Drones and their various uses have continuously evolved over the past few years. With this comes a lot of news and controversy surrounding the usage of the machines.

It was not too long ago that Amazon shocked the tech world by announcing Prime Air, a drone delivery service that would send packages directly to customers. However the normalization and proliferation of drones raises important questions.

Security is one of the  biggest issues surrounding UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) usage. For this purpose, at a recent NASA convention the vice president of Amazon Prime Air, Gur Kimchi, addressed these security concerns by proposing a drone highway built in the sky. While drones continue to gain momentum and popularity among small and large corporations, there are many reasons to consider whether they will be a part of your business in the future.

Today, owning a drone for multi-purpose business uses is quickly becoming a realistic thing. Though businesses are currently prohibited from using drones,  consumers can purchase drones them for personal and domestic uses.  As their popularity continues to increase, the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) is working on rules and regulations. Some regulations include: drones should always stay in their pilots’ sight, no flying within five miles of any airport or at night, and companies will be required to apply for an FAA permit. These guidelines are set to be released in either 2016 or 2017.

Industries such as oil, gas, utilities, farming and agricultural, news, and even advertising could realize benefits from drones by using them to monitor and inspect property and equipment, enhance business activities and many other uses.

A great example is the startup Matternet, which primarily develops drones and has been using UAVs to deliver critical supplies like medicine in areas of the world that don’t have efficient and reliable road systems. Therefore, products of this type could help expand our capabilities for humanitarian services and structures in times of crisis.

If applying to the FAA is not your priority yet, it is possible to attend various related events such as the Drone World Expo which will help by providing further information about the rules and regulations revolving around drone usage. You could also get training for drone flying with companies such as Spectair Academy.

Even though FAA has not yet approved the commercial use of drones, it is safe to say that they will be part of our future. Unfortunately, the rules set to be released in 2016 could limit the potential business uses of drones. Therefore, it is probably wiser to wait and do plenty of research before implementing the use of these futuristic machines.