Drones - Various Applications

Book excerpt: Although many believe that unmanned aerial vehicles or drones are a recent invention, unmanned flight has a rich history that goes all the way back to ancient times. The first systems that can be specified under the modern definition of unmanned aerial vehicles or drones include reconnaissance drones developed and deployed during the Cold War period. Today, such systems have evolved and can have different designs. In the last twenty years, many drones with different aerodynamic characteristics, flight endurance, methods and places of launch and acceptance, and even more diverse purposes have been developed. The achievements of modern science, technique, and technology, especially in the field of microelectronics and control systems, have made it possible to design and manufacture drones that are capable of performing controllable flight in a wide range of altitudes, speeds, and distances while performing complex and diverse tasks with almost the same efficiency as well as manned aircraft. This book provides a comprehensive overview of drone technology and applications with chapters on the detection and classification of drones, issues related to electric unmanned aerial vehicles, integrating drones into educational curricula, and the uses of different types of drones in various situations, among other topics.