What is a Drone Used For
If you have ever wondered what is a drone used for, you have come to the right place. With technology continually improving, drones are an amazing piece of equipment that can be used in so many ways that a lot of people don’t even realize.
Drones are being used in so many ways i.e. saving lives in search and rescue, military, delivery services, wildlife conservation, the construction industry, mining industry, agricultural industry, fishing, security, real estate, and that’s just a few examples, but will cover more in-depth below. Oh, and of course, they are used for recreational purposes too!!
What is a Drone Used For
Delivery Services
What is a drone delivery? Drone delivery is where a package is delivered by air using a drone instead of using traditional freight services like courier vans and trucks.
The very first drone delivery was back in 2016 where an order of Dominos pizzas was delivered to a customer in New Zealand. The pizzas were successfully delivered to the address using GPS navigation.
Drone deliveries are getting more popular with some well know companies jumping on board and using drones instead of the traditional way.
Some of the companies using drone delivery services are:
- Amazon
- Dominos
- UPS
- Walmart
- DHL
Military
Military drones have been used for many years dating right back to around the 1850s where the military used to use unmanned balloons and filled them full of explosives to take out their enemy.
As the years have gone by and drone technology has improved, drones used in the military are very powerful. Some of these drones can fly at an altitude well over 30,000ft (9.100mtr), with a range of over 124 miles (200km).
Obama Drone Stikes
During Obama’s time in office, his administration deployed over 500 drone strikes on Yemen, Somalia, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.
The US uses several types of military drones. Only 2 of the drones carry out attacks, these are known as the ‘Preditors’ and ‘Reaper’ drones. The MQ-9 Reaper is the most powerful military drone the US deploys for drone strikes.
The MQ-9 Reaper has a wingspan of 66ft (20.1mtrs) and can fly at a maximum altitude of 50,000ft (15,240mtrs), and can carry a massive weight of 3,750lbs (1,705kg), and can fly at a maximum speed of 230mph (370.2kmph), and its range is a huge 1,150 miles (1,870 km). The MQ-9 Reaper uses laser-guided missiles also known as ‘Hellfire’ missiles.
Emergency Search and Rescue
Search and rescue drones are used by emergency services such as Fire Fighters, Police, Search and Rescue services.
Using a drone for search and rescue can save lives by cutting down the hours, sometimes even days of searching through bushland to find someone. This can be done by mapping the search area using AI software, GPS, and best of the art technology cameras. Most search and rescue drones also have a speaker attached to them so they can inform the person that help is on the way once they are found by the drone.
Some search and rescue drones are fitted with infrared technology making it easier to find people or animals in a mission.
Drones are a great advantage for search and rescue missions where it is impossible for search crews to access an area due to putting their lives in danger.
Unmanned aerial vehicles are also used for surf life-saving on the beaches. The drone is used to ensure people are safe and identify current rips, keep a lookout for sharks and other marine life that could cause any danger.
Drones make rescue missions easier in the water if somebody is drowning or getting pulled out by a current rip and needs rescuing. It only takes seconds for the drone to get to the victim, not minutes like it does waiting for a surf lifesaver to rescue them on a paddleboard or boat. Most surf life-saving drones are equipped to deploy floating safety devices to ensure help gets to them quickly when they need it.
Agriculture
Using an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle in the agricultural industry saves time and money when compared to using manned aircraft such as airplanes, helicopters, or tractors on a farm.
With the use of thermal sensors, you can determine what parts of your farm are over watered or under watered helping you save time, money, and water for your crops.
Some of the agricultural drones can spray fertilizer and pesticides making it easier for you and once again saving money and time.
Some of the more expensive drones have the ability to plant seed also.
Drones are very helpful for mapping your farm and crops. With the available apps, you can easily measure your farm and crops within minutes.
Frequently flying over your crops and taking updated shots to compare them, you can soon see if there are potential issues with any crops and fix them before it gets too late.
Photography
What is a drone used for in photography? Drone photography is simply taking an aerial photograph or video from your Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. The growth of drone photography has skyrocketed in recent years as it is easy, cost-effective, plus the quality of the cameras in most drones are of high quality. Drone photography is being used every day by hobbyists and also commercial drone operators.
Drone photography is used in many industries including:
- Film and Tv
- Weddings and special events
- Tourism promotion and advertising
- Sporting events
- Recreational
- Real Estate
- Plus many, many more…
Conclusion
So if you are a drone operator or just wondering what is a drone used for, these are just some examples to give you an idea of what drones are used for. As you have seen by the examples above, they are an amazing piece of technology that still blows my mind away.
There are millions of drones that are registered every year, so the drone industry is continually getting stronger every year. It makes me wonder how far drones will go in the future as it was just recently that I had seen people testing a new drone at DJI that you can actually sit in and fly it yourself!! Now that is really cool!!
I hope you got a lot from checking out this post and learned some interesting facts about some of the uses of the drone.