Drones: a Noble Gift to Society

DRONES: A Noble Gift to Society

Acknowledgment

I heartily acknowledge Mrs. Pushpa T.S, Assistant professor of MCA Department, for providing us with this opportunity and for supporting throughout my Endeavour. I take this opportunity to express gratitude to my course instructor, Mrs. Pushpa T.S who has always been supportive and has guided us throughout. She has helped me in numerous ways and her invaluable comments and suggestions made me feel comfortable throughout. I am very much thankful for the immense help and moral support.

Abstract

           In the modern world, we are too dependent when it comes to technology .There is no denying that we simply can't live without it now. Smart phones are always in our hands with speedy access to the internet on- the- go to the extent of instantly getting in touch with almost anyone across the world. We shop online, order food online and make bill payments online, to name a few.

             Drones (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) are new emerging equipment in science and technology which play a major role in addressing so many problems in Society and they are surely going to standardize our living.

             Although the word 'Drones' come from the military background, but today it is offering numerous exciting opportunities with equal number of challenges. Just like any other aircraft, drones must be flown in safe way.

INTRODUCTION

Drones overall will be more impactful than I think people recognize, in positive ways to help society.

                                                                                                        - Bill Gates

 

          DRONE word stands for Dynamic Remotely Operated Navigation Equipment. Drones are more formally known as unmanned aircraft systems (UASes) or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). A drone, in technical terms, is an unmanned aircraft without onboard pilots.

           A drone is a flying robot that can be operated remotely by either a human or by a computer. Drones are equipped with state of the art technology such as onboard GPS, infrared Sensors, and Lasers and embedded system for controlling purpose and flight plans. The unmanned vehicle consists of mainly two parts, the drone itself and control system.

           Drones come in different size, configuration, shape and characteristics.

Drone System Parts

BRIEF HISTORY OF DRONES 

            The first drones use in history was on August 22, 1849 when Austria launched 200 pilotless balloon bombs against Venice. This was followed by Japan's World War 2 balloon attacks on North America. The birth of modern drones began with US Air Force in 1959 and used in 1960 under the code name Red Wagon against Soviet Union shoot down.

             After 1980s, Drones were successfully developed to use in military and currently they are becoming increasingly popular in commercial and private market for various uses.

 

NEED FOR DRONES

            The need for Drones became apparent when US army took serious note on its army pilot's losses during aerial attacks in hostile territory. Drones are used in situations where manned flight is considered too risky, too expensive or too difficult.

            So many inventions happened in 21st century like smart phones, social networking, GPS, Artificial Intelligence, IOT, Robotics so on etc but problems still persist in the world in fields like Agriculture, Healthcare, Transportation and Wars. Satellites provide aerial view but they cannot go physically to assist on field problems. But drones play a major role to minimize the amount of burden these sectors are facing and they are surely going to standardize our living.

TYPES OF DRONES

Multi Rotor Drones: These are made with central body and multiple rotors usually four, but can have six to eight rotors that power propellers to take flight up. They can be lifted up vertically and easy to use. Stability in air is the drawback for this. These are used in Aerial Photography and Video Aerial Inspection.

Fixed Wing Drones: These are designed more like traditional airplanes which have a central body and two wings and a single propeller. They cannot be lifted up vertically and need space for launching. They can cover large area with high speed and are stable in the air. These are used in Aerial Mapping, Pipeline and Power Line Inspection.

Single Rotor Drones: These are designed similarly like a helicopter with one big rotor plus a small sized rotor on the tail for direction and stability. They can be lifted up vertically, are strong and durable and have long lasting flight time. They are expensive and complex. These are used in Research, Aerial LIDAR laser scan, Surveying.

Fixed Wing Hybrid VTOL: Still in development.

     Multi Rotor Drone

                                                       Fixed Wing Drone  

  Single Rotor Drone

IMPACT OF DRONES ON SOCIETY

         Drones are used in variety of areas from agriculture to vacuuming up ocean waste to delivering pizza, and more. Below are some of the main uses of drones across industries.

1. Military: Drones are used to protect lives of the military men and women; they are armed with weapons and live video remote communications to troops in ground. Drones are used for observation of unknown areas/buildings, force protection and enemy tracking. Drones are great tools for assisting in searches for lost or injured soldiers.

Some of Indian Military Drones:  DRDO AURA, Lakshya PTA, Pawan UAV, Gagan UAV

2. Healthcare: Modern medicine has been evolved tremendously but it has been rather difficult in many rural or forest filled areas around the world to reach out. Drones are used for delivery of drugs and medical equipments. One major advantage of drones now is live organs which can save people can be transported without the hassle of traffic to the needed location.

