mark – Drones Outpost

How does a drone fly?

The drones have a fan like rotors which push the air down, and the air pushes the drone up. In a simple drone, usually having four rotors, one located on each side. A drone can either move upwards, forwards, backward, downwards or hover. To hover, the gravitational pull and the net thrust should be equal.

In order to move the drone upwards, the upthrust should be more than the gravitational pull. To move it downwards to the ground, the gravitational pull needs to be greater than the air thrust. The speed of the rotors will slow down.

A drone also changes its position, to change the direction angular momentum of the drone has to be changed. In order to do that, the speed of 2 of the diagonal rotors is reduced, and two diagonal rotors speed is increased. In a nutshell, the changes to the direction are made by changing the spinning rate of the rotors.

Have you ever noticed a cute little machine flying up in the air? What is it? A fan that gives us some air as it passes from the top of our heads in the scorching heat? Or a toy helicopter that flies? What is it exactly? Without further curiosity, it is called a drone also known as, unmanned aerial vehicle. A drone is an aircraft which flies without a human being sitting inside it. A human usually operates a drone from the ground. There is a network connection between both of them.

Back in the time when drones where launched, they were used to carry out military operations. As the time passed, they become more specialized and smaller in size. Now drones are also used for, policing, peacekeeping and surveillance, product deliveries, aerial photography, agriculture, smuggling, and drone racing.

Now you might be wondering, how would you control a drone like that? Well, the answer is simple, by using a computer. That does not mean you have to keep taking your old desktop along with you everywhere. Drones have specially designed remote controllers which have all the necessary buttons to control them. Your job is to operate through those buttons. Your controller must-have features such as WIFI to establish a connection and a GPS connection too.

Parts of drone that help in flying

1. Batteries

Batteries are an important component of a drone, without them a drone would not be able to fly. The batteries provide with the energy for the drone to fly. The size and capacity of the battery depend upon how long a drone can stay up in the air. If the battery dies, the drone will probably fall to the ground.

2. Motors

The kind of motor which is fitted in the drone depends upon the task the drone is built for. For example, is a drone is built for racing it will have a faster-running motor than a drone which is building for videography.

3. Frame

The frame is like a cover on the drone. All the wires, motors and batteries are covered by a colored frame which looks good to the eye. The frame also protects the drone from losing inner parts due to high wind speed or if it crashes somewhere.

4. Propellers

Propellers are of 2 types, carbon propellers, and plastic propellers. The carbon propellers are expensive but more durable whereas the plastic propellers are not as expensive but not as much durable as compared to carbon propellers. The size of the propeller depends upon the frame size of the drone.

5. Electronic speed controller

An electronic speed controller keeps in check the speed of the drone. They change the current that is supplied to the drone to fly. If there will be the same speed of motors, the drone will only be hovering. To move and spin the motor at different speeds, different intensity of the current is supplied.

The increasing uses of drones

As mentioned before, when the drones were first launched they were used for military purposes, but now there are various uses, let us look into them.

1. Military drones

This is the first use of a drone. When there is a threat from enemies and terrorists, the drone is used to attack them. Since a drone does not have any human seated inside, there is no human life danger, and the mission is carried out successfully to fight the terror in the world.

2. Camera drone

One of the most famous and in market use of the drone is the camera drone. You must have noticed drones giving you a nice cool air as they pass above your head. These drones are also called the quadcopters. They are controlled using a remote controller operated by a human. The video that is being made appears on the controller’s screen. The drone can be moved without the human being moving along with the drone. These type of drones are used on occasions such as weddings, birthdays, parties, etc. Nowadays YouTubers also use drones to capture some amazing aerial shots.

3. Drone racing

As the world today is of drones, the drones have also stepped into the world of sports. The drone race is where a human controls the drone, and he has to carry out a set of tasks. As the time begins the tasks are started, the first one to complete all the tasks wins the drone race. This race was first started in 2014 by Aerial Grand Prix. These drones have a first-person view flying which means that the human operator’s eye can only see what the drone can see, not beyond that. The operator wears FPV goggles to compete in the race.

4. Product deliveries

A human rider delivering the products is old fashioned now since drones are used for this purpose now. Small, lightweight items are put along in the storage area of the drone and delivered to the respective owner. In this way, the deliveries are made with increased efficiency and much faster.

5. Agriculture

They are used in the agriculture sector as well. Instead of hiring a lot of labor to spread out the seeds and fertilizers, drones carry out this task.

