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Drones are here to stay. As the FAA struggles to put guidelines into place to protect airspace in the country and states fight for legislation that protects its citizen’s safety and privacy from them, drones are everywhere. Let’s look at what types of drones really stood out at the Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show (CES) earlier this year.

Drones at CES 2015

CES 2015 showcases the best and brightest innovations in all forms of technology from mobile phones to accessories to wearables and more. Drones were a highlight of CES with many companies coming out of the woodwork to showcase innovative and creative designs and the technology behind them. The big names like DJI and Airdog were there but so were many smaller drone companies, highlighting how everyone can enjoy the technology at some level.

airdog

Airdog featured live demos every few hours with professional skateboarders that showcased one of its drones that could follow your movement. This really was a theme of CES for drone manufacturers and vendors. They wanted to show how drones could be used in ways that showcased your life, not necessarily the life of those around you. The technology exists not only to follow you as you skateboard but as you snowboard, run, bike and swim, as Airdog showcased.

Microdrones were another theme among drone vendors, showcasing tiny drones that could fit in the palm of your hand. These drones often retailed for less than $50 and could be flown by children or just for someone looking to have fun. These drones came with small controllers with basic functionality and couldn’t be used to record video while in the air.

parrot-vr-drones

VR was a theme among the big names at CES – like Sony, Samung and Toshiba – and Parrot featured a drone controller that utilized VR technology to give you an up close look at what your drone is seeing as it takes off. They were the only drone manufacturer that seemed to be integrating this technology this year. Next year, it may be a whole different story as VR takes center stage.

HARWAR was featuring some military-esque drones that looked pretty hardcore but we weren’t allowed to take any photo or video of them. These drones looked pretty awesome, featuring 3K video recording technology and 4G wireless image transmission on the go.

There were many no name brands of drones on showcase, too, that really didn’t stand out or showcase anything new or exciting. The big names definitely owned the show and held live demos to show everyone just what their drones could do in the air. The indoor demos were pretty awesome, because they were in small, enclosed areas where you had to really know how to control the drone without crashing it.

No doubt going into the rest of 2015 and at CES 2016, drones will be an even bigger sight to see and I’m hoping at next year’s event, we see that much more innovative and leaps forward with drone technology from everyone in attendance.

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Melissa Popp is Director of Digital Engagement for Altitude SEO, a boutique agency helping small businesses win with content online. As a digital strategist with a passion for technology and travel, she coaches her partners to connect with their audience through experience optimization, with the goal of retaining more loyal visitors, creating brand ambassadors, and increasing conversion goals. She can be found online writing for About Travel, TechNorms, and The Emmys. Past clients include Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, and Samsung.