Today, drones are being used by several industries, paving impudent ways no one could have ever predicted before. Its ubiquitous presence is not only impacting businesses but also modern society. Drones are typically remotely controlled or can fly autonomously with the help of AI. These unmanned aerial vehicles are becoming more accessible day by day and considerably seems to replace humans from highly dangerous tasks.

Drones have come a long way since they were used the first time as aerial surveillance during the first world war. Then, the period of the Second World War and the Cold War led to many technological advancements, as a result, the production and usage of drones increased.

In the modern digital world, drone technology is leveraged for several purposes, from disease control and delivering orders, to vacuuming up ocean waste and more.

Here are some common use cases of drone technology leveraging across industries.

Defense

Drones or UAVs have the potential to spot security and terrorism-related challenges and can identify vulnerable areas that are prone to significant risks. According to the Center for the Study of the Drone at Bard College, US military spending on drone technology, since 2014, has surged from just over US$4 billion to nearly US$9 billion annually. It further predicted that 95 countries worldwide already possess some form of military drone technology, which is up from 60 almost a decade ago. Drone technology is majorly being designed for surveillance and offensive operations.

Disease Control

Drones can also be helpful in controlling diseases as they are able to track the possible movement of infectious diseases in the environment. For instance, drones with thermal imaging cameras have been utilized by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine to track macaque movements in the province of Palawan in the Philippines, a region where malaria is an active threat. On the other hand, tech giant Microsoft is also leveraging drone technology to capture and test mosquitoes for infectious diseases. This intelligence collected by drones could be used to protect local populaces. It will also be able to assist in thwarting epidemics before they take place in years to come.

Agriculture

The use of drone technology in modern farming is growing at an unprecedented rate as more agriculturists rely on technology’s ability to key tasks. With drones, farmers can capture data of their entire farmland, all from the comfort of a single take-off zone. Drones with high-tech capabilities even allow farmers to enhance efficiency in certain aspects of the farming process. The technology can be used from crop monitoring, planting, and livestock management to crop spraying, irrigation mapping, and more. The technology in this domain generally called agricultural drone, helping to accomplish and improve precision agriculture.

Emergency Response

Drones are very responsive in any emergency as they can scan the area to locate main spots on the ground. Innovations in camera technology have led to a significant impact on the growing use of drones. Armed with thermal imaging cameras, drones can provide emergency response teams with an ideal solution in order to detect victims which are hard to determine with bare eyes. For instance, drone manufacturer DJI launched an emergency response program last year that enables first responders’ access to some of the company’s drones and peripherals, in addition to technical support and assistance. Land Rover, in 2017, teamed up with the Austrian Red Cross to design a special operations vehicle with a roof-mounted, thermal imaging drone. The vehicle involves an integrated landing system, allowing the drone to securely land atop the vehicle while in motion.

Healthcare

Drone technology has now leveraged in healthcare and is able to deliver medical-related resources to hospital campuses via air such as blood samples and supplies. While several rural areas across the world lack access to high-quality healthcare, delivering medical supplies by traditional ways require quick access to drugs, blood and medical technology in certain circumstances. In this context, drones can be effective as it flies in the sky uninterruptedly. For example, after a series of successful pilot program tests, in collaboration with the California State’s department of transportation, WakeMed partnered with the California-based drone manufacturer Matternet and later with UPS to further develop the hospital’s drone delivery efforts.

Weather Forecasting

As drones are often used for aerial inspection to property surveillance, it can also better predict storm forces than conventional methods. They could play an essential role in forecasting and imparting the most accurate information to scientists and the public. Drones offer weather specialists a versatile option that can physically follow weather patterns as they develop. Besides these UAVs, water-based unmanned surface vehicles are also changing the way data is gleaned. Saildrone, for instance, has built an autonomous sailboat that amasses oceanic and atmospheric data from the ocean surface.