In conclusion, it can be said that drones are a very useful invention and they are being used in multiple ways in the world today. The physics behind how drones work is must be pretty easy for you to understand now. Good luck with flying your drone!

8 Cool Things About Drone Photography

Drone photography has become a common phenomenon everywhere around the world. Drones were first made in Israel, and this unmanned aerial vehicle has been developing our way of doing things by a great deal since then. Drone photography is simply taking photos using drones, how cool is it? Let’s get to know about that…

Perfect for private investigation

It’s probably not right, but drone photography helps a lot especially in private investigation purposes. You could decide to spy on someone (a cheating spouse for instance), and they go to places that you can’t go in without raising suspicion to say a hotel room on the 24th floor. You can fly the drone up that floor so you can get a view of the room well without having to be anywhere in the building.

Epic drone selfies

Drone photography is amazing for taking selfies. Many epic selfies on the internet were taken with drones. They give you a great feel as your front side is captured at angles from a distance in the air. This is pretty cool.

3. Event Videos

Pictures from all angles make the best album. Why? Most of the drone pictures might be taken unaware therefore revealing the true emotions that were involved at certain moments. Capturing moments for instance at the wedding is one of the most treasured photography. However, when people pose for photos, their real emotions don’t necessarily surface. Drone photography doesn’t leave anything unrecorded in photos. That’s the beauty of it.

Smart Journalism

When celebrities are walking, and journalists try taking photos, chasing them with cars, it can be pretty strenuous not forgetting that the pictures don’t always turn out perfect due to the rush. Instead of all the effort getting drained chasing after them, a drone would be perfect for photos. However, the law prohibits certain drone photography especially any related to journalism purposes.

Relief purposes

When it comes to drone photography, there are no limits. When something happens, a Tsunami or any related disaster, the victims need the help of various kinds. However, helicopters go trying to take pictures, but they can’t be entirely successful due to the existence of obstacles like trees. However, drone photography can enable the taking of images under obstacles and what not. This makes it super reliable as it can capture the real struggle and agony that victims may be facing. A release of photos regarding what happened will increase donations and hence help the victims.

The best part is the instant help disaster victims can get through drone photography. Because drones can get under rocks and debris, someone stuck under will be able to be spotted and rescued in no time.

Wildlife Shots

When you go to many national parks, you are told not to take photos of some animals at close range. This is because you might be disrupting their natural behavior and habitat. However, with drone photography, you can capture amazing photos from any angle while keeping a distance. You will be able to capture these animals in their most natural self, peaceful and getting on with their natural way of life. Such pictures are full of authenticity and beauty that can’t match the normal pictures when the animal is wondering what you are doing. This is one of the most cool things about drone photography.

Ariel survey

Drone photography has made everything easier. Now you can survey places for research, real estate survey or any other important information. The drone captures the topography and whoever is in it perfectly. Unlike the traditional use of helicopters which can’t maneuver under obstacles, this cool gadget can take photos of a lot of stuff on the ground.

Holiday pics

Many people love taking pictures and putting them up on social media or other platforms. It’s a normal thing now where you tell people that you are going for a holiday on social media, so they’ll want you to share moments with them. However, it can be hard to poise photos every time while having fun at the same time. For that matter, getting a drone that will be automatically snapping pictures as you get on having fun is an amazing idea. That way you get to be seen as you and also look good effortlessly when you are just your natural self.

Drone photography is an amazing type of photography. With the right skill set, a great drone and a fantastic camera, the beauty that the photos can provide is overwhelming. However, helping people through it is one of the cool things about drone photography.

How Fast do Drones Fly? Examples of Racing Drone Speeds.

There are a lot of drones available in the market with dozens of variations, configurations, and variables at play. One drone could be a 100 mph and the other a measly 20 mph. The 100 mph is, by the way, the speed limit enforced by the FAA for security and safety reasons. Any more than 100 mph and you will probably have to turn in your drone to the police, provided you can find a drone that goes more than 100 mph in the market.

A drone specifically built for racing can go up to a top speed of 179 mph, but the record top speed that has been recorded has been 163 mph. Of course, wind and resistances play a huge role in slowing down the small drones from reaching top speeds.

These racing drones are of course allowed under special circumstances and are hardly available for commercial use. Even if they were, there was no way that you could fly them in a city environment. It would crash into a wall as soon as it reached any semblance of speed.

But how fast are common everyday drones like the Phantom? Well, it is an obvious step down from the extremely lightweight racing drones. The Phantom 4 has a top speed of 44.7 mph.

