Drone Industry Fragility: EDRS – DRONELIFE

Despite rapid growth, new technology, and an evolving ecosystem, the drone industry is fragile, says Chris Raab. As the Energy Drone and Robotics Summit 2023 kicked off this afternoon in Houston, TX,  the CTO of drone manufacturer ACSL discussed the need for a global strategy to combat drone industry fragility.

Chris Raabe began his career in the aviation industry at Boeing.  He then received his PhD at the University of Tokyo, staying on as a faculty member for a number of years before joining ACSL, where he now serves as the Chief Technology Officer.  ACSL is a Japanese company just entering the US market with their small commercial drone, Soten.  From his position, Raab has a unique viewpoint on two of the major challenges that lead to drone industry fragility: geopolitical pressures and supply chain and manufacturing challenges.  Which countries are in a position to fulfill demand from both the development and the mass production standpoint?  How is Japan…