Unmanned aerial vehicles are used across the world for civilian as well as military applications.
Civilian applications of drones
Civil uses include aerial crop surveys, aerial photography, search and rescue, inspection of power lines and pipelines, counting wildlife, delivering medical supplies to otherwise inaccessible regions, and detection of illegal hunting, reconnaissance operations, cooperative environment monitoring, border patrol missions, convoy protection, forest fire detection and monitoring, surveillance, coordinating humanitarian aid, plume tracking, land surveying, fire and large-accident investigation, landslide measurement, illegal landfill detection, the construction industry and crowd monitoring.
Oil, gas and mineral exploration and production
UAVs can be used to perform geophysical surveys, in particular geomagnetic surveys where measurements of the Earth’s varying magnetic field strength are used to calculate the nature of the underlying magnetic rock structure.
Surveying
Unmanned aerial survey (UAS) technologies are used worldwide, often for aerial photogrammetry or with LiDAR sensors.
Surveillance
Aerial surveillance of large areas is possible with drones. Surveillance applications include livestock monitoring, wildfire mapping, pipeline security, home security, road patrol and antipiracy.
Disaster relief
UAVs can help in disaster relief by providing intelligence across an affected area.
Agriculture
UAVs are used for crop spraying, monitoring livestock, crops and water levels.
Images generated with a near-IR sensor fitted in drones, can provide detailed information on crop health, improving yield and reducing input cost.
Sophisticated UAV have also been used to create 3D images of the landscape to plan for future expansions and upgrading.
Must read: Geographic Information System(GIS) – its elements and prospects in agriculture
External link: https://www.jouav.com/blog/applications-of-drones.html
Inspections
UAVs are increasingly finding applications in infrastructure inspections. They are particularly useful for inspections that are dangerous for human surveyors like roof inspections, power line inspections, wind turbine inspections, mining inspections or inspections inside power-plants. UAVs carrying thermal cameras are frequently used for solar panel or building inspections.
Pollution monitoring
UAVs equipped with air quality monitors provide real time air analysis at various elevations.
Conservation-related applications
UAV usage in conservation is able to alleviate many of the challenges facing conservationists on foot, such as “the large size of species’ geographic ranges, low population densities, inaccessible habitat, elusive behavior and sensitivity to disturbance. UAVs have a particular role in anti-poaching activities.
Law enforcement
Many police departments in India have procured UAVs for law and order and aerial surveillance.
Healthcare
UAVs can transport medicines and medical specimens into and out of inaccessible regions.
Aerospace
Airlines and maintenance, repair, and operations contractors use UAVs for aircraft maintenance.
Military applications of drones
UAVs are used by a broad range of military forces.
Conducting photographic and signals intelligence.
Hitting ground targets, drop explosives and attacks.
UAVs are used as aerial targets for combat training of human pilots.
Scientists are developing UAVs with advanced imaging technology to more cheaply and effectively map and speed up the clearing of minefields.
PRACTICE QUESTIONS
QUES . Consider the following activities: UPSC 2020
1 . Spraying pesticides on a crop field.
2 . Inspecting the craters of active volcanoes.
3 . Collecting breath samples from spouting whales for DNA analysis.
At the present level of technology, which of the above activities can be successfully carried out by using drones?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Ans (d) Drones can be used to spray pesticides. Hence option 1 is correct. Drones have also been used to study the craters of active volcanoes to know about their recent activities, a place which human beings cannot directly access. Hence option 2 is correct. Drones can be used to collect the mucus of whales from their water sprays to examine their health. The whale spray collected by a drone contains DNA, proteins, lipids and types of bacteria. Hence option 3 is correct.
