The Beautiful Potential Of Drones

It’s kind of funny. Just a few years ago drones were little toys for preschool kids. Now they’re on the verge of becoming a fundamental part of the economy. Drones have already been used on the battlefield and companies like Amazon are using them to deliver products to your door. Now we’re seeing them being used in many new and exciting applications.

Here’s what drones are being used for today.

Protecting Wildlife

The US government is a big landowner, especially in the western United States. Now it wants to start using drones to monitor the vast swathes of land under its control. At the moment it uses surplus military staff to monitor the land. But this is expensive and not the best use of their time. Now it hopes to cut the amount of time they spend roaming in their vans by using what they call “Ravens.” Ravens are essentially a drone that helps the military manage wetland.

The US Geological Survey has also gotten in on the act. In Colorado, it’s using drones to track insects that land on the ground at night. The drones are equipped with thermal imaging cameras that allow scientists to track the movement of large groups of insects.

Making Construction Cheaper And Safer

Construction drones are now being deployed in building sites all over the country. The great thing about drones is that they allow inspectors to track progress on buildings from the ground. They can fly up a drone and view difficult to reach areas on their monitor on the ground. This means that they don’t have to pay specialists to go up and monitor things like roofs and scaffolding.

Construction companies are also using drones to scan and inspect sites before any building work gets underway. One of the biggest problems that construction firms face is making sure that the landscape and soil are safe for construction. Drones with high definition cameras can scan the site quickly to detect any issues.

Working The Farm

There’s also a movement to use drones on the farm. Many farms operate on steep and inhospitable terrain. For some farmers, treating crops with pesticides in these areas is difficult. Take Japan, for instance. The country’s mountainous terrain means that a lot of farms are on steep hill sides. This means that farmers have had to resort to other methods to treat their crops. They’ve been using things like the Yamaha RMAX for the last two decades. Now better technology is arriving in the US. Converted military UAVs are being used to dust crops automatically, without the need for the farmer to pilot the plane.

Search And Rescue

Finally, it’s worth pointing out how useful drones are proving for search and rescue. Rescuers are able to get a handle on a situation before moving in themselves.

The technology has already been used in car accident situations. The Canadian Mounted Police came across a car that had rolled over. The driver had gotten out of the car and, disoriented, walked into the wilderness. The police used a drone with night vision to find him and take him to hospital.