Central New York To Serve As Drone Test Playground

In November of 2016, Governor of New York Andrew Cuomo devoted $30 million dollars to a 50-mile-long flight traffic management system to promote the use of unmanned aircraft systems (more commonly known as drones) for Central New York business purposes. This ‘corridor,’ as it is called, will stretch from Griffiss Air Force Base in Rome to Syracuse by sometime in 2018.

This investment was made using funds from the region’s $500 million share of the Upstate Revitalization Initiative, which is devoted to promoting economic growth and encouraging business development.

The decision to create this corridor was made after Griffiss was selected as one of six test sites nationwide for drone technology development.

Using the corridor, companies interested in leveraging drones will be able to test them for use in agriculture, transportation, media, forest management, and public safety purposes. There are plans to construct pieces of infrastructure around the test area to assist these companies in monitoring their drones and collecting data.

Investments like this only make it clear that drones will soon be a commonplace feature in everyday life, at least as far as business is concerned. Industries across the board are utilizing the technology to augment their practices and simplify tasks that would otherwise be a hassle or hazardous for a human being to attempt.

For example, think of how many things in modern life require regular inspection to continue working properly, but present some risk in doing so. Power lines pose an obvious risk to someone who gets too close (as workers often have to now), and a drone could deliver relief supplies to someone stranded in a disaster area much more easily than a human being could. Rooftop work can often result in a fall, so it’s a lot more convenient to fly a drone and get a bird's-eye view than it is to maneuver a human body to get a similar, if less accurate, view of the same thing.

This convenience also translates to one of the main draws of drone technology in business: delivery services. Suppliers, most notably Amazon, have begun to deliver their smaller goods via drone technology, saving time and manpower. As the technology improves, drones will only become more commonly used in more and more environments, which is how the new corridor will come into play.

How could you see drone technology being used in your business? Let us know in the comments!