Drones: on the wings of technology

Unmanned aerial vehicle or uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) have been around since 1849 , when Austrians attacked Venice using unmanned balloons loaded with explosives.

In 1915 the British military used aerial photography to their advantage in the battle of Neuve Chapelle, managing to capture over 1,500 maps of German trench fortifications in the region from the sky.

The United States developed UAV technology during World War I, creating the first unmanned aircraft. Shortly thereafter, the U.S. military built the Kettering Bug. While continuing to develop UAV technology, in 1930 the U.S. Navy began experimenting with radio-controlled aircraft with the creation of the Curtiss N2C-2 drone in 1937.

During the Second World War, Reginald Denny created the first remote controlled airplane, the Radioplane OQ-2. The model marks a new phase: it was the first UAV product created in series in the United States, a step forward in the production and supply of drones for military purposes.

The first "civil drones" as we imagine them today date back to the 1950s. The French pioneer Louis Breguet with half a ton of steel pipes and a 46 horsepower engine, through an ingenious system of belts and pulleys, was able to move four double-bladed four-blade rotors 8 meters covered with canvas.

Military operations and the reputation of drones

If in the first half of the twentieth century the drones had the reputation of being "toys" not always reliable and expensive, in the 80s this attitude began to change. The Israeli Air Force's victory over the Syrian Air Force in 1982 contributed to this change. Israel used both UAVs and manned aircraft to destroy a dozen Syrian aircraft with minimal losses. In addition, also in the 1980s, the United States created the Pioneer UAV program to meet the need for cheap and unmanned aircraft for fleet operations. In 1986 a new drone was made by a joint project between the United States and Israel. The drone was known as the Pioneer RQ2 and was a medium-sized reconnaissance aircraft.

Most recently, miniature and micro UAVs were introduced in 1990, and in 2000 the United States deployed the Predator drone in Afghanistan during the search for Osama Bin Laden.

Although many of the most important drone flights have so far been made for military purposes, technology continues to advance and receive more attention.

In 2014, Amazon proposed using UAVs to deliver packages to customers and some real estate companies are using drones to shoot promotional videos.

Although the drone industry in the United States is somewhat limited by the slow pace of the Federal Aviation Administration in updating regulations, the commercial growth of this industry has grown from around $ 40 million in 2012 to over $ 1 billion in 2017. A December 2017 study by McKinsey & Co. predicted that the UAV market would have an annual impact on the country's gross domestic product of up to $ 46 billion.

The estimates in the USA indicate that the market size of drones services expected to grow from $ 4.4 billion in 2018 to 63.6 billion dollars by 2025.

As with most other technology devices, competition in the market continues to drop drone prices and advance rapidly in technology.

There are now moderately priced drones that include features such as: 4K cameras capable of capturing high resolution images and videos; Integrated GPS and autopilot, which allow the drone to fly preprogrammed routes; Bluetooth functionality; A technology capable of avoiding collisions; Follow the terrain (the ability to maintain a constant height when flying over uneven terrain); Active tracking (automatically follow a selected topic); The ability to fly at speeds of 50mph (80km / h) or more.

Security, reliability, control distance and battery life also continue to improve.

In a few years, the democratization of these unmanned aerial vehicles has become a reality and we can now find them firmly established in almost all disciplines: cinema, security, agriculture, engineering, fire management systems, beach surveillance services and more. .

For an entrepreneur, owning a drone these days is a latent business opportunity that just waits to be explored and exploited.

The technology of today has gone much further, replacing the internal combustion engines with the Brushless ones ("brushless") ensuring very high performance and reliability.

One thing is certain: over the past decade, the fascinating world of drones has made great strides by reducing size and size, but increasing performance in all its components.

The advantage of being able to pilot remotely, has given the world the opportunity to replace some of the most risky jobs, improving the quality of field operations both in certain professions and in situations of real danger by replacing the hand and eye of the man guaranteeing his safety.

Some uses of drones

Agriculture

Agriculture is making great strides in innovation, including through drones . The types of sensors that can improve the performance of one of humanity's oldest activities are increasing day by day. More and more wineries are using drones and sensors to explore vineyards and harvest grapes according to the information provided by this technology.

The system is extremely sophisticated and precise. Winegrowers can predict the optimal time for harvesting thanks to the images in the field provided by drones from above and to the power coming from the sensors about the strength of the vine, its chlorophyll activity or water stress.

Medical supplies

The benefits offered by this technology have reached humanitarian aid projects. In Rwanda , the first drone flights are already underway to supply medical supplies or blood bags to difficult-to-access medical facilities. Drones are launched from an arc-shaped device, carry the load without a pilot and, once they arrive at their destination, the load is released by parachute to avoid damage. Then they return to the starting point. With a load support of 1.5 kg, they currently have a radius of 150 km.

Construction works

The use of drones in civil works is also increasingly relevant. For example, it could become essential for the detection and demarcation of new road patterns. Thanks to the 3D images collected, the vector mapping of the areas traced by drones could be achieved with a resolution of up to 4 cm-1 over a distance of between 60 and 70 hectares, compared to an average of 2 or 3 hectares traced in general.

Rescue operations

Drones have a great advantage over rescue helicopters: they are able to fly at low altitudes. In addition to the ability to carry a high resolution video camera, these features make them perfect tools for rescue operations in forests or mountain environments. Just think of LifeSeeker , a system capable of connecting with cell phones and detecting their exact position even if they have run out of battery, already in operation in Spain. A faster way to locate the missing ones and speed up the save operation procedures.

Sewage inspection

The European ASRI project seeks to use the potential of drones to inspect drainage systems. With these multirotor aerial vehicles equipped with navigation sensors, the professional risks related to this activity could be significantly reduced, while reducing maintenance costs.

A new approach to safety

The continuous research on the problems related to heavy work is bearing fruit. The companies that are currently experimenting with new methods of approaching safety, rely on the quality of their APR (remotely piloted aircraft), the configurations are multiple while maintaining a high degree of operation in each sector.

Just think of the solutions of some companies such as SV TECH , highly specialized in the sector, where the problem of autonomy in flight has been largely overcome thanks to a direct power connection, from the ground station to the aircraft.

The future is within everyone's reach, so it is up to professionals to try to find the right combination of needs and solutions. In this regard, we just have to embrace this reality without delay, as, today more than ever, we need to preserve mankind by helping us with modern technologies related to remotely piloted aircraft systems.