People will drone on about UAVs – they have a big future

Norma Jean Dougherty worked in a factory near Van Nuys airport in Los Angeles which manufactured the first mass-produced radio-controlled aircraft models for use by the US army and navy.

About 15,000 were produced during the second World War, primarily for target practice. Ms Dougherty was picked out by an army photographer sent to take photographs to show the commitment of women in the war effort. She was subsequently invited to a screen test, and changed her name to Marilyn Monroe.

Unmanned aerial vehicles (or UAVs) have evolved in the 70 years since into one of the most potent armaments with the US, Israeli and several other armed forces.

We have learned of real-time surveillance feeds using high-resolution video, followed by surprise missile attacks targeting individuals and small groups. However, not infrequently these cause the death of entire families, groups and bystanders.

The level of automation in military UAVs is becoming sophisticated, and matches the capabilities of elite military pilots: UAVs have taken off and landed on aircraft carriers; refuelled in-flight; and conducted stealth low-altitude missions.

The public came to understand the potency of automated cruise missiles over manned flight during the 2003 US-led Iraq invasion when Tomahawk missiles guided themselves to pre-configured targets. Today some military UAVs can operate almost completely autonomously, cruising around to opportunistically identify and destroy targets without human intervention in the real-time decision.

Military use

Military use of high technology frequently leads to civilian application: the computer itself, the internet, semiconductor chips and GPS navigation are amongst many examples.

UAVs, now called drones in civilian application, are a new market rich for innovation, venture capital investment, and disruptive change.

Quadcopters – having four small propellers mounted at points of a square – are stable in flight even under moderate turbulent wind, can hover, and can be preconfigured to flight paths using GPS navigation.

They can carry a high-definition video camera, providing a real-time feed from the camera back to a smartphone or tablet, and can automatically fly themselves back home if they lose contact.

Quadcopters, and variations, provide a foundation for multiple commercial opportunities.

It was not that long ago that many of us were concerned by the sudden proliferation of CCTV cameras at our street corners and the implications for our privacy. Today CCTV cameras are largely accepted by the public because of the deterrence they give against crime.

Similarly, while we might today be annoyed and alarmed to see a quadcopter drone hovering over a street, one can envisage how this might change in just a few years. Gardaí and police forces worldwide could enhance their protection of the public and property by continuous, automated and near-silent surveillance.

Detecting petty crime in housing estates, following fleeing criminals, and night surveillance using infra-red cameras are becoming feasible on a large scale by using relatively low-cost drones -–certainly at a larger scale and at a much lower cost than a few police helicopters.

Drones are already in common use for agriculture, in particular in Japan and New Zealand. Precision agriculture provides crop-seeding, spraying and monitoring at relatively low operating cost, with low wastage and contamination.

Drones can map individual trees across forests, identifying the optimal locations and timing for harvest and be used for the early detection of forest fires. Heavy-lift drones are being developed for fire-fighting.

DHL in Germany has been using drones for automated regular parcel delivery to North Sea islands since last autumn. One can envisage drones being similarly used around the Irish coastline.

Amazon, Google and others are known to be developing delivery services by drone.

The current generation of drones struggles in high-wind conditions, which frequently occur in Irish weather. Some quadcopter prototypes have overcome this by studying the flight behaviour of moths and other insects.

NASA is now using drones for hurricane and tornado research.

These innovations, including collision-avoidance, in drone avionics will doubtless be incorporated into commercial drones in the future.

Selfie stick

Smartphones have led to the “selfie” phenomena of self-portraits in front of interesting backgrounds. The “selfie stick” – a pole on which a smartphone can be attached – is becoming a common sight amongst tourists.

But selfies are now uncool amongst the technology cognoscenti – much better is a “dronie”, a self-photograph or video clip taken by drone.

An enterprising New Zealand company already offers skiers "dronies" of themselves skiing. One can envisage similar opportunities for commercial photographers and studios for leisure activities and tourism in Ireland.

Real-time video from a mobile high-resolution camera controllable in three dimensions, and real-time video projection on to surfaces including buildings, brings fun to the public and interesting opportunities for the entertainment industry. Hollywood gets to meet the citizen. Although not necessarily discussing innovation at the time, Marilyn Monroe did astutely comment: “If I had observed all the rules I’d never have got anywhere.”