcoin and drones are a match made in heaven – a fact that has already been enthusiastically recognized by The Daedalus Group, a startup from the North East of England.

Charles Home, Director Business Development, The Daedalus Group, says, “I feel like drones and Bitcoin are a perfect combination.”

The Daedalus Group has been in the business of drones for over two years with great success. It specializes in surveying, aerial filming and photography, and property presentations.

According to Home, at the Daedalus Group, they have exciting technology that is not available on the open market, and they also have a vision of how drones will work with Bitcoin. In fact, the Daedalus Group offers its clients the option to pay for their drone services with bitcoins.

Another drone-based company that accepts bitcoin payments is Expert Drones. This company sells accessories for drones, unmanned aerial vehicles, and drone kits. Expert Drones focuses on both hobbyist and experienced professional drone clients.

Autonomous e-commerce and delivery solutions that combine drones and blockchain technology are also becoming more prominent.

The U.S. Postal Service is examining postal applications for use with blockchain technology. As the Wyoming Institute of Technology reported, President Obama has already given the USPS an ultimatum regarding mail delivery by drones.

Blockchain-based smart contracts and smart assets allow entrepreneurs to conceive complex operations that can be dynamically set up by software agents.

For example, Alan Morrison describes a blockchain-based system in which “a fleet of self-driving trucks delivers goods to distribution centers. The robots at the distribution center sort and move those goods onto autonomous delivery drones. Then the drones make deliveries to end consumers.” Smart contracts would manage and execute each of these tasks, with one or more software agents acting as virtual third parties having legal status, writes Morrison.

Amazon is already testing drone delivery technologies. And it is focusing on blockchain applications. Specifically, Amazon is collaborating with the Digital Currency Group (DCG) to bring start-ups together and help them to take advantage of the virtues that the blockchain technology offers.

Domino’s Pizza seems to be ahead. It will soon start delivering pizzas with drones in partnership with Flirtey, a provider of independent drone delivery services.  Domino’s and Flirtey made a successful demonstration of drones delivering pizza in Auckland, New Zealand, in August. Domino’s Pizza accepts bitcoins as payments, through PizzaForCoins.com.

Drones are getting cheaper, while Bitcoin’s blockchain technology is becoming more widespread. Together these technologies are promising all industry sectors fantastic opportunities for innovation and growth on a mind-boggling scale.