Earlier this summer, voting began for Commercial UAV Expo’s Innovation Spotlight competition, for which 23 products were chosen to be voted upon by professionals throughout the commercial drone sector to determine the most impactful technology. The 23 entries ran the gamut among technologies that make this industry go, with both software and hardware solutions included in the voting, representing industries ranging from public safety to security to surveying to delivery, and more. Voting ran from early July through the middle of last week, and in total, over 1,200 votes were cast.
There was no true runaway winner with this vote, with no single product receiving over 16 percent of the vote. That, in its own right, exemplifies the idea that all of these tools are impactful for some professionals out there. The full list of innovative products is still available for viewing. Still, there were three top finishers who we are ready to announce today. As noted in the original announcement of this contest, the winner will get a further deep dive coming next month, so be on the lookout for that if you’re looking for more information about our winning product. Without further ado, though, here are the top three finishers from this year’s Commercial UAV Expo Innovation Spotlight.
Spexi World Viewer - Spexi (Honorable Mention)
Still a relatively new company within the commercial drone space, Spexi is the first decentralized drone imagery network, providing pilots around the world the opportunity to collect imagery in areas of interest. These areas are standardized 22-acre zones they refer to as “Spexigons,” and pilots are able to join the Spexi Network, be notified of Spexigons that need imagery, and earn for their collection of data. In turn, data users across a number of industries who need access to this high-quality imagery are able to view this imagery for their purposes in the World Viewer.
Dronedesk - Grey Rock Innovations Ltd (Honorable Mention)
As any drone pilot will tell you, acquiring a drone itself and even the necessary payload to complete projects in your industry of choice is only half the battle. For projects to go smoothly and to really scale operations, strong operations management platforms can make all the difference. Dronedesk, created by Grey Rock Innovations Ltd, tackles this exact problem. They say that this platform helps drone operators reduce flight planning time by up to 63 percent, providing both fleet and crew management tools as well as “comprehensive flight planning, with fully automated air intelligence gathering, ground hazard data, weather, NOTAMs, checklists, risk assessments, and much more.”
Lifeseeker - Centum (Winner)
The winning product for this year’s Innovation Spotlight comes from the emergency response sector, and it’s no exaggeration to say that this product is life-saving technology. The premise, as Centum points out, for Lifeseeker is based on the simple premise that cell phones have proliferated throughout societies around the world. With this tool, emergency response professionals can turn those cell phones into emergency beacons, allowing search and rescue teams to quickly find the missing person. Lifeseeker, as Centum points out, doesn’t just reduce the time it takes to find a missing person in an emergency situation, but also reduces the risk for those search and rescue personnel.
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