Unmanned Aerial Systems as a Driving Force in the Digital Information Age

Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), while no longer viewed as a disruptive technology, are still in their infancy regarding how this form of technology fits within the digital information age. This commentary review examines the history of UAS technology and how the rapid growth of UAS driven primarily by hardware in the form of centralized controllers, IMUs, and GPS, getting smaller, lighter, and cheaper. While the growth of UAS demonstrates itself as an outcome of the modern digital age, we argue that it now has the potential to drive the information age forward in four primary areas: cloud-based technology, Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence, and Big Data.