Dr Yoge Patel, 55 the Chief Executive of Blue Bear Systems Research, makers and designer of innovative drones in Bedfordshire, has raised concerns over the regulations in the industry that could clip the possibilities of the fast-growing industry.
Speaking to The Times, Yoge said: “Regulation will come about as a result of experiments and trails. If you start with regulation pushed out there without understanding the industry sector in which it is going to be applied, you will end up with something unrealistic; it ends up being a barrier rather than an enabler.”
The advance of the drones is a chance for British companies to shine, she said. Drones are being used in the agriculture industry to monitor crop growth and insect infestations, in emergency services, to put out chemical fires, land-surveying filming, photography and even for searching for missing persons. Analysts estimate that the global market for commercial applications of drone technology will be close to a £127 billion by 2020.
“This is an industry where you need to be able to embrace new technology, be it in sensors or materials, very quickly and embody them into a next generation design... in an emergent sector, you have to have a lot of patience for the world to understand what your product can deliver and then want it. The world is made with first-movers that haven't quite made it,” Dr Yoge said.
Dr Yoge is a respected person in the Aerospace industry, with a passion for providing cost-effective solutions to military and commercial sectors of the Unmanned Systems and Autonomy markets. She has over two decades experience in bidding and delivery of high risk innovations, manned and unmanned in partnership with multi-disciplinary, multi-national teams across industry and academia.
