What are Drones?

Remote controlled helicopter!!! This name itself could make anybody nostalgic about the good ole’ times, when possessing such fancy toys made us feel ultra rich and not to forget the fame it got us in school. Undoubtedly, all of us might have thought at that time “I wish in the future we have life sized remote controlled vehicles”.

BOOM. Welcome to the 21^st century!

All those who, ever made that wish in their childhood, can start doing a happy dance because their wish has definitely come true: “Drones” or technically called “Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV)”.

                

So by now you might have already figured out roughly what Drones mean. As the technical name suggests, Drones are essentially aerial vehicles which are controlled either by a remote or control systems from the ground, instead of a pilot. They come in different sizes, shapes and functions and are generally used for carrying out the tasks for which using a normal manned flight would be considered rather risky. Due to this sort of safety that it provides, Drones have been widely used in military services. However, recently, they have begun to be used for carrying out activities like search and rescue, weather analysis, etc. too! The most striking feature of Drones is probably their precision and their ability to remain secretive or what they technically call ‘stealthiness’. In the year 2011, you would definitely know about the death of the infamous Osama Bin Laden. Well, Drones played a crucial role in keeping an eye on his activities and one must say they did a commendable job too!

Now let us look briefly into the construction of these Drones. To start off with, a typical Drone is made up of light composite materials so that it is low on weight and high on controllability. The low weight, on the plus side, also allows the Drones to go to higher altitudes easily. Each Drone is equipped with a GPS system, infra-red cameras, laser or GPS guided missiles and some other top secret systems. Now the Drone system is broken into two sub-systems: The Drone itself and the control system which is present on the ground. The control system is handled by trained pilots. The data that is captured by the Drones during surveillance is sent to satellites, from which it is received by the ground forces. As I mentioned earlier, Drones are capable of flying at extremely high altitudes and so, it is rather difficult to detect them. Sometimes it is so difficult to even identify hidden cameras, let alone a flying camera or something even more magnificent – A Drone!

However, along with all these features, comes a heavy price tag. A military drone along with the control system costs about 50 million US dollars. So unless you are super super rich, owning a Drone might just be a chimera.

But needless to say, Drones could probably go a long way for providing security that we all have long been waiting for. Apart from providing intelligence and tactical support, they could check for bombs and dangerous devices on roads, observe traffic and public behavior, follow or attack suspicious targets and of course, provide air support. Probably not long before we find advertisements such as : “It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s a DRONE!” 

Rebecca Correia