Drone piloting is already possible with artificial intelligence.

Although 2020 was a year of break due to the pandemics, drone operations coordinated and monitored by Enaire - the public agency that regulates air navigation – soared 207% from 1,636 to 1,646, which is 362% more than 2018. They registered their historic record of 539 flights across Spain last May.

This sector is clearly on the rise and, according to various reports, in 2035, 11,000 people will be employed nationwide. It is expected that it will generate 1,200 million euros in annual revenue. Although it might seem like a new technology, these ships actually have a history dating back to the 19th Century. The Austrians launched unmanned hot-air balloon-mounted bombs against Venice as early as 1849. However, something comparable to the first drone was not drawn until 1907.

This is all history. The drone sector will be a key component in many industries by the middle of the decade. The Government believes that drones can play a significant role in people's mobility in the future, having seen a lot of progress in the past twenty years.

Drones are used most often in the following areas: logistics, medical, facility maintenance, agriculture, and other uses. According to Gartner, the technology consultancy Gartner predicts that these drones will be sold more than 500,000 worldwide by 2023.

Spain is home to the most drone operators in the world. The Ministry of Transport's Strategic Plan for the Development of the Civil Sector of Drones in Spain foresees that the number of small drones for professional use will surpass 51,400 in 2035, and exceed 53,500 by 2050. This growth is also evident in the economy with an impact of 1,220million euros in 2035, and 1,520 million by 2050. It is estimated that 35 million drones can fly over Europe next year, and seven of ten of them will be used for commercial purposes.

These machines are becoming smaller, more powerful, and... smarter as technology evolves. He tells the newspaper that drones are needed to be safer. "They need to fly around people without causing harm and also have greater intelligence, which is that they have more abilities to operate without the need for a person." Anibal Ollero is an engineer and director of the Robotics Laboratory at the University of Seville.

The United States proved its industrial power last summer by combining artificial intelligence (AI), and drones. A number of military drones and robots that resemble tanks took over the skies and highways 40 miles from Seattle. His mission was to locate suspected terrorists hiding among various buildings.

It was an exercise organized by the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. It was designed to see how AI can be used in more military systems.

Ollero says, "We are leaders on aerial robotics research." He is actually the author of five out of the fifteen most-cited publications on unmanned vehicle technology. Scopus, which is the largest scientific publication database, says that this engineer has 216 publications while the next author has 151.

Ollero, just like in the US is using artificial intelligence to control small aircraft. Its purpose is however, quite different. AERIAL-CORE, which is the name of the autonomous drone project Seville university is developing with partners, is intended for maintenance and supervision civil installations.

It was funded with 8.6 millions as part of Horizon 2020's research and innovation program. It was launched at the end 2019 and the first tests were conducted to inspect power lines. They flew very close, even touching the ground.