Drones and Unmanned Aircraft Technology Essay Paper

Drones and Unmanned Aircraft
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Drones and Unmanned Aircraft
It is not surprising that developments people enjoy today are all tied to war. As countries are warring, each tries to gain an advantage over their enemy, and this often means thinking beyond what the enemy considers probable. Well, drones are not any different and as will be shown later, the drone technology started as a way to outshine an enemy. Regardless of how the technology started, one cannot fail to acknowledge how the technology is currently being used in the world. Companies like Amazon are using it to deliver goods, others are using drones in agriculture, and directors are using drones to shoot movies and music videos. This paper seeks to delve deeper into the topic of drones. First, a history of drones will be provided followed by the rules and regulations of drones. Rules and regulations are crucial for any development to help avoid or dissuade people from inappropriate use. The third part of the article will involve the use and applications of drones. Here, details of how drones are currently being used in the world will be provided. Finally, the last section will discuss the projected future of the drones as well as any technological developments touching on drones or drone technology.
History of Drones
Drones or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) as they are also called have been around for a long time. Initially, drones were developed for military purposes to help gain an advantage over enemies. The first instance of drones can be traced back to 1849. While trying to gain an advantage over their enemy, Austria decided to use unmanned balloons that were loaded with explosives to attack Venice. The Austrians were successful but only to a small degree as some of the balloons exploded in the Austrian camp as well. Kozera (2018) writes that “despite all these inventions and preparations, the efficiency was negligible. According to the Venetians, only one bomb exploded within the city, what comparing to 60,000 artillery shells fired upon the city with conventional artillery seems utterly insignificant.” In his article, Kozera calls the Austrian drones wind-guided because they depended on wind. Even though Venice surrendered in the next two days, it was not because the drones were successful.
However, in spite of the failure, the balloons opened the door for exploration and advancement. The British military was next in line to try and take advantage of the technology. In 1915, O’Donnel (2019) writes that the “British military used aerial photography to their advantage in the Battle of Neuve Chapelle. They were able to capture more than 1,500 sky view maps of the German trench fortifications in the region.” At this point, the possibilities of having the technology to explore the sky were nearing reality. Gaining an advantage over an enemy by the use of aerial photography is a feature that did inspire the development of drones.
The history of drones would not be complete without mentioning the U.S. and its developments during the First World War. In 1916, O’Donnel writes that the U.S. “created the first pilotless aircraft.” At this point, UAV technology was not foreign and th...