Legitimate Use of Flying Drones
 

Aside from home delivery of products such as those from Amazon.com, Domino's pizza, and some burrito emporiums, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have legitimate business use beyond spying on company employees and competitors. Businesses or non-military/police entities that could benefit from the use of these range from agriculture to civil engineering, from journalism to emergency response agencies, such as fire-fighters, or to quickly transport transplant organs.

My employer, an energy company, recently announced it is researching using UAV drones for a variety of business purposes, to inspect pipelines routes, offshore platforms, and flare stacks, in order to reduce expensive and risky manned airplane and helicopter use, to make the operations safer and reduce environmental impact.

What else could drones be used for that would benefit people?

I mean besides an anti-drone drone?

Re: Legitimate Use of Flying Drones
 

Fire suppression, possibly?

Re: Legitimate Use of Flying Drones
 

Don't get me wrong. I fully understand and appreciate that this is an awesome and literally lifesaving application.

But still OMGHAHAHAHAHAHA drones flying guts all around the place!

Re: Legitimate Use of Flying Drones
 

More non-military/police uses: weather forecasting, storm damage assessment, finding victims of a disaster, delivering pizza and beerbooks to disaster survivors (a steak, maybe?, I mean, if they can fly guts around...).

Re: Legitimate Use of Flying Drones
 

Science has many uses for UAVs; different types of sensors on a remote-control aircraft can be used to survey large areas and determine invasive species counts, water tables, erosion and infestation damage, temperature changes, etc. There was a radio news piece about a company that had been using UAVs to spot and track crop-damaging wild boars in fields in Louisiana to coordinate with farmers on the ground attempting to kill them.

It is certainly an oversimplification to equate all drones bad, in the same way it is silly to equate all robots as bad or all technology as bad. But there are some, IMO legitimate questions around privacy issues and especially about the use of UAVs as weapon platforms outside of direct warfare.

I object to extrajudicial killings, assassinations, and covert warfare in general, and where that intersects with drones is my primary qualm.

Re: Legitimate Use of Flying Drones
 

TV news.

Re: Legitimate Use of Flying Drones
 

University of Southern Florida students in Tampa can check drones out of the USF library.

Re: Legitimate Use of Flying Drones
 

I think they can be used in the broadcasting of professional sports. Additionally, referees / umpires can use them during instant replays when play calls or judgments are disputed.

I could also see them being used in film production as well. In particular, I could see them being used in situations where they want a particular shot that's either too dangerous or expensive to use with a manned camera. Additionally, they can be used for aerial shots in the place of a helicopter mounted camera.

Another use for drones is directly in sports. Hmm. I could even see them in use during paintball matches as obstacles players on both sides must avoid. If they get within a certain range, they be peppered with shots from the drones.

Re: Legitimate Use of Flying Drones
 

Armed drones are not allowed.

Re: Legitimate Use of Flying Drones
 

Improving the safety of the hobby of flying model planes/helicopters/&c. by giving the aircraft the ability to automatically return to the launch site and land there in the event of radio failure or pilot error or incapacitation .

Re: Legitimate Use of Flying Drones
 

I was going to say that was covered under journalism, then I realized there are actually like only two or three actual journalists in television news these days.

Re: Legitimate Use of Flying Drones
 

Not even paintball guns. :sadcheer:

Re: Legitimate Use of Flying Drones
 

It would be fun though.

Re: Legitimate Use of Flying Drones
 

We could sling an orangutan under one and fly it over to lisarea and Matlock's house, 'cause like, just in case they need one.

Re: Legitimate Use of Flying Drones
 

After the organ delivery, that is my next favorite use.

Re: Legitimate Use of Flying Drones
 

As long as they don't do the harvesting, too. That would give the term 'surgical strike' a new, and more accurate, meaning.

Re: Legitimate Use of Flying Drones
 

I was impressed with the guy who attached a video camera to a four prop aerial platform and did a video of the lip of Niagra Falls. Awesome.

I perceive a means of relatively non-invasive wildlife management....mostly tracking. Same with livestock maintenance. Basically, such tools should replace piloted craft where the tasks are high risk or exceedingly tedious.

Re: Legitimate Use of Flying Drones
 

A cyborg. Just not the cyborgs that sf imagined.

Re: Legitimate Use of Flying Drones
 

Except for self-defence of course.

If armed drones are outlawed, only outlaw drones will be armed.

Drone Wars!

Re: Legitimate Use of Flying Drones
 

In addition to supression, drones could be perfect for wildfire tactical surveillance when also equipped with infrared cameras so they can detect hot spots or flare-ups.

Re: Legitimate Use of Flying Drones
 

Thomas Dolby used one of those on his short film. He may have even worked with that guy. I know he talked about finding an expert online and flying him out.

Re: Legitimate Use of Flying Drones
 

The video guy is Matt Quest and his Niagra video is here.

Re: Legitimate Use of Flying Drones
 

Delivering packages is apparently not a legitimate use: FAA Bans The Use Of Drones To Deliver Packages | TechCrunch

Re: Legitimate Use of Flying Drones
 

In this age of "ag-gag" laws, this seems a legitimate use of the technology to expose some of the abuses and pollution.

Re: Legitimate Use of Flying Drones
 

There is no credit for anyone but Dolby on the IMDB page for The Invisible Lighthouse so I can't verify the name. I saw the tour he did with live foley work and he talked about finding people on-line and getting help especially for one long aerial shot. Pity I can't recall the name for certain.