Interdrone

The premier commercial-drone show returns to Las Vegas.

- Patrick Sherman

If you’re anything like me, you go to drone shows—or read about drone shows—to find out about the latest and greatest toys. There is no bigger thrill than exploring each aisle and being taken by surprise by some new piece of hardware that promises to do something that you thought was impossible.

The drone industry is changing, however. The technology is now only as useful as the data it is capable of producing—and the price that someone is willing to pay for that data. Ogling drones is still a happy pastime, one in which I frequently indulge, but acquiring that hardware means having a plan to put it to work.

To understand where the industry is heading and how it’s changing, I spoke with Katie Flash after the show wrapped up. Having worked as InterDrone’s content director for the past several years, she has now been promoted to conference chairperson, which gives her a unique perspective on who is interested in drones and why.

“This year, we saw a really large upswing in government employees attending the show,” she says. “It was an almost nonexistent category when we launched the show in 2015, and it now accounts for more than 40 percent of our audience.” She continues, “Public safety officials purchased more full-conference passes than any other individual segment. It’s been a really interesting, really transformative year.”

Among the changes from previous years was the length of individual sessions, which stretched from 45 to 60 minutes.