Considering that you will and can fly this in a city, it is pretty fast! With an amazing camera and recording capabilities it does have some weight to it, but regardless, it still flies at a great pace- more than can be expected from a weighty drone such as this. But of course, not all things are as good as they seem. Though it can fly up to 44.7 mph, at this speed, you cannot expect the battery to last very long. At most you might get 15-20 minutes at top speed. This is of course pretty disappointing if you were looking to do some high speed flying for a long time.

Some companies have noticed this and have introduced drones that can fly at 100 mph for 60 minutes while also carrying 5kgs of weight! This is extremely impressive for a commercial drone, but the only drawback is that the drone is not your average drone size. This particular drone is known by the name year! And is said to be powered by a combustion engine with an electrical hub as a backup. It also has the capability of having a path coded into it with an app which it follows strictly.

Lawmakers are still adapting to how to deal with speed regulations as the drone technology advances forth pretty quickly. One thing is for sure, drones are getting faster and faster every year. While it is exciting to experience, it also falls upon us to be responsible citizens with drones as to not cause harm or inconvenience to others and ourselves.

7 Cool Things About Drones.

Here are some cool things you probably didn’t know about drones:

Deliver Pizza

Can you imagine opening your front door to meet a drone? It is scary and weird at first, but you get used to awesomeness.

Pizza delivery will no longer delay because drones are not affected by weather or traffic. While there is a lot of controversy around machines replacing human resource, drone delivery is cool. The pizza guys a specialize in adding spices and enhancing the quality of pizzas. Domino’s recently shared a video of a drone delivering pizza; the advert generated different reactions in the market on use of drones. Let alone efficiency and effectiveness, it is cool.

Access to remote areas

Some remote African villages are deep in the forest and almost inaccessible areas. Handling emergency cases in such places is a challenge even if information got to people responsible in time. If floods or any natural calamity occurred and there are survivors, it often an emergency to transport food, toiletries, and medicine to an area. Poor infrastructure characterizes remote regions; trucks will take days to reach people hence risking more lives. While drones can be scary to people in such areas, more lives will be saved because of the drones. Accessibility is often a hindrance to emergency response efforts.

Paparazzi

Drones are an advancement in technology in this regard is more than amazing.

Real estate business

Selling a house is never easy. Potential buyers will often call from different parts of your city and wish to have an idea of the property. Meeting with different customers at different times can be tedious. Of course, you have pictures of the property and interior but how about the exterior in one photo? A drone is the only assistance to aerial view photography. You can create a video of backyard and all sides of your property by a drone on the aerial view. Potential buyers will have a clear picture of what they are negotiating hence time-saving. As a seller, you can be sure whoever comes to the property is in the decision-making stage and not only viewing the house.

Survey crops

Farming is only interesting if you can effectively manage your field. It is just tedious and cumbersome for most people because of management issues. Drones are a solution to some of the farming challenges. Large-scale farmers do not have to worry about moving around the whole farm to check on irrigation and plant growth. With a drone, a farmer can sit comfortably on one end of the farm and control keenly observe every crop by directing the drone. A faulty irrigation system can easily be detected. Infested crops cannot escape the high definition camera on drones. Drones are small and can go through leaves for effective examination processes.

Selfies

The photography and videography world has completely changed; no one has to miss the family moment or a unique pose because of holding a camera. Drones can be switched to any angle for a perfect shot. Anniversaries and weddings are more interesting with drone photography; selfies are no longer limited, everyone at the wedding can be in one photo. The interesting thing about drone selfies is it can happen without alerting the crowd to pose. Drones are perfect for capturing people unawares. If you are thinking of pulling a surprise for your fiancée or birthday for a colleague, the moment can be well covered by a drone.

Recreation

They are fun to fly, build, and race.

Drones make everything easy; it is no longer too high to capture that perfect shot. You don’t have to move to view a landscape physically; it is monitoring equipment. Some people criticize drones as a compromise to privacy; while this is true, there are several cool functions of drones that overshadow the minor issues in society. Drones are amazing. They double human existence because you can sit at one point and watch what is happening in the next compound.

At first, they were crazily expensive; most drones today range below $400. It is no longer something to attract attention in the city or neighborhood; it is now common to see a person sitting on a truck with remote control. If there is anything to worry about drones, it is privacy. Still, this constitutes the cooling element. Snooping can be cool to some degree, like secretly watching over your property.