Matthew Schroyer
@matthew_ryan
Professional Society of Drone Journalists (PSDJ)
Founder & President
Entrepreneurial Leadership
in STEM Teaching and learning (EnLiST)
Drones for Schools Developer
Drones for Development:Robotic Companions Aiding Citizens and Journalists of the Developing World
330+
journalists
educators
engineers
38
countries
Afghanistan
Australia
Bangladesh
Brazil
Cambodia
Canada
Czech Republic
Denmark
Ecuador
Finland
France
Germany
Guatemala
Holland
Hong Kong
India
Indonesia
Italy
Jamaica
Korea
Latvia
Mexico
Nepal
Netherlands
New Zealand
Nicaragua
Nigeria
Pakistan
Philippines
Portugal
Russia
South Africa
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Tanzania
Thailand
United Kingdom
United States
GARTNER HYPE CYCLE FOR TECHNOLOGIES
STATE OF THE DRONE
Gartner, 2010 Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies
STATE OF THE DRONE
Gartner, 2011 Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies
STATE OF THE DRONE
Gartner, 2012 Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies
STATE OF THE DRONE
Gartner, 2013 Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies
STATE OF THE DRONE
Gartner, 2014 Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies
1) Precision Agriculture
2) Remote Sensing
3) Disaster and Urban Planning
4) On-Demand Infrastructure
5) Reportage and Information
6) Building Human Capital
Major areas forimpact
Yamaha
RMax
Dawn of Modern Crop-dusting (1998)HISTORICAL CONTEXT
HISTORICAL CONTEXT Ag Drone Adoption in Japan
Configuration and Specifications of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle
(UAV) for Early Site Specific Weed Management. (PLOS one)Jorge Torres-Sánchez, Francisca López-Granados, Ana Isabel De Castro, José Manuel Peña-Barragán.
2025: PRECISION AGRICULTURE
2025: PRECISION AGRICULTURE
Precision Hawk
Lancaster IIISwappable
sensors
Flexible
pcb
2025: PRECISION AGRICULTURE
Drones Assist in Fukushima Disaster (2011)
• USAF in Guam deployed
RQ-4 Global Hawk 22
hours after earthquake
• Used infrared sensors to
detect the temperature of
the nuclear reactor
• Flew 20 missions,
encompassing 300 flight
hours
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
Image by: United States Navy
HISTORICAL CONTEXT Hyperspectral Remote Sensing
Drones for Schools, Champaign, Illinois, USA
2025: REMOTE SENSING AND DATA
HISTORICAL CONTEXT Post-hurricane mapping in Philippines (2014)
Flight time: 11.6 hours
Mapped: 48.6 sq km
Acquired: 5,139 images
Resolution: 5cm/px
Post-hurricane mapping in Philippines (2014)HISTORICAL CONTEXT
HISTORICAL CONTEXT Post-hurricane mapping in Philippines (2014)
HISTORICAL CONTEXT Post-hurricane mapping in Philippines (2014)
HISTORICAL CONTEXT Post-hurricane mapping in Philippines (2014)
HISTORICAL CONTEXT Urban planning in Albania (2014)
HISTORICAL CONTEXT Urban planning in Albania (2014)
2025: PLANNING AND RUNNING SMART CITIES
HISTORICAL CONTEXT DHL “Packetkopter,” Dec., 2013
2025: INFRASTRUCTURE ON DEMAND
Illegal
dumping
Hobbyist
drone
HISTORICAL CONTEXT Hobby Drone Finds Illegal Dumping (2011)
HISTORICAL CONTEXT Coal Ash Spill, North Carolina, USA (2014)
HISTORICAL CONTEXT Gezi Park Protests, Turkey (2013)
“Direct personal contact remains an essential element;
gathering information and gauging mood, context and
accuracy, and this is difficult to achieve remotely.
But there are applications where it may be too
dangerous or difficult to have a journalist ‘on the
ground’ where the ‘lone drone’ could be extremely
beneficial to the safety of news gatherers in the field.”
- Corcoran, ABC, 2014
HISTORICAL CONTEXT Drone Journalism: Newsgathering applications
of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in
covering conflict, civil unrest and disaster.
2025:HUMAN RIGHTS INVESTIGATIONS
ENVIRONMENTAL REPORTINGLIVESTREAMING
Adrian Nemeti, Romania, 2014
The “Maker Revolution” Takes Off (2006)
• Cheaper, smaller, faster processors and
memory makes inexpensive open-source
controllers possible
• Code and project ideas are shared freely
on the internet
• Cost of sensors and components drops,
making robotics an affordable hobby for
many
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
2025: SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES
WoeLab, Tongo
Thank you!(please drone responsibly)
