Gulf cities targeted for drones

'Futuristic” Gulf cities, such as the UAE’s Dubai, are major targets for the civil unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) – or drone - industry, the head of Lehmann Aviation told Al Arabiya English on Sunday. The company wants to woo the region with a new micro drone, which Lehmann are hoping will come to rescue of construction, mass media, agriculture and oil and gas companies, among other sectors. Benjamin Lehmann, the founder and CEO of Lehmann Aviation, said the company’s new product,  a 1-kilogram fully automatic micro civil drone – a world first – can “enable anyone to capture professional quality aerial still images and video for a range of civil applications.” He plans to showcase the new mini drone in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Oman later this month. “We are focusing on the Middle East because of the new construction projects in the Middle East in particular … The drones can be used for mapping, communications and technical construction issues,” said Lehmann. “Dubai is a futuristic, advanced city – Dubai could be the first country in the world to have UAV’s flying for communications, aerial pictures of resorts. It’s easy to use, it can be launched from the back of your car and within three minutes, you can get images and video from the field.” Asked on the possibilities of the drones getting into the wrong hands, perhaps used for terrorism or spying, Lehmann said it was up to the authorities to monitor such issues, not the tech companies. “People who want to spy already have satellite technology, and even with radio-controlled aircraft, spying can be done. It’s impossible to change the growth in technology. The technology is there. The authorities have to take responsibility to ensure it does not get into the wrong hands,” Lehmann added. Albawaba Business