Evolution of the Drone Service Industry
Drones are commonly referred to as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), or Remotely Piloted Aerial Systems (RPAS).
The drone industry emerged from entrepreneurs using off-the-shelf drones to enter the drone services market.
Off-the-shelf drone technology was easily accessible but came with a proprietary operating system, pre-selected hardware choices, built-in flight control, payload, sensor, and rudimentary information systems.
Their advantage was availability and relative affordability, plus a large number of amateur drone pilots who were familiar with their operation.