Drone Strategy Consulting

Our definition: Provide services to clients when approaching the UAS market to determine how best to integrate UAS into their mission.

Services include:

• Strategy workshops
• Policy navigation
• Market and impact analysis
• Business case analysis
• Risk and threat analysis
• Technology scouting
• Industry ecosystem analysis

Project delivery highlights:

UAS Center of Excellence
NUAIR

Our team supported the development of an UAS Center of Excellence for New York. In collaboration with the NUAIR team, Deloitte provided a strategic plan to advance the region’s UAS industrial base and continued growing the economy.

UAM ConOps
NASA

Our team worked with many stakeholders to develop a concept of operations for Urban Air Mobility (UAM), a transformative concept to move people, data, and cargo in the airspace over metropolitan areas using autonomous aircraft.

Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) Horizon Scanning

Deloitte conducted high-level technology scouting and horizon scanning, levering Deloitte’s SensingBridge platform, to provide AFRL with an understanding of cutting-edge technology and the global Research and Development (R&D) market. These scans identified major technological, industrial, and international trends in R&D, allowing AFRL to gain critical insights into the future direction of technology as well as near peer competitor capabilities, and make informed decisions on partnerships and resource allocation.

Our definition: Work with clients to develop a pilot scale plan for a complete UAS program integration.

Services include:

• Vendor scouting
• Test and evaluation support
• System architecture support
• Technological modeling
• Modeling and simulation
• Flight operation planning
• Ecosystem development

Project delivery highlights:

Drone Inspection Service
SoCal Edison
Deloitte partnered with a leading utility to stand up the implementation and operation of aerial imaging and aerial lidar asset inspection programs. The aerial imaging program inspects transmission and distribution assets located in high fire areas with HD RGB imagery from multiple vantage points via UAS and helicopters. The aerial lidar program inspects transmission and distribution assets via lidar data captured by fixed wing aircraft and helicopters. The program creates feature classified lidar 3D point clouds that utilize software with AI and Machine Learning models to identify vegetation encroachment and asset structural risks in high fire areas.

Our definition: Support clients through large-scale UAS program implementation.

Services include:

• Advanced operations
• Waiver and certification support
• Fleet management
• Field operation management
• Demand forecasting and modeling
• Data management and security
• Training program development

Project delivery highlights:

Drone Inspection Service
SoCal Edison
Deloitte partnered with a leading utility to stand up the implementation and operation of aerial imaging and aerial lidar asset inspection programs. The aerial imaging program inspects transmission and distribution assets located in high fire areas with HD RGB imagery from multiple vantage points via UAS and helicopters. The aerial lidar program inspects transmission and distribution assets via lidar data captured by fixed wing aircraft and helicopters. The program creates feature classified lidar 3D point clouds that utilize software with AI and Machine Learning models to identify vegetation encroachment and asset structural risks in high fire areas.

¹ Aerospace Industries Association, “AIA, Deloitte Study: US Advanced Air Mobility Market Could Reach $115B by 2035,” January 26, 2021.
² Federal Aviation Administration, “UAS by the Numbers,” last modified January 3, 2022.
³ Nevada Institute for Autonomous Systems, “8 Major Companies Using Drone Technology,” October 27, 2018.