As a whole, drones aid society in everything from pulling off covert military operations with fewer casualties to enjoyably passing time in the backyard with the family. Drones provide enjoyment for everyone from the 3-year-old who loves watching the ‘metal birdy’ go round and round to your 87-year-old grandmother who can show us all how to really fly a drone (and everyone in between).
Have you ever seen or piloted a drone? For those who haven’t, a drone is defined as an unmanned aerial vehicle and looks vaguely like a metal or plastic hovercraft. That said, there are countless sorts of drones and each has its own unique uses.
All things considered, I believe that drones are making more of an impact on modern society as a whole than almost any other piece of technology. There are countless ways to use drones to bring endless benefits to a variety of people. Are you as curious to learn more about the positive ways drones are impacting society? Read on!
Modern Drones and Society
Drones today are used for a wide variety of purposes by people from all walks of life. Because of this, there are different levels of drone piloting. Piloting military drones requires a high school diploma or equivalent, being a member of the Air Force or Army, and security clearance. Compare that to piloting a drone meant for hobbyists, which only requires the pilot to read the instruction manual.
Toy drones are a popular device that enables young people and adults alike to experience the joy and freedom that comes with curiosity and exploration. In comparison, other types of drones have designated purposes to aid people in unique ways.
Most industries have a use for drones; construction to farming to business. Marketing companies use camera-equipped drones to film promotional videos for their brands.
Search and Rescue teams use drones with cameras to locate and aid rescue efforts for those in need. DJI has a live map on their website which shows where and how many people have been saved by drones around the world. The number of people that drones have helped to save, at the time of this writing, is 493 – incredible!
Some people are nervous about the normalization of drones. The most typical fear is that privacy may be invaded by these camera-wielding drones. However, a drone can only be used for what a pilot guides it into doing. A drone pilot displaying ethical behavior will not invade your privacy without your consent. Additionally, local, state, and national privacy protection regulations are in place or are in the process of being enacted.
At any rate, drones enable different groups of people to reach goals and utilize materials that would otherwise be unavailable to them.
Positive Uses for Drones that Help Society
There are many positive and beneficial uses for drones in modern society. From finding and rescuing those who have gotten lost and stranded, to aiding in fire rescues, to performing various functions for law enforcement such as following suspects in high-speed chases or monitoring traffic. Drones are a distinct and unmistakable step forward in modern-day technology. With many different models and uses, drones are one of the most versatile tools at our disposal.
Here are a few of the most significant and positive uses for drones that help others:
Military Defense
Today, drones play a significant role in military defense. Truth be told, drone usage in the military goes much further than simple defense. Drones help in training, simulations, search and rescue, dropping supplies, scouting new territory, and more. Drones can be loaded with essential gear or weapons and flown to sites where those items are needed.
Healthcare
An important part of healthcare and proper medical treatment is having the right supplies needed to care for and treat patients. When a medical professional does not have the necessary tools to help their patients, they cannot give the proper treatment. In hard to access locations, medial equipment is particularly scarce.
In healthcare, drones are used to deliver medical supplies like medication, blood for transfusions, and important pieces of technology to places that these items would otherwise be unavailable. Drones are sometimes the only way for doctors in these locations to receive the appropriate medical devices to treat their community.
See this article we wrote about how drones are now being used in organ delivery.
Weather Forecasting
Predicting the weather sometimes seems like the same accuracy as predicting the winning numbers of the lottery. Even with the best machines, weather forecasters cannot get the weather forecast perfect 100% of the time. While drones may not be able to predict the weather, they can, however, monitor and track current weather patterns.
Drones can keep an active watch on storms and natural disasters like hurricanes, tsunamis, and tornadoes. They can act as a warning device, getting information to the general public faster and in enough time for appropriate precautions to be taken. Keeping the public informed about weather patterns can help reduce the number of fatalities caused by natural disasters and other weather phenomena.
Urban Planning
Don’t you just hate how bottle-necked traffic gets at certain times of the day? Do you notice that there are certain spots along a particular road, maybe where it curves off suddenly with no warning, that seems to cause more car accidents? Drones can actually help prevent accidents in situations like these by monitoring urban areas and roadways. They can observe where traffic gets sticky and locations that have the most frequent accidents.
By monitoring the day to day happenings of urban living, drones can aid in the collection of vital information for planning purposes, while giving accurate data to help fix problems that regularly occur within our communities.
Entertainment
Drones are responsible for much of the video footage you see on the television screen. Drone videos are able to shoot footage that otherwise would be too risky to obtain. Videographers are able to collect images and videos of breathtaking landscapes, beautiful waterfalls, and new angles for scenes of a movie filmed in the outdoors.
Drones can also provide exemplary coverage of live events, where it may not be in the best interest of the performers, photographers, or cameramen to be front and center.
Journalism and News Coverage
Viewing war-torn cities and military training may not be as appealing to you as it is to the media, but what about seeing good deeds done by good people? Watching a firefighter rescue a young child from a burning building can be amazing footage for the community to see. Footage like this can be obtained by a drone. If it weren't for drones, we would have minimal footage some of the most heroic and memorable acts.
Enjoyment
Playing with toys and having fun is a rite of passage for youth. It is both a privilege and a necessity. Supplying those with an interest in flight or aviation with a tool to experience their passions on a small, child-friendly drone is something that brings plenty of fun for the whole family.
Drones used for enjoyment can come in both expensive and less expensive price ranges, based on the features of the device. Some drones just fly around, while others include video, photo, and sound recording capabilities. Drones come in all sorts of shapes, sizes, and designs that are appropriate for beginner, intermediate, and expert drone pilots.
Interested in picking up your first drone? See our recommended drones below:
- Recommended Toy Drones
- Recommended Beginner Drones
- Recommended Hobbyist Drones
- Recommended Prosumer Drones
Science, Education, and Exploration
Drones can further the foundations of our basic understanding of science, and life in general. Through drone technology, we are able to track storms more accurately; fly into mouths of volcanoes; safely acquire and handle hazardous materials; and so much more. Until recently, we’d barely begun to explore the fullness of the world’s ocean, as well as space. With drones, we are learning more than we ever imagined, and at much faster rates than ever before. As our understanding of the world around us, thanks in a large part to drones, our education as a whole, rises higher and higher.
Law Enforcement
Drones employed by law enforcement have begun appearing slowly and surely over the past few years. It is a pattern that is going to grow with time. Across the US, when possible, police use drones as their first responder at crime scenes and accidents.
From drones that track and enforce speed limits on interstates and highways to the drones that SWAT and special enforcement units use for approaching and disarming explosives, drones in law enforcement are an obvious positive aspect of the rise of drone technology.
A Final Word About Positive Uses for Drones in Society
With drones, we achieve more, in much less time than thought possible in the past. Furthermore, we continue to expand our knowledge of remote areas and broaden our collection of information in urban and wilderness areas. There is no doubt that drones are more than helpful in developing modern society and will continue to improve the ease of day to day functions in our lives well into the future. Used for everything from family fun to search and rescue missions, drones are now an integral part of our society.
Do you know of another positive use for drones that help society? We’d love to hear all about it in the comments section below!
