It seems like drones are everywhere now. They are delivering books from Amazon.com, landing on the White House lawn, fighting faraway wars, replacing traffic police, and taking pictures for private investigators. Their usage has been widely noted in combat situations in Afghanistan and have been spotted over other nations as well. Even with all this talk and news information, there are still a lot of questions surrounding drones. There is even an exciting new field of photography called “Drone Videography”. With all this talk and new innovation, one has to ask, is there anything drones cannot do?
What is a drone? – In order to answer that last question, you have to answer this first question, what is a drone? Dronewars.net says, “Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVS), also known as drones, are aircraft either controlled by ‘pilots’ from the ground or increasingly, autonomously following a pre-programmed mission.” A drone is, essentially, a robot that flies, takes pictures, and offers information on traffic situations and emergency situations, records weddings and mountain climbs, snaps moments of races and high profile public events.
How does a drone work? – Drones are often used in situations when the location is too dangerous or impossible for a person to work in. They are manned from a grounded location, but sent into the sky to take pictures, deliver pages, or even fire off weapons during war. A person, or set of people, monitor and operate the drone from a site that can be even be thousands of miles away. Drones can stay in the air for up to nearly 20 hours at a time before needing any refueling or maintenance recheck. If they are being used in a dangerous situation, the people operating them can safely control them from a remote location that protects their position.
Movies and TV shows – Drones have long been used on movies and TV shows, to capture everything from close ups to stunning Aerial photography, and their usage has created a stir among others in the general public hoping to use drones to record their beautiful moments with drone videography as well.
Making commercials – Commercials that move us the most deeply are generally ones that involve children and nature. But how does a commercial director catch that herd of water buffalo running through the American Western plains? They often use drones. Aerial photography used to be completed entirely by airplanes, but now, drone videography can do the same for a fraction of the price, the manpower, and none of the risk.
Wedding photography – Weddings are now, also, being filmed using drone videography, and they result in beautiful and stunning candid photos of those moments that no one ever wants to forget. It can do the same for event photography. This is especially true when the photography requires images in hard to reach or remote places.
Drone technology has made incredibly strides in recent years, and they will continue to grow in popularity, concern, and value. While some operating regulations are being explored by various legislatures across the country, and around the world, it is not likely that drones are going to go away anytime soon. Their purposes will only be further explored and reviewed as time goes on.