Micro drones are small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that perform various important roles. These micro drones carry a wide range of sensors and a camera to provide an aerial perspective of the surroundings. They are controlled either by humans wirelessly through a remote control or autonomously by following a certain target or a given GPS route. As such, there are different types of drones available for different purposes.
Because of the increasing roles that micro drones are playing in our society, they have become a common sight among the public. In this post, we are going to discuss the important role that micro drones play.
Military Use
UAVs have been a very useful tactical asset for the military and are used regularly in different missions, primarily to conduct surveillance and detection. One of the major uses of such micro military drones has been chemical and biological surveillance. These micro drones can detect and monitor a wide range of different biological warfare agents. Commercially available detectors such as HAZMATCAD that are compatible with micro drones can be attached to these military drones and collect samples of potentially harmful biological warfare and industrial agents from clouds that are miles away. Before such hazardous clouds affect any human life or the surrounding environment, these samples can be tested at laboratories with sufficient time to prepare against these chemical agents. This is a significant pro of military drones.
Another use of micro drones in military is electronic signals interception and collection. These micro drones can be used to cover large areas of intercept and record phone calls and radio communications. Military drones such as these will have to be fitted with a modified cell phone which acts as a receiver and transmit data to receiving stations. On a higher altitude, these micro drones can cover a wider area and therefore more signals; however, to collect more data, more sophisticated receivers will have to be installed on these micro drones.
We have discussed two important roles of micro drones in the military and the pros of military drones; however, we see that some cons of military drones also exist. In both examples given above, it can be observed that the micro drones will have to be modified in some way or another which not only increases the cost but also the weight of these micro drones and consequently the effectiveness. Nevertheless, these micro military drones are proving to be a success and are becoming a vital part of military operations around the world.
Disaster Management
Micro drones also play a very important role in disaster management. Disasters such as wildfires, droughts, earthquakes, and flooding require a holistic run-down of the entire situation so that appropriate and more efficient rescue efforts can be performed to save lives. Micro drones can provide high resolution images to the authorities quicker and more cost-effectively than helicopters or manned aircrafts. It can detect humans and objects that require rescue, and therefore, an entire fleet of micro drones can be employed to carry out this essential part of disaster management. However, some micro drones are better than others in particular scenarios such as this, and so, the best drones should be used for maximum efficiency.
Environmental Surveillance
Assessing the environment and its condition is perhaps the first step towards taking corrective actions. Micro drones can be very useful in this regard, like how micro drones can help in disaster management, these drones can provide high resolution images and with additional data from sensors to the authorities. These micro drones will more effective and less costly than using helicopters and will be quicker to deploy which expediates the entire process.
Illustrating the important role that these micro drones can play in environmental surveillance, forest and iceberg imaging can be used to assess how climate change has affected them or how much damage a significant weather event has caused. Besides this, micro drones can be used in agriculture to cover vast fields where it can capture images of the crops and provide data such humidity & temperature through its sensors. In this, quadcopter drone kits can be used as such quadcopter micro drones provide safer landing because of their rotation of motors and will have payloads and software for commercial applications such as aerial mapping etc.
Moreover, the micro drones can be used in measuring the weather. In order to produce accurate forecasts, the experts need reliable and accurate information. This is where the micro drones can play their part, with a range of diverse sensors, the drones can provide important information and can fly through storms where other aerial vehicles cannot. Moreover, because of the extensive distance range of the micro drones, they can collect data and predict weather hours or even days ahead and as such they can allow the general public adequate time to take precautions and prepare against any adverse weather events.
Business Use
Micro drones can be used in businesses for different purposes and not only improve the timelines of projects but also the costs and the accuracy. These micro drones can be used to effectively manage construction sites where the drones provide an aerial view and are able to map various aspects of a construction projects such as buildings & roads in 2D and 3D. In addition, the micro drones can be used to report the project’s progress and allow project managers to determine whether the project is in line with the timelines or not. Moreover, the micro drones can allow the businesses to ensure that they conform to various law and regulations pertaining to construction sites as the drones will allow wide imaging of the construction site and the buildings.
Apart from construction sites, micro drones can be used in detection of methane gases by companies to avert any safety violations. The micro drones can pinpoint the location of methane gas leakage as these drones use many different sensors which can detect such leakages. Usage of micro drones avoids the need to use any human efforts and any chances of explosions and therefore loss of, or harm to, human life. Consequently, micro drones in this area of use are more effective and accurate than ground surveying techniques.
Another business use of micro drones can be to discover any buried valuables. Micro drones are equipped with very effective and accurate imaging technology through thermal sensors and high-resolution cameras. As such, the micro drones can be used in mining projects for many governmental and private institutions to find any remains hidden to a naked eye.
Law Enforcement
Micro drones also play an important role in police operations and regular patrols. Because of the small size of the micro drones, they remain unnoticed as they hover above areas of interest for the law enforcement agencies. Because of this nature of micro drones, they are an effective tool to monitor and detect any criminal activity.
Moreover, these micro drones can be used to provide a bird’s eye view of a crime scene so that the police can resolve criminal cases more quickly and efficiently. In addition, in situations such as a protest, a micro drone can provide an idea about the crowd and therefore an appropriate number of police officers can be deployed to contain the protestors.
In addition to this, the micro drones can be very effective in traffic enforcement. The micro drones can catch speeding vehicles, reckless drivers, and with more sophisticated technology, even seatbelt and cell phone violations. All in all, micro drones prove to be very helpful tools for the law enforcement in many areas.
Conclusion
The important role of micro drones cannot be overemphasized. We are still in the dawn of an era, an era of micro drones and technology. These mini drones pack so much potential that can leveraged in all matters of life and for the betterment of society. We have discussed the role of micro drones in military where there are many pros and cons of military drones, in disaster management and environmental surveillance, business use and law enforcement.