What is a drone?.

What is a drone?

Drone - in a technological context, it is an unmanned aerial vehicle. Drones are formally known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs / UAVs) or unmanned aerial systems (UASes). Essentially an unmanned flying robot. UAVs can be controlled remotely, or they can fly autonomously using built-in software (flight plan), which works in close connection with onboard sensors and GPS systems.

In the recent past, unmanned aerial vehicles have had exclusively military applications, where they were originally used to destroy air targets and gather intelligence information. Now drones have found wide civilian applications, ranging from search and rescue operations, surveillance, monitoring weather, traffic, fire fighting, for personal use, business with an emphasis on photography and video filming, in agriculture and even in cargo delivery services.

Historical facts

The first unmanned aerial vehicle was implemented in 1935 on the example of the full-size biplane De Havilland DH82B "Queen Bee". It was equipped with a radio and a control servo located in the back seat. Later it was used as a live target in practice shooting from anti-aircraft installations in order to train gunners. A total of 380 De Havilland DH82B Queen Bee aircraft were built. The term "drone" originated from this very historical event.

At the end of 2012, Chris Anderson resigns as editor-in-chief of Wired magazine to dedicate himself to drones at 3DRobotics Inc. Later, within the walls of this company, a unique APM flight code was first written, on the basis of which the famous high-end autopilot, Pixhawk, was implemented. At the moment, the company specializes in the field of UAVs and implements its advanced solutions in such areas as photography and video filming, construction, utilities, telecommunications services, as well as in ensuring public safety.

At the end of 2013, the well-known public company "Amazon" was one of the first to start using commercial drones in test mode to deliver products for sale. Later in 2016, this idea was supported by the Polytechnic University of Virginia and the State Institute together with the holding Alphabet Inc on the example of the test project "Wing", the purpose of which was to implement the delivery of goods or essentials purchased on the Internet using drones.

Soon, drone formation began to expand. Embry-Riddle - Aviation University, has long been a training ground for the aviation industry. He currently offers a Bachelor of Science in Unmanned Systems, a Master of Science in Unmanned Systems, and also conducts basic training courses in unmanned aircraft systems.

2016 From the BI Intelligence report "The drones Report": "Profit from the sale of drones by 2021 will increase to $ 12 billion. BI Intelligence analysts have calculated that in 2015 it was already more than $ 8 billion. "

Drones are widely used in the field of surveillance and journalism, since UAVs have the ability to access places where it is impossible for a person to reach.

Drones in the enterprise

The integration of unmanned aerial vehicles and the Internet has made it possible to use drones everywhere in the enterprise; Drones run on ground-based IoT sensor networks, help agricultural companies monitor land and crops, and power companies use drones to survey power lines and related equipment.

Drones and Security

The high demand for commercial and private drones has also caused a number of safety concerns regarding the consequences of collisions and loss of control. In this regard, many countries have introduced a number of amendments to the air code at the legislative level. No fly zones have appeared.

According to Russian legislation, drones with a maximum takeoff weight of 0.25kg to 30kg are subject to mandatory registration. It is proposed to create a database of drones and other UAVs, which will be given the official name - "Unmanned Civil Aircraft" (UAV).