In addition to the software, autonomous drones also employ a host of advanced technologies that allow them to carry out their missions without human intervention, such as cloud computing, computer vision, artificial intelligence, machine learning, deep learning, and thermal sensors. Later examples included the Airspeed Queen Wasp and Miles Queen Martinet, before ultimate replacement by the GAF Jindivik. The term drone has been used from the early days of aviation, some being applied to remotely flown target aircraft used for practice firing of a battleship's guns, such as the 1920s Fairey Queen and 1930s de Havilland Queen Bee. Many terms are used for aircraft which fly without any persons on board. These include aerial photography, precision agriculture, forest fire monitoring, river monitoring, environmental monitoring, policing and surveillance, infrastructure inspections, smuggling, product deliveries, entertainment, and drone racing. As control technologies improved and costs fell, their use expanded to many non-military applications. UAVs were originally developed through the twentieth century for military missions too 'dull, dirty or dangerous' for humans, and by the twenty-first, they had become essential assets to most militaries. For other uses, see UAV (disambiguation).Įlbit Systems Hermes-450 taking off Northrop Grumman Bat carrying EO/IR and SAR sensors, laser range finders, laser designators, infra-red cameras A DJI Phantom quadcopter UAV for commercial and recreational aerial photography A General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper, a hunter-killer surveillance UAV Although most large military UAVs are fixed-wing aircraft, rotorcraft designs (i.e., RUAVs) such as this MQ-8B Fire Scout are also used.Īn unmanned aerial vehicle ( UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board.

Uav flight control system