ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF DRONES (1849-Present)
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), also known as drones, have roots as far back as 1849. Drones have no pilots onboard, but through a system of communication, the ground-based controller pilots the unmanned vehicle. The earliest uses of drones were for military purposes such as the Austrians using unmanned balloons that were loaded with explosives to attack Venice, Italy. These were the first ever air bombs.
Although balloons aren’t what we think of as drones, this event led the way for future developments in UAVs for British military aerial photography in 1915 during the Battle of Neuve Chapelle.
The United States wasn’t far behind with their first pilotless aircraft used in 1916 during World War I, followed by the Kettering Bug developed in 1918 as a secret project that was supervised by Orville Wright and Charles F. Kettering.
Military aviation was the driving force, and by 1930 the U.S. Navy started working on UAVs, and had created the first radio-controlled drone known as the Curtiss N2C-2 by 1937. It was designed by Theodore Paul Wright, and was also known as the Curtiss Fledgling.
Due to the cost and question of reliability, the development of drones slowed down until the 1980’s when the Air Force of Israel used drones to annihilate Syrian aircraft. This drove the U.S. to construct the Pioneer UAV Program to build inexpensive drones, and by 1990 miniature and micro UAVs were available.
By the new millennium, the U.S. had developed the Predator drone that was used to search for Osama Bin Laden designed by Abraham Karem.
THESIS:
Unmanned Ariel Vehicles were born out of a desire of the military to conquer and protect, but grew into the catalyst that can be used for the good of all mankind.
POSITIVE WAYS DRONES ARE/WILL BE USED:
CONCLUSION:
Drones are not without their issues. Whitlock (2015), reports that “rogue drone operators are rapidly becoming a national nuisance, invading sensitive airspace and private property- with the regulators of the nation’s skies largely powerless to stop them.” With the increasing sales of drones to individuals for recreational use, more and more incidents of misadventure are occurring. Drones have flown too close to commercial aircraft, which is a violation of federal rules. There are possible legal issues when it comes to drones causing property damage, as well as privacy issues. Also, drone delivery is far more complicated than it first appears. Most of the lingering questions deal with the use of drone warfare and its many implications. It is questioned whether drone strikes are legal or ethical. However, according to Marris (2013), University of Florida’s ecologist, Adam Watts, said of drones, “they are on their way to becoming this indispensable and revolutionary technology.” This certainly seems to be true. No longer just used by the military, science and agriculture are only a few areas that have been impacted by the technology of drones. Sports photography, the telecom industry, scientists doing atmospheric research, conservationists looking for ivory poachers, archeologists discovering ancient cult sites, life-saving healthcare is being offered to remote rural regions, and farmers collecting data on crops while being able to pinpoint areas of potential yield loss, all benefit from this technology we have available in our society. Drones technology will continue to improve, just as drones continue to improve so many aspects of our lives already.
Works Cited
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Created with images by ki-kieh - "drone technique technology"