Drones

In aviation and in space, a drone refers to an unpiloted aircraft or spacecraft. Another term for it is an “unmanned aerial vehicle” or UAV. On Earth, drones are often used for military purposes because they don’t put a pilot’s life at risk in combat zones. Also, drones don’t require rest, enabling them to fly as long as there is fuel in the craft and there are no mechanical difficulties.

Brands, scientists, government services and regular people are taking advantage of cheap and easy to control compact flight systems with decent lift capacity for cargo or equipment. Even former editor of Wired magazine Chris Anderson foresaw the drone trend and left Wired to become CEO of 3D Robotics, a DIY drone-building company. Soon enough drones may be ubiquitous, zipping around the skies on errands, surveillance tasks or even as artistic tools.

In the 20th Century, military research precipitated many widely used technological innovations. Surveillance satellites enabled the GPS-system, and defence researchers developed the information swapping protocols that are fundamental to the Internet. UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) fall into a similar category. Designed initially for reconnaissance purposes, their Para-military and commercial development was often out of sight of the public.

As the technology becomes more advanced and costs fall, civilian day-today uses of UAVs are developing rapidly. At the same time, military drone activity has caused public outcry; Obama has approved more drone attacks than any other US President. The potential for photojournalism from the air rather than a long lens also raises concerns about privacy

You don’t need to look far to see how drones have influenced pop culture they appear, however briefly in several Hollywood blockbuster movies including but not limited to: Transformers, Elysium, Furious 7 and The Interview. Though widely used as a military safeguard in a majority of movies thankfully this is not how we identify them. Again that is not their only use in movies, they have often played the ‘star’ of the movie but that’s not their only role. Drones have been used for years in cinematic shooting; a drone with camera equipment would often fly up into the air in order to set the scene for a movie.

AMAZON – THE COMMERCIAL DRONES

Commercially drones are becoming very popular, Amazon has created a policy to introduce drones to their package delivery system allowing amazon prime members to receive their package in 30 minutes. Amazon has come across many barriers to bring this idea to reality mainly aviation regulations

In March 2015 US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) granted Amazon permission to begin US testing of a prototype. The company responded by claiming that the vehicle cleared for use was obsolete. In April 2015, the agency allowed the company to begin testing its current models. In the interim, the company had begun testing at a secret Canadian site 2,000 ft. (610 m) from the US border.

The agency allowed Amazon’s drones to fly no higher than 400 ft. (122 m), no faster than 100 mph (161 km/h) and remain within the pilot’s line of sight. These rules are consistent with a proposed set of FAA guidelines. Ultimately, Amazon hopes to operate in a slice of airspace above 200 ft. (61 m) and beneath 500 ft. (152 m), where general aviation begins. It plans to fly drones weighing a maximum of 55 lb. (25 kg) within a 10 mi (16 km) radius of its warehouses, at speeds of up to 50 mph (80.5 km/h) with packages weighing up to 5 lb. (2.26 kg) in tow.

 

PUBLIC CONCERNS

​Even though Safety is among the top challenges that faces Amazon project, the proposition of the “Drone’s navigational airspace below 500 feet made by Amazon Prime Air vice President, Gur Kimchi, is a big step toward safety management. Such proposal that provides some specification on the UAS operational aspect, where “In this space, drones would be connected to online networks and would directly communicate with each other, allowing for the automated control of flights in real time.

Conclusion

Drones are becoming very popular in all aspects of life, whether it’s in the movies we watch, how they are made, our deliveries or their general presence in our everyday lives. Drones are becoming as popular as smart watches and many other household items. Considering drones have quite a dark past, its origins being military based the maker revolution has certainly evolved the image of drones and their counterparts.