Young people’s ideas for drone use: The Festival of Innovation 2019
We headed to Next Gen IT’s Festival of Innovation in August 2019, presenting young people and their parents with insights on drones, and giving them opportunities to control an airborne camera and shoot some bird’s-eye pictures!
During the event, we asked the young‘uns what they thought drones could be used for in the future.
“To film a cricket match, for a better view.”
Whenever we’re watching live sports — or recorded sports, for that matter! — we get a huge kick out of seeing drone shots. Aerial event livestreams and speedy FPV sports drones are a part of the Solent Sky Services repertoire.
“Drones can get to car crashes faster than paramedics.”
We love these forward-thinking responses! Drones are quickly finding their feet (or propellers?) in the field of emergency response. They can automatically fly themselves to the scenes of accidents to provide essential information to paramedics before they arrive, and prototype ‘ambulance drones’ even carry equipment like defibrillators!
“To spy.”
Well, yes, there certainly are some connotations to think about here… but let’s just focus on the fun 007 stuff!
“For flying and going into space!”
The idea of drones being able to reach space is an exciting one — especially when manned/automated passenger drones are perfected in the coming decades! Fancy a week abroad on Mars? Hop on a drone!
“For exploring new areas.”
100% agreed! An FPV drone hooked up to a VR headset can either help travelers and explorers survey tough terrain to more efficiently plan the routes they take, or allow tourists to view unreachable spots in an unprecedented way.
Some natural tourist spots, such as the cenotes in Yucatan, México, are now only accessible via drone tours, after heavy footfall caused them to deteriorate. Drones are a great tool for the conservation and exploration of protected areas.
“For delivering mail!”
Will drone deliveries take off? Amazon have famously thrown a lot of weight behind the idea, but we also hope drone shipping becomes a viable option for independent businesses, too. Food by drone via Deliveroo? Nice.
“To help scientists.”
Great answer! We’ve not even scratched the surface of the surveying power of drones. Current inspection applications are often commercial — especially in agriculture and engineering — but we’re expecting large-scale aerial data collection projects to become the norm within just a couple of years; especially for climate change research.
The Next Gen IT’s mission is to help young people become innovators by providing access to tech, useful contacts, and life-changing opportunities. They’ve successfully curated and hosted projects and experiences where businesses, social enterprises, schools, and other tech initiatives can come together to make a difference. They believe that through collaboration, communication, and community focus, they can create purposeful fun.
With that in mind, we gave the young attendees at The Festival of Innovation a chance to manoeuvre our drone’s camera while we flew over Ditcham Park School, where the event took place! We slightly lost track of who took each photo, but here are four of our favourites:
Read on past these visuals for our insights on giving young people a head-start in the drone industry.
Introducing young people to the drone industry
Start small, with an indoor drone not equipped with a GPS — this will be difficult to control at first, but it’ll help develop key instincts and piloting skills
Ensure they have a good knowledge of the drone code, and awareness of how to apply it practically in real-world environments
Speak to a professional drone pilot in your city to enquire about potential work experience opportunities
Research the industry and ask them which roles within it are most likely to interest them — it could be anything from filming and photography to mapping and surveying!
Do something many young people already dream of: flying in a manned plane via a local airfield, to gain some good knowledge of the aviation industry
Join a local drone club or drone-focused Facebook page
