AI-Powered Drones Reshaping Industries and Public Safety

Unmanned aerial vehicles, known today as drones, evolved from their initial military uses in 2006 to become sought-after toys, then transformed into vital tools in the industrial sector.

Today, many industries, including mining, oil and gas, ports, utilities, and public safety teams, recognize the immense potential of these technologies. When used for monitoring or inspection, drones can protect workers from entering hazardous areas, and provide greater awareness of operational status or incidents, where every second is critical.

Expansion of Industrial Uses and Market Growth

The industrial drone sector is rapidly evolving, and 2025 is expected to see significant advancements in technology and applications across various industries. Many countries are working to make drones more attractive for industrial use by allowing them to fly Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS), operations where the drone is flown out of the operator's direct sight, at low altitudes near buildings and infrastructure.

The global drone market is projected to grow from $36.7 billion in 2024 to $44.32 billion in 2025, with industrial applications being a major contributor to this growth. This development opens new horizons for Industry 4.0 use cases to improve operational efficiency and worker safety. Industry 4.0 is a term referring to the ongoing Fourth Industrial Revolution, characterized by the integration of digital and physical technologies such as artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, and cloud computing, leading to the creation of smart factories and connected, flexible production systems.

Drone Applications in Mining, Oil, and Gas Sectors

For instance, at vast mining sites, drones can handle site surveys more safely, effectively, and sustainably than surveys conducted on foot or by manned aircraft.

They can be dispatched multiple times, equipped with payloads including LiDAR sensors, a technology that uses lasers to create accurate 3D maps, high-resolution cameras for collecting detailed images and videos, magnetometers to detect changes in magnetic fields, and thermal cameras to detect heat and hot spots, for intelligence gathering or terrain mapping.

Once a mine is operational, drones can inspect tailings and inventories, providing relief to workers who often operate in extreme temperatures. They can also calculate inventory volumes with greater accuracy and speed for improved management. Drones reduce operational disruption and worker risks when used to inspect the impact of blasts.

Using drones to handle perimeter monitoring at large industrial sites reduces reliance on personnel, and minimizes vehicle wear and fuel consumption, contributing to industrial organizations' sustainability efforts. Oil and gas companies can use them to inspect storage tanks, pipelines, cooling towers, and substations.

Drones' Contribution to Public Safety and Emergency Response

Deploying drones from one or several operations centers before first responders arrive enables an early assessment of the situation's severity, helping to support efficient resource allocation, while receiving AI-powered information that can guide and accelerate decisions to help keep workers, property, and facilities safe.

For example, in wildfires, drones can fly lower than manned aircraft, using thermal cameras to identify hot spots through smoke. With data accessed from drone flights, teams are better equipped to handle these situations and protect themselves, the community, and the environment.

Today, hundreds of US police departments have drone programs. Police departments use drones for search and rescue missions, crowd and large event monitoring, tactical operations support, and crime scene assessment, providing increased situational awareness and improving the safety of officers and the public.

Enhancing Drone Capabilities with Edge Computing and Connectivity Technologies

Integrating Edge Computing, which is processing data near its creation source instead of sending it to a central data center, and Artificial Intelligence is vital for reliable drone flights, as drones, connected to an edge computing and AI platform, can benefit industrial organizations with automated activities that enhance efficiency and safety.

For example, changes in sensor data can trigger a drone flight, leveraging AI, analytics, and machine learning, whether for perimeter intrusion monitoring, equipment malfunction, or to notify the correct first response teams. Using data and video from those drones, any task force will be better equipped, ensuring the right people get to the right place faster with the right equipment.

To achieve this, industries must deploy an integrated digitization platform that uses the right mix of technologies. This means reliable connectivity, real-time edge data processing, durable drones, and a wide range of software to enable new use cases.

For Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) flight, connectivity must be robust, meaning seamless, high-speed data delivery. Using Wi-Fi alone, with increasing network loads, deliveries between access points can be delayed, leading to drone failure. However, by implementing a platform that integrates multiple technologies, including 4G and 5G public and private wireless networks and Wi-Fi, organizations will benefit from redundancy and reliable connectivity even when drones fly BVLOS.

Private 4G and 5G networks contribute to improving drone capabilities by providing high bandwidth, low latency, and secure connectivity, allowing for real-time large data transfer and supporting AI applications at the edge.

The Future of Drones: Durability, Efficiency, and Agricultural Applications

Local industrial edge processing solutions allow for real-time data processing and consumption by applications to achieve new efficiencies. Real-time data will better inform teams of the latest developments, while enhancing productivity and ensuring the right people and equipment are in the right place at the right time.

Durable drone devices must be designed to withstand harsh industrial environments and weather conditions at sites such as mines, agricultural areas, and oil and gas facilities.

A drone solution that can be used with a combination of payloads and software will unlock flexibility for any organization. Efficiency is further increased by using drones that are remotely charged and flown further Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS).

In agriculture, drones are increasingly used for crop monitoring, plant health analysis, precise spraying of pesticides and fertilizers, and irrigation system assessment, which increases production efficiency and reduces environmental costs.

Drone use cases will vary depending on the industrial organization's needs, but in most cases, they will allow them to achieve multiple objectives simultaneously. For example, industries can access more accurate data to optimize operations while also protecting their workers.