Drones are used for various applications like monitoring agricultural fields, aerial photography, search and rescue operations, etc.
Ever thought how a bird might view our Earth while flying in the sky? A drone is an instrument through which you can have that bird's eye view aerially. Drone is mostly associated with photography but can be used for a variety of applications. The drone is the generic name but it is referred to as ‘unmanned aerial vehicle’. Drones do not need humans to be present inside them, in order to fly. They can be controlled remotely from a faraway distance.
The history of using drones dates back to war in the year of 1849 for defence. Since then, drones are optimised for its size, cost, performance, and utility, especially in the defence scenario. Recently, research and development is focused on making drones for commercial applications. Since the last 5 years, Amazon is testing drones for delivery of its products. This would revolutionise the e-commerce sector by saving time, and efficient delivery.
A typical drone consists of sensors, computing software, actuators, and a communication system. Sensors are used to obtain position and movement of the aircraft and avoid collision and to detect the target. Advanced computing algorithms and microcontrollers are used for precise calculation. Actuators include speed controllers linked to the engine of the drone. The communication system is built to follow commands given by the remote controller. Thus, you can control the vehicle in the air like we generally do, while playing video games.
The device is used for various applications like monitoring agricultural fields, aerial photography, video recording, surveillance, 3-D mapping, search and rescue operations, and navigation (like in the famous recent movie URI: The Surgical Strike). Startups in India like DETECT Technologies, AUS, and 1 Martian Way, are working towards promising a better experience and coming up with some amazing drones for us!
Edited by: Anomitra Dey
Reference:
1. https://www.bbc.com/news/business-48132021
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unmanned_aerial_vehicle
3. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2017.02.017
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unmanned_aerial_vehicle
