The ups and downs of DRONES

What is a drone? It is a UAV - an unmanned aerial vehicle.

Who builds UAVs?

• Teams of people who include researchers, fabricators, engineers, designers, electricians, & computer scientists

How do drones work?

Drone engines are powered by battery or by fuel.

Drones can either be remote-controlled...

or follow a pre-programmed flight plan.

What are drones used for?

Military Use of Drones

• Sent out on reconnaissance missions - collecting data (intelligence)
• Sent out with missiles for attacking an enemy

Civilian drones are used for:

• Monitoring crops & livestock
• Police work (finding criminals, rescuing people)
• Disaster relief
• Getting weather information
• Patrolling US borders

Commercial use of drones:

• Real estate photography
• Package delivery (not yet!)
• Pizza delivery (not yet!)
• Movie overhead photograghy

What are the benefits of drones?

Drones come in many sizes and can fly close to the ground

...with video-taking cameras on board.

No human life is at risk piloting UAVs.

Drones are less expensive than airplanes...

What are the drawbacks to drones?

UAVs crash a lot

Other drone drawbacks

• They can be difficult to control
• They can invade peoples privacy as drone operators can spy on people from above
• They can get in the way of rescue operations
• They can come close to colliding with passenger airplanes

Citations

• Rudy, Lisa Jo. Micro Spies: Spy planes the size of birds! New York : Franklin Watts, c2008.
• Bubar, Joe. "Invasion of the drones: as unmanned aircraft called drones start to fill the skies, people are worried about safety and privacy." Scholastic News/Weekly Reader Edition 5/6 16 Mar. 2015: 4+. Kids InfoBits. Web. 19 Nov. 2015. URL http://go.galegroup.com.proxy.elm4you.org/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA405483757&v=2....
• “Drones in 2015 move from 'wow, that's neat' to 'uh-oh',” by Stephen Shankland, cnet.com, December 1, 2015. URL http://www.cnet.com/news/dronnes-in-2015-move-from-wow-to-uh-oh/

A drone - a male bee

A LEGO DRONE!