Public Opinion on Drones: A Multimodal Analysis
(Room Innovation Hub-- Booth 2727)
05 May 16
10:00 AM
-
4:00 PM
Tracks:
Air, Commercial, Research and Development
Small unmanned aerial systems (UAS), or drones, are quickly being developed for public service, commercial, hobbyist, and research applications as technological advancements reduce costs, expand sensor options, and simplify the flying process. Estimates vary, but perhaps half a million drones have been sold in the last 3 years, Amazon was selling 10,000 UAS monthly by December 2014, and the Consumer Electronics Association predicts a minimum global market of $1 billion for consumer drones by 2018. UAS are rapidly becoming mainstream and are no longer part of a niche market. In the face of this expanding market, our research has analyzed sentiment toward non-military drone use between 2013 and 2015. RTI has conducted 4 sentiment analysis projects in the past 3 years, including 2 surveys, social media analysis, and news media analysis. The research has covered government, private, and academic use of UAS. Our data demonstrates unexpected trends and shifts in opinions and perspectives. The presentation will summarize these trends.