Drones, also called unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), have no human pilot on board, and instead are controlled by a person on the ground or autonomously through a computer program. These sneaky crafts are becoming more popular, not only for war and military purposes, but also for everything from wildlife and atmospheric research to disaster relief and sports photography. Drones are becoming the eyes and ears of scientists as they examine the terrain for archaeological sites, signs of illegal hunting and damage to crops, and even closing within hurricanes to study wild storms. You can even rent a personal drone to soar above the horizon and take a photo or video. Our news and features will cover developments in drone technologies, innovative uses for drones and how the use of drones will impact society.
An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a buzz, is an airplane without a human pilot on board. UAVs are a component of an unmanned aircraft (UAS) system; They include a UAV, a ground-based controller, and a communications system between the two. The flight of UAVs can operate with various degrees of autonomy: either remotely controlled by a human operator, or completely or intermittently autonomously, by on-board computers. Compared to manned aircraft, UAVs are often preferred for missions too "boring, dirty or dangerous" for humans. They originated primarily in military applications, although their use is expanding in commercial, scientific, recreational, agricultural and other applications such as surveillance and surveillance, product delivery, aerial photography, agriculture, and unmanned aircraft careers. Civilian airplanes now far outnumber military drones, with estimates of more than a million sold by 2015.