Drones and Birds of Prey

Drones delivering pizza (in New Zealand).
Delivering medical supplies in Rwanda. Or flying supplies to hard-to-rich construction sites.
Since the FAA’s approval of drone delivery in 2015 many investors are hedging their bets on drone related tech and services.

Dubbed the “UPS of the next-generation”, drones are poised to make an impact across many industries: fast food, medical, agriculture, and others.

From toy-drones used for backyard fun to practical use of commercial type drones — we are going to see more and more of them.

Businesses, large and small, are increasingly making good use of commercial drones (multi-rotor, fixed-wing, single-rotor helicopter, and fixed-wing hybrid).
Price range: $5,000 to more than $100,000.

Some are easy to operate; and best used for aerial photography.
Others take more training to operate them safely;  and can cover long distances, therefore more suited for more complex jobs.

Drones, and their operators, do face one big challenge. (And it’s not coming from FAA.)
Venture to guess what it is?
They are attacked by birds of prey.

A recent headline proclaims:
“Hawk collides with drone and wins the battle handily”
Complete with a picture of the drone “before” and “after” the collision.

Someone else describes how eagles keep attacking their fixed-wing drones.
And concludes with:
“…these huge birds are a menace.”

Well, it all depends on which side of the fence you are on.
Imagine you are the hawk.
You are hungry. And you see what it looks to you like dinner.
Then… well, then the rest.

Unlike the above story, the birds coming in contact with drones’ rotating blades are on the losing side most of the time.

We all know: drones are here to stay.
In less than ten years, FAA estimates we’ll have a million drone flights. Daily.

From agriculture to fast food, to delivering medical supplies — drones are an efficient mode of transportation

Our challenge is to put them to good use AND find solutions to preserve, and protect, our wild life.

Mariana Fieraru

Mariana Fieraru, an Eastern European transplant, fell in love with her new home shortly after landing in New York. She "discovered" pizza! Years later she still loves pizza. And so do her two feathered-kids, Sunny and Flipper

Mariana worked on both, the east and the west coast.
Big or small, each project she worked on helped define the importance of gaining and sustaining a competitive edge in an increasingly complex business environment.

Business know-how, love of teaching and writing – all combined in 2006 to form OBI.
Its mission: to make learning fun! And easy.

Through its training, consulting, and publications OBI builds bridges of knowledge to take you from where you are to
where you want to go. Using a mix of serious, informal, analytical, and optimistic approach, OBI truly makes learning fun.

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