Posted on April 10, 2020 David Sherman
An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is an aircraft without a human pilot. UAVs are the main component of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). A UAS consists of a UAV, ground-based controller, and a communication system linking the two. UAVs were initially used in operations deemed too dull or dangerous for a typically crewed aircraft. Their origin was in military applications, though they are now found in commercial, scientific, recreational, agricultural, and other applications.
The applications of UAVs generally fall under six main categories: target & decoy, reconnaissance, combat, logistics, research & development, and civil use. The first three applications are specific to the military. Target & decoy refers to the provision of a target that simulates an enemy aircraft during training, while reconnaissance refers to UAVs that survey areas and provide battlefield intelligence. Combat is self-explanatory, referring to unmanned combat aerial vehicles with attack capabilities used in high-danger operations. The remaining categories of UAV application take place in the civil sector. Logistical applications of drones include delivery of cargo and warehouse management. Research and development of drones is an ongoing process to increase the quality and reliability of UAV technologies. Their civil and commercial applications are wide-ranging, three of which being: disaster relief, warehouse management, and wildfire containment.
UAVs play a critical role in disaster relief. They can enter dangerous areas that are too small or too risky for humans, and also cover much larger areas of land with a birds-eye view. This makes it easier to find and rescue people trapped as a result of an earthquake, wildfire, or hurricane. A UAV’s ability to quickly survey large ranges of land makes it an incredibly useful tool in locating people who need aid. In 2011, when Japan was hit with an earthquake and an ensuing tsunami, UAVs were used to monitor a nearby nuclear power plant affected by the disaster. They were able to help in rebuilding and repairing while drastically diminishing human exposure to the dangerous radiation.
The second civil use of UAVs is in warehouses, where they assist with inventory management, turnover, and navigation. In most warehouses, managing the inventory means scanning each individual piece of inventory for tracking and organizational purposes. Human employees are of course more than capable of doing this, but it can be incredibly time-consuming and inefficient. UAVs speed up this process immensely, sometimes scanning barcodes and RFID tags up to 50 times faster than a human employee can. A further issue many warehouses face is the high rate of employee turnover. While a UAV can not perform all of the tasks a human being is necessary for, the help they provide with inventory management and navigation contributes significantly to the void left by employee departure.
In addition to this, drones are often used in California to assist with wildfire containment. Drones are able to easily enter dangerous low-visibility areas that pilots and firemen couldn’t safely get near. Not only does this help avoid loss of life, but it also allows firefighting materials to be more accurately and efficiently used. A drone in the center of a wildfire can do a lot more good than a helicopter can from hundreds of feet away.
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