Warfields to Agri Fields: Drones Are Delivering Actionable Insights
Neel Mehta of Asteria Aerospace Discusses Advancements in AI and Visualization
As drones become increasingly sophisticated, their inclusion in military warfare is prevalent. During its ongoing war with Russia, Ukraine launched TB-2 drones - seemingly their most lethal weapon. The drones provided closed-air support and reconnaissance over the Russian air defense and even carried laser-guided smart micro munition missiles. In retaliation, Russia launched nearly 400 kamikaze drones to target Ukrainian infrastructure. The advancements in drone technology have led to an increase in their usage beyond commercial and recreational purposes.
According to the Drone Market Report 2022, the global drone market is worth an estimated $30.6 billion, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) forecast at 7.8% until 2030. This figure encompasses both the commercial and the recreational drone markets.
"Drone is a sunrise sector. Ten years ago, no one could imagine that drones would be used in military warfare. The advances in sensor technology, autonomy, computer vision and 5G technology will redefine the usage of drones across industries for security, surveillance, asset inventory, logistics, critical deliveries and more," says Neel Mehta, co-founder and director of Asteria Aerospace.
Asteria is a full-stack drone solutions company offering solutions such as border surveillance and reconnaissance, facilities security, agricultural and land surveys, and inspection of critical assets and telecom infrastructure. The full-stack solution is also offered as a service including hardware, software and analytics of aerial data.
In a video interview with Information Security Media Group, Mehta discusses:
- The importance of drones in industrial and business growth;
- Drone-as-a-service model;
- The future usage of drones both for military and civilian purposes.
Mehta worked as a system engineer (flight controls) at Collins Aerospace before founding Asteria Aerospace. He has extensive experience in flight control law design and analysis, flight simulation, flight test, and developing and certifying end-to-end flight control systems.
