I’m not sure what exactly I expected from an expo dedicated to unmanned aerial vehicles and quadcopters—drones, for short. A convention floor buzzing with spinning propellers overhead? Not so, thanks to some fun-hating fire codes. A bunch of old men in fatigues? A few, but they were far outnumbered by open-mouthed hobbyists and awestruck children. A small but vocal contingent of protesters? Well, that was unavoidable.
It’s hard to describe the crowd at Saturday’s Drone Expo, the first event of its kind, or pin it to any one subculture. Filmmakers, photographers, engineers and hobbyists from around the country combed the floor of the LA Sports Arena to check out new drones, prepackaged camera-mounted kits and 3-D printed parts. The largest emphasis was on aerial photography, but the event catered to more than just the local industry crowd. The expo’s keynote insisted that we’re about to enter a world where (pending FAA regulations) airborne robotics will become as accessible as smartphones. For now, outside of a few entry-level models, they’re mostly relegated to a world where you need to know about hot swapping rotors and whatever the hell a gimbal is. It’s clear, though, that these humble Tesla-over-Edison-type enthusiasts are at the forefront of a technological revolution.
Photograph: Michael Juliano
The direction of that revolution depends on whom you talk to. For the dozen or so protesters on-hand, it signals a future with an army of LAPD drones, a deterioration of personal privacy and a death-from-above policy exported across the globe.
But for expo attendees, drones are a means to carrying out everything from agricultural surveying to some seriously high-tech light shows. And, since this is LA, they're the rising star in our local entertainment industry—fan zines, promotional stunts and all.
Photograph: Michael Juliano
Maybe you’ve already caught a drone scoping out Coachella or Stanley Cup celebrations from above; or surely you've seen videos of surreal vantage points of the Santa Monica Pier and Downtown skyline. After seeing some of the tech on display at the Drone Expo, it wouldn't be surprising to find a flying robot responsible for a near-future farmers’ market delivery or a Facebook album of nightclub photos.