Drone Helicopters

Drone helicopters are increasing in popularity every single year, mainly because of the advances in technology that makes them so appealing but also because they are hitting the market by storm so are freely available. Most drone helicopters are quadrotors, which means that they are lifted and kept up by four separate rotors although you can get some that vary from this. For this reason, many of the designs are known as ‘quadcopters’ which is an amalgamation of the two.

These devices normally use two different sets of propellers; one set of two will go clockwise with the other set going counter-clockwise. This keeps the device stable when in the air and able to quickly change direction in all conditions. Due to the success of the drones, production actually begun on a larger scale version of the quadcopters but ultimately ended in failure. At first, many people believed that a helicopter would benefit from the counteracting rotors instead of the front rotor and the rear vertical rotor (which actually produces little lift and therefore little help to the taking-off process). Many test vehicles appeared around the world in the early to mid-1900s and were, at first, a success and were many of the early vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft. However, this soon came to an end after many problems including poor and inconsistent performance. Improvement was thought to have been made a few years later only to suffer again as the workload of the pilot became too heavy.

With advancements in technology in recent years, quadcopters have benefitted hugely from additions such as cameras, GPS as well as better and more efficient designs that now allow the user to use the drone inside and outside. These devices are now small and lightweight making it easier to carry around as well as fly. Quadcopters have also been used for research into unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) as a result of their efficiency.

Quadcopters are often cheaper than original remote control helicopters because of their size and their lower cost of production. They are also known for causing less damage because they have smaller blades meaning that they produce less kinetic energy. The risk of any damage can also be further diminished with the addition of rotor protection that is available that will not affect the performance of the drone.

It was at the beginning of the twentieth century in 1907 that the first product of this idea came to light when Louis Breguet designed and built a four-rotor helicopter. Though it only flew a few feet from the ground a couple of times, it is widely seen as the first product of its type. It would take over ten years for somebody else to follow up on Breguet’s hard work when a French helicopter designer built a number of different aircraft. One of which was made up of four rotors and up to eight propellers (which included many clockwise but also counter-clockwise). This device started with small flights but could stay in the air for several minutes by 1923. This was seen as a success thus being the catalyst for all future four-rotor vehicles.

Commercial Drones

When you ask someone what they think of when you say ‘drone’ they will often head straight towards the military when in fact, the commercial drones market is more lucrative. The commercial drones industry is growing by approximately 20% every single year and the industry has expanded as a result. The introduction of high-quality cameras and efficient GPS coupled with sleek design has meant that more people use quadcopters for recreational use than ever before.

DJI, a Chinese company founded in 2006, is the market leader in recreational drones and is set to hit $1 billion in revenue next year. With a product range that includes the Phantom 3 and the Inspire 1, their products are widely used around the world in a number of different industries including farming and policing. DJI’s devices have also been associated with the solution to many natural disasters as drones can be used to hunt for hurricanes or search for the cause of a forest fire and help to keep the fire under control. Their products now offer customers high quality photo and video recording abilities, efficient GPS systems and application support. An app provided by DJI allows its customers to change settings on the drone to ensure the highest possible picture quality, stream 4k (60fps) video straight to an iOS or android device and access inflight telemetry.

It is believed that by the year 2025, commercial drones could be responsible for billions of dollars in the economy. Over 100,000 jobs will be attributed to the drone market which in turn creates a significant amount of money in tax and there are no signs of this slowing down anytime soon. The industry is booming and that is exactly what a high-investment market needs. The fact that these companies are doing so well means that they are able to reinvest in bigger and better products with even more features which will, in turn, help the market to grow even more. It is a never-ending positive cycle that will not be broken while people have a healthy amount of disposable income.

Could it be long before these drones are being used without any human involvement at all? The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has predicted that in just three years, these drones or quadrotors will be able to complete jobs such as delivering parcels without any human oversight whatsoever. The drone market is constantly changing and the rules and regulations are always changing as a result. For now, drones can only be flown in a position where they can be seen by the user but many industries want this law changed so that they can use the quadcopters more efficiently. For example, a train company wants to know exactly where the rail is broken which can be a tricky procedure if the drone has to be in sight at all times. This is something that the FAA is likely to consider as it can also help to save lives by preventing workers from entering potentially dangerous situations.

With new technologies being announced every single year, who or what is going to stop this unprecedented market growth for the commercial drone market?