Drones in Healthcare

3. Agriculture: Drones are used in agriculture field for saving time, increasing in yields and monitoring crops through integrated GIS mapping. They can be used for checking water efficiency and in analysis of fields and soil.

Drones in Agriculture

4. Disaster Control and Humanitarian Aid: Drones assist in collecting information during natural disasters like hurricanes, earthquakes like damage evaluation, locating victims, and delivering essential aids like food and medical supplies.

Drones for Disaster Control

5. Conservation: Drones help scientists with observation of endangered species and monitoring wildlife protection. They also help to counter forest fires.

Drones in Wildlife Conservation

6. Weather Forecasting: The world's weather is changing rapidly which is unpredictable to humans although we have numerous software and hardware equipments to forecast weather. Drones can physically go up and follow the weather patterns as they develop.
7. Construction: Drones provide easy access to difficult or large sites as well as tall and complex structures. They are used for providing visual material for clients and staff. They can be used for building inspections and monitoring on-site.
8. Sports: Drones with robotic camera give television users a new experience to watch sports from aerial view.
9. Entertainment: Drones help film producers to capture dramatic aerial view videos without the hassle of using expensive helicopters.
10. Event Photography: Drones are already in use for event photography/film such as weddings, audio functions, and political meetings. Floating projection screens, synchronized light shows are exciting to audiences.
11. Food Services Industry: Ordering food online and delivering are enabling restaurants to downsize their physical locations and lower expenses, but delivering commission costs are still putting break for their profits. Some restaurants are using drones for cheaper and faster delivery. Drones are in big practical use for pizza delivery.
12. Telecommunication: Drones are used for inspecting telecommunication towers frequently to ensure service reliability. During natural disasters sending people for checking telecommunication towers would be too dangerous and time consuming, so companies like Harvey, AT&T and Verizon launched drones in Houston, Texas to observe their towers.
13. Law Enforcement: Drones help police in search and rescue operations and documenting crime scenes. Drones also help in traffic and accident management.
14. Journalism: News channels are using drones for aerial photography. Drones help in understanding context of news stories and they also enhance production value and improvisation of documentary storytelling.
15. Urban Planning: While population of cities are growing there is a need for urban planning which ensures systematic usage of places and drones play a major role in giving aerial view of urban cities.
16. Real Estate Business: Drones are of high value for capturing pictures of real estate properties which help in selling the property for seller and gives clear cut view of property to buyers.

DRAWBACKS OF DRONES

      Drones are of great use for society in all aspects when used properly. But if we don't give much attention are if we use them for illegal activities drones only can turn into drawback for people. Some of the disadvantages drones are below.

• Prone to hacking: Hackers can easily invade to the main control system of drones, replacing the intended users as new controllers of the device and can sneak into private information or can start to corrupt the files.
• Spying: Drones can be used people who want to spy on activities of secret services of government or a notable organization which leads to leaking of top most priority information to go into the hands of bad people.
• Shorter lifespan: Even though drones are very convenient, the lifetime of drones is shorter than the traditional cameras. And due to sticking to the principle for designing light weight drones they may not be in a condition to be up in the air due to battery or power issues.
• Safety and security: Invading in a person's life without notice is violating against basic human rights. Drones can be in the hands of wrong people who can watch a person's life activities without their consent.
• Vulnerable to Wild Animal Attacks: Drones fly in high altitudes and can encounter birds such as eagles which try to capture or damage the drones. This makes drone to suddenly disappear. Drones have to be safe when flying near areas which consist of high concentration of wild animals.

FUTURE OF DRONES:

• Drones for Searching and rescuing human lives
• Drones to take food orders in restaurants
• Submarine drones to swim in sea and to fly
• Drone flying cars
• Drones which can take Laser rays as instructions rather than radio communication
• Ambulance drones

CONCLUSION:

       Although drones are criticized more for violating human privacy and irresponsibility by hobbyists, new uses of drones are promising to greatly benefit the society. Today, In society Drones are used to capturing new videos, recording vacation travel logs, filming movies, surveying , delivering packages , military purposes , agriculture ,  predictions on weather and so many that drones are really needed for the society for fast pace growth.

REFERENCES:

• popularmechanics.com
• grinddrone.com
• bluelightsdigital.com
• dronezon.com
• defenceforumindia.com

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