Unmanned Systems: Keeping People and the Economy Alive in the Time of Social Distancing 

By Sarah Dimock

Many industries have been slowly integrating the use of drones and other unmanned systems technology into their businesses for years now, but with social distancing globally in effect due to the recent COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, the time for companies to unleash the robots is now. Using unmanned systems to help us save more lives is a no-brainer, but rather than replacing our jobs they might actually help save us and the economy too. 

According to Bernard Marr writing for Forbes, “This pandemic has fast-tracked the "testing" of robots and drones in public as officials seek out the most expedient and safe way to grapple with the outbreak and limit contamination and spread of the virus.” China, a leader in the unmanned systems industry, has been choosing to implement unmanned systems for everything from delivery services to disinfecting hospitals to make areas safer before medical personnel reenter rooms. Canadian companies are currently working to get drones ready for the transportation of medicine and other critical supplies.  “Drone Delivery Canada (DDC) says it could take as little as two weeks for the company to roll out a basic drone-delivery system to transport blood tests, deliver blood samples, or haul medical supplies as the COVID-19 pandemic continues,” says Lindsay Kelly of Northern Ontario Business. 

The United States has been using drones to help first responders for years. Unmanned systems are currently helping with law enforcement, public security, and search and rescue. We’ve already started to use drones in construction and mining, in farming, in cars, in factories, and for delivery services. Keeping businesses running and people employed may be a matter of leaning heavier into critical drone production, operation, and maintenance. 

“Overall, the use of unmanned systems is creating more jobs,” says Capitol’s director of master’s programs, Dr. Richard Baker. In a previous interview, Dr. Baker drove home the point that this is technology that people can and would need to work in conjunction with. “The first people that worry about them are pilots,” he said. “Are we going to be replaced by them, and that answer is absolutely not. This is an environment that is complementary to manned aviation. We will eventually see manned and unmanned aircraft working together. We’ll see aircraft and water and ground vehicles working together because they’ll be communicating. This is a world that is growing rapidly and it’s increasing the number of jobs.” 

At a time where an unprecedented number of people find themselves unemployed, creating jobs that meet our new version of in-demand could help keep the economy going. By investing in unmanned systems that will help businesses stay open with less social/physical interaction we would actually create employment opportunities in a new and growing industry that would likely remain relevant even after this crisis passes. 

“From the quiet place of our remote offices we are seeing a silent revolution on the rise…This seemed like a good value prop before. Now it’s priceless.” - Military Embedded Systems