Assessment of Drone Technology: Historic Timeline and Predecessors

This report provides a comprehensive overview of drone technology, tracing its history from the use of balloons in the 19th century to modern-day applications. It examines the evolution of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), highlighting key developments such as the invention of the airplane ...Read More

DAN OPOKU MENSAH
DR. KUPCZYNSKI
3/17/2017
2017
HISTORIC TIMELINE AND PREDECESSOR ASSESSMENT DRAFT

Technology makes us capable of things that were previously impossible, such as rapid
travel by car or aircraft, or sending messages around the world in an instant. But often
technology also changes the way we do those things we’re already capable of. The use of
remotely controlled aerial drones has come to change the rules of the game from the difficult
stage to the easy stage.
Drones will need to likewise turn out to be extensively more solid to have the capacity to
explore urban areas. At the point when most urban areas are portrayed by genuinely swarmed
walkways, electrical cables structures, and natural life, there is no space for blunder. “A drone is
a flying robot which was formally known as unmanned aerial vehicles or unmanned aircraft
systems.” The unmanned aerial vehicles are either remotely or can fly autonomously through
software controlled flight plans. Drones are equipped with different state of the art technology
such as infra -red cameras, GPS and laser, which comes in a wide variety of sizes, with the large
drone mostly used for military purposes such as the Predator drone, other smaller drones which
can be launched by hand, to other unmanned aircraft vehicles which require short runways. An
unmanned aerial vehicle system has two parts, the drone itself and the control system.
The history of a drone technology started in the 1849 when the Austrians used balloons to
bomb the city of Venice located in northeastern Italy. This was considered as the first drone or
unmanned aerial vehicles.

This balloon was built with full explosives with the idea to release the explosives once the
balloons past through the city of Venice, because at that time the build of city would not allow
artillery to get close. Although they were able to hit their target, more the balloons were also
blown off due to the heavy wind. However, with the invention of the airplane, the wind was no
longer a factor in using unmanned aerial vehicles.
Balloons would also become an important weapon in the First World War, being used for
observation and, in the form of barrage balloons, for anti-aircraft defense. In the years after the
Great War, although sport ballooning declined, spectacular balloons would be built for daring
flights into the stratosphere. In World War II, barrage balloons would again play a significant
role, with both the British and the Japanese using balloons for offensive operations as well.

These technologies influenced the development of current technology. With the
increasing technology making manned aircraft faster, that is the development of the jet engine,
engineers had to develop technology making the drones just as fast. These vehicles became
reconnaissance vehicles, able to fly over territory that the military did not want to send pilots due
to the cost factor. Drones were relatively inexpensive in comparison to a fighter jet and pilot.
These unmanned aerial vehicles played a major role in collecting intelligence during the Vietnam
War as well as the Cold War.
Unmanned aerial vehicles are as of now being utilized broadly for outskirt watch and by
police and paramilitary units to battle drug trafficking among different violations. Also, Drones
now have many purposes. Amazon is testing their ability to successfully pick up and drop
packages off, there are drone racing competitions for drone enthusiasts, movie companies use
them for filming, and scientists are beginning to use them to test theories on global warming.

Drones have become a widely accepted tool for use in scientific research, filming, leisure
and combat. Scientist believe that drones play a vital role in giving an overall overview of their
work while not disturbing or influencing the environment. Micro drones are especially vital in
getting to hard to reach areas that otherwise would be impossible to research without disturbing
the surroundings. Other scientific uses include surveilling of sea mammals, climate observation,
iceberg monitoring, measuring nuclear contamination sites, and meteorological research.
In conclusion, drone technology has changed society by making it easier for people to do
their jobs as well as giving people the power to do what was once not possible. Scientist can now

do a multitude of research at a significantly lower cost with the help of drone technology. Film
makers can get incredible shots that either weren’t possible or were incredibly expensive. They
have brought people together in drone clubs and competitions. Lives have been saved as a result
of combat drones. We have also been able to better target our enemies abroad. While drones will
always remain controversial in society, they offer much more than combat capabilities and that is
why they have been socially accepted.
References
BIBLIOGRAPHY pbs. (2002). Time Line of UAVs. Retrieved from pbs:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/spiesfly/uavs.html
TESLA, C. (2014). The past and the future of drones.
Kaminski, M. E. (2013). Drone Federalism: Civilian Drones and the Things. The Circuit
California Law Review.
Atherton, K. (2014, 11 24). Aviation. Retrieved from Popular Science:
http://www.popsci.com/watch-brief-history-drone
Kaufman, R. (2015, 01 01). Market. Retrieved from Inside Unmanned Systems:
http://insideunmannedsystems.com/market-military-drones-will-surge/