Drones: What Can They Be Used For?

Just a couple of decades ago, drone technology was something that could only be found in the hands of our government. Today, that story no longer holds. Drone sales have continued to increase year after year, with consumers citing various reasons for their need for one. 

Our kids can even get their hands on one down the toy aisle. People have found so many innovative and practical uses for drones, which have helped make our lives easier. They’ve also been able to save countless human lives. Drones: What Can They Be Used For?

Just this week, my neighbor mentioned a larger-than-normal drone was flying over her property. I had the same experience in Southern Utah. Why is a drone flying over my home? Or her home? Now, drones can take pictures for Google, possibly. I tend to be suspicious as to why a drone is flying over a family’s home. Is it a nosy neighbor? No, I don’t think so. It must have been someone evaluating our HOA rules in Southern Utah.

Is it the city evaluating our taxes to raise them? Are they looking to see if we applied for the permits required to build a structure? I will never know. But I felt I was being watched in my backyard with my grandkids. I felt like my privacy was being invaded, and I didn’t like it. Please let me know if you have seen drones flying over your home or neighborhood. It’s my understanding that you have to register your drone; at least one neighbor told me that.

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Drones: What Can They Be Used For?

However, not everyone thinks that drones are a good thing, and they have some valid reasons to feel that way. Drones can take away our privacy as U.S citizens, but they’ve also been responsible for taking innocent lives. Here are several different ways that drones are used, and I can guarantee that a few of them will surprise you. 

Military

The CIA has used drones, and also our military and ground forces, for more than a decade now, especially in regions of the Middle East. They have helped dramatically reduce the risk of putting our American troops in danger, and also as a helpful strategy in collecting surveillance, intelligence, and performing airstrikes.

Detecting bombs is another way that drones have been able to save the lives of our military personnel. 

Drones have been effective in targeting and taking out terrorists and their leaders. Yet they’ve also been responsible for killing a large number of civilians, something that is against international law. Because of this, many people are against the use of drones in the military, because some people feel the military leaders are treating war more like a video game and not considering human life.   

Fighting Crime

Fighting crime is another everyday use of drones. They are capable of gathering evidence to warn law enforcement of a threat before it happens. Drones can be helpful at crime scenes, providing more details than what can be seen on the ground.

Many people don’t appreciate the thought that our privacy as U.S citizens could be breached, but drones can prevent crime and save lives. 

I want to share what happened to Mark and me one night around 10:00 P.M. We were watching the nightly news, and I saw a huge white light flashing in our backyard. Of course, the dogs then went wild. We have shutters (which were closed), but the white light was very bright even then. The dogs started barking louder, and I thought maybe someone was in our backyard. We could see the light shining over both backyards on either side of us.

Then, we could see the lights flying overhead when we stepped outside. It was about 10 years ago, and drones were not yet well known, at least where I live, for civilian use. We then went out front, and there were several police cars with lights flashing. We also saw a few police officers on foot with flashlights and weapons.

Of course, we went back inside and learned later that two people had ditched a stolen car on the freeway and headed into our subdivision. This is when I learned about drones flying around neighborhoods via a policeman. It gave them “eyes” to find criminals. We saw firsthand how well they worked.

Now, it seems that every neighbor has one, and even the kids are using them in the street. I was a bit creeped out when I was working in my backyard and saw something flying towards my house. I asked my granddaughter if she could see it; my eyes aren’t as good as they used to be.

She said I think it’s a drone. Sure enough, the closer it got, we could see that it was an orange drone. The weird thing is that if you are working in your garden and you see this object in the sky above you, you may wonder, “What are those drones flying around my house for?” In a way, I felt like I no longer had my privacy in my backyard. I must be honest, I didn’t like it.

Illegal Activities

As I’ve already mentioned, drones aren’t always in the right hands. Drones can also be used for illegal purposes. More highly advanced drones can carry a substantial amount of weight and fly through the air at speeds of up to 40 mph.

Because of their capability and how accessible they are, drug smuggling across the border while using drones has been an ongoing concern over the past several years.    

Weather Forecasting

Drones can also be helpful with weather prediction and teaching us more about climate change than ever before. Most of our weather data is collected in a stationary building. Yet, with drones, they can travel and follow the weather as it develops, providing us with more accurate information.  

News Coverage

Drones are also very reliable when it comes to news coverage. They can take aerial shots and video with live footage of areas that are unsafe or inaccessible to people. Drones have been used to capture footage of California fires, flooded areas, and to provide a bird’s-eye view of the aftermath of tornadoes and hurricanes.   

Agriculture

Farmers and agricultural workers are always looking for ways to improve their efficiency while also expanding their crops’ yield. At the same time, the thought of using a drone for farming may sound more like something from Star Wars, an increasing number of farmers are utilizing drones to assist with their repetitive and time-consuming tasks. 

Farmers can utilize drones to aid in cultivating their crops by dispersing seeds, applying fertilizers, and spraying pesticides. Drones are also capable of pollinating flowers and produce, which is very useful at a time when the honeybee population is in rapid decline. Companies are also working on a solution for using drones to pick produce during harvest.     

Construction 

It’s also not uncommon to see drones hovering over construction sites during the planning and as they survey the progress of the construction. They utilize advanced camera technology that is used not only to monitor the buildings, but also to track the topography and soil type throughout the building process. 

Archaeology

There have been huge strides made in archaeology with the help of drones over the past couple of decades. They’ve been able to survey sites and collect valuable data much quicker than ever before. 

Transporting Medicine and Aid 

Natural disasters and emergencies can create a massive need for medicine and aid in a hurry. Drones are capable of transporting medical supplies and medicine to areas that may be considered high-risk for responders to reach. 

They can also be used to search for survivors at a greater vantage point than what the ground offers. Search and rescue operations have also utilized drones in the past to direct rescue workers on the ground to the location of the victim.  

Pizza Delivery

You’ve probably never had your pizza delivered to you at your door by a flying man-less craft, but that day may arrive here sooner than you think. Several restaurants and delivery services have been working to develop a system that uses drones for quicker and more cost-effective deliveries. Surprisingly, they can carry a reasonable weight of food. 

Companies like Domino’s, McDonald’s, and Uber, among many others, have already been testing the market with this for several years now in various places around the world. Even Amazon is in the process of using drones to speed up its delivery services.  

Amazing Selfies

Hoping to impress your friends with how you took that impossible selfie without having a selfie stick present? This is one of the more fun purposes of having a drone. That, and using it to take incredible pictures while you’re on vacation, don’t forget to bring it when you are taking photos of the Grand Canyon!  

Final Word

When people hear about the wonderful uses of drones, there’s usually a bunch of mixed feelings in a group. Drones have been used to save lives. They can transport decent-sized loads, and even farmers have found uses for them. As drones continue to become more accessible, it will be interesting to see what else they are capable of.  What do you think of drones? What can they be used for? May God bless this world, Linda.

Copyright Images: Drone Deposit photos_206783602_s-2019 

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