By Futurist Thomas Frey
What the drone revolution got right, what it got wrong, and the surprises nobody saw coming
Let’s Start With a Confession
In September 2014, I sat down and wrote a column called “192 Future Uses for Flying Drones.” I used my triple checkerboard brainstorming technique — 24 categories, 8 ideas each — and let my imagination run. Delivery drones, surveillance drones, agricultural drones, swarm drones, communication drones, even swarm clothing. I predicted one billion drones in the sky by 2030.
That column got picked up everywhere. Libraries cited it. Industry groups referenced it. It was one of the most-read things I’d ever written. And standing here in 2026 — twelve years later — it’s time to do what futurists rarely do: look honestly at the scorecard.
Some of it aged remarkably well. Some of it was embarrassingly optimistic on timing. And a few things nobody predicted at all turned out to be among the most important drone stories of the past decade. Let’s go through it.
Continue reading… “Drones Were Always Going to Change the World — Just Not on Anyone’s Schedule”