UAV

Will remote-controlled pilotless aircraft, otherwise known as drones, cover the skies over towns, villages, and cities? With the new advances in drone technology inventors, businessmen and other consumers are seeing how they can utilise them to make them more advantageous and beneficial not only for themselves but for industries and even whole populations. I will inspect the modern designs that will soon have an everyday influence on our life in the immediate future, ranging from filming to NASA’s new 10 drone-copter.

Since their creation, unmanned drones have always been connected with the military. One of the first drone-related technologies was recorded in 1849 when Austria sent bomb filled balloons towards Venice. Since then, drones have been developed to be used as training targets, in reconnaissance and as missiles. Currently, America’s military is having a surge in military drone tests. Their objective is to be able to use drones on land, air and water autonomously without using a large team of people to operate them. This will prevent the risk of military personnel dying and allow military tasks to be carried out with more precision. However, are we progressing too far? Can we trust them to work on their own?

Camera-equipped quadcopters and drones have, in the last decade, evolved into a mainstream consumer product. At CES (Consumer Electronics Show), an internationally renowned electronics and technology trade show, the camera drone market saw a large increase in numbers with the majority of the market being covered by DJI and Parrot. The increase in popularity has mainly been due to the way drones can fly to places where humans cannot reach and capture breathtaking footage. This enhances films and videos, especially on Youtube such as the video logger channels “BF vs GF” and the new “Casey Neistat” video “Snowboarding With The NYPD,” acquiring 12 million views in a matter of a couple weeks. Drones have even been used to capture the X-games in Aspen, as the new tracking capabilities the drones can follow competitors, amplifying the experience for viewers.

One particular progress in development comes from delivery drones. Amazon has predicted that drones are the unsurpassed idea for improvement of their company’s future. Drones are fast, efficient and do not get stuck on the motorway. Shopping goods are not the only cargo that can be carried; urgent medical supplies such as drugs or even blood samples can be sent to the healthcare system as well as to patients. Nasa has also adapted the drones to create a 10-drone superdrone that is able to hover with the stability of a quadcopter, however, the wings and rudders can pivot a full 180 degrees granting the vehicle a considerable advantage in flight mobility (as much as 4 times more effective than a helicopter).

With their rapid advancements, it seems to be that drones are taking over the world around us. Are they a viable solution to problems of the future? We’ll just have to wait and see…

Written by Tobias Warn