Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, or drones, are useful in any field where an aerial perspective is advantageous or is needed to be performed in a timely and efficient manner. Individuals, commercial entities, and governments have come to realize that drones have countless applications, a few of which include:

• Aerial photography for journalism and film
• Geographic mapping of inaccessible terrain and locations
• Express shipping and delivery
• Disaster management and rescue operations
• Precision crop monitoring
• Storm tracking and forecasting hurricanes and tornadoes

 

Videos

The Drone Business (2:10) from The Economist

 

Drones Over America: A Booming Business in North Dakota? (4:41) from The New York Times

 

Infographics

• Drones Descend on the Commercial Sector from Progressive Technology Federal Systems, Inc. (PTFS)
• Invasion of the Drones from Drone Training Headquarters

 

Articles

• Drones Reporting for Work, by Goldman Sachs
• Drone market shows positive outlook with strong industry growth and trends, by Andrew Meola, published by Business Insider

 

Academic Programs and Courses

• Aerospace Engineering Program
• CPE 416: Autonomous Mobile Robotics
• Mechanical Engineering – Mechatronics Concentration

 

Student Clubs and Organizations

• Aircraft Design and Construction Club
• American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA)
• Cal Poly Design, Build, Fly Club
• Cal Poly Robotics Club
• SloFlyers RC Airplane Club

 

Other Way to Engage

• Learning to fly: Lab-sponsored drone competition engages Cal Poly students
• Autonomous Unmanned Aerial Vehicle
• Drone Provides Innovative Storytelling Tool

 

Internship and Industry-Related Opportunities

• Keep an eye on Amazon Prime Air jobs for potential internship
• Get your FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Certification - learn more from the AOPA’s Guide
• Conduct an informational interview with someone working in the field

 

Professional Associations and LinkedIn Groups

• Association of Professional Drone Pilots
• Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI)
• Professional Society of Drone Journalists
• UAV Industry Careers LinkedIn Group
• UAV (Drone) Professional Operators & Entrepreneurs LinkedIn Group

 

Sample Job Titles

• Drone Instructor
• Drone Operator
• Drone Videographer
• iOS Developer
• Lead Drone Architect
• UAS Pilot

 

Top Companies

• Top 100 Drone Companies in 2018 - This article by UAV Coach organizes top companies by category according to their core offerings
• Popular Quadcopter Drone Manufacturers 2018 – Air Drone Craze discusses the top drone building companies