Evolving with newer capabilities at every
instant, the current day unmanned aerial vehicle technology can even give you
an ultimate bird’s-eye view of the land. These completely ground controlled
vehicles are commonly referred to as the drones. Their use has already become
mainstream in a lot of fields but they are under constant development.
Some of the recent advancements in the global drone market include:
Serving the needs of remote areas
Drone-based delivery
The ability to surpass higher altitudes, damaged
roads or even flooded areas with ease have made drones a good delivery system.
This is particularly helpful in remote areas where people do not have an easy
access to medical supplies. A California based start-up, Zipline, is an epitome
of solutions in this case. They have been using drones to deliver on-demand for
the past two years. They’re in the spotlight recently for having built the
fastest delivery drone that can fly at a velocity of 121kmph. The other specs
of this vehicle include its potential of traversing 160 km in a single
round-trip and carrying up to 1.75 kg.
Amazon has also gained good attention in
the technology market to have
patented a science that can help drones recognize and respond to human
instructions through voice and gestures. This means that, in the future, you
might even be able to call-out to a drone or help it with instructions to reach
its destination!
A conduit for internet
Free space optical communications
technology is on the rise as a potentially superior alternative for cabled
delivery of internet. Drones are expected to serve remote places on the globe
with this technology. They would supposedly use laser to deliver broadbands and
these signals will be received on the ground through set-up receivers. The
success of this concept has been tried and tested positive by Facebook in Yuma,
Arizona.
Drones as a clean energy technology?
That surely doesn’t appear like a distant
future.
Although drones are currently not being
employed directly in the production of clean energy, they have definitely been
viewed as capable of maintenance of structures that do so. For instance, wind
turbines used to generate electricity in colder areas often tend to accumulate
snow on their blades altering their properties. This reduces the efficiency of
the system greatly. In systems that are devoid of a de-icing arrangement,
cleaning is an expensive and labor-intensive process. Drones for such
maintenance are still in the R&D phase but are expected to be a cheaper and
more efficient alternative.
This technology will be able to serve all
industry operations that occur at taller points from the ground like the
aforementioned. These processes also include storage, job site monitoring, etc.
They have also been employed to check commercial jets for dents or scratches.
Drones for research
Drones have also proved important for the
behavioral study of various living organisms. With the evolving threat of Zika,
mosquitoes that spread them are being targeted for identification through
drones. This will allow researchers to define and study their breeding spots so
they can alert health officials about it.
Studying animals like whales that reside in
regions like the oceans and seas has also been aided by drones. Their behavior
is recorded and tracked by drones hovering over the water bodies and studied by
researchers in distant labs around the globe. This will also reduce threats to
animals in the course of studies and their natural behavior can be noted
without hindrance.
Market research shows that although the innovation has
driven ire from a good proportion of the population for the breach of privacy,
the drone continues to float in the air. In fact, the market is burgeoning at a
rate which is hastening the revolutionization of the world.
