3 ways drones are shaking up our way of looking at the world

By 2050, UN forecasts the world population to rise to 9.7 billion by 2050. Due to this massive expansion of people to feed, the agricultural consumption has to rise with 69% between 2010 and 2050. A means to achieve this gigantic increase in food demand is through precision agriculture. This includes the way farmers manage crops to assure an efficient usage of resources such as water and nutrients, and to optimize productivity, quality, and profit yield.

Using drones, farmers can continuously monitor the condition of crops and livestock from the sky, allowing them to quickly identify problems which ground checks would not reveal. For example, a farmer may discover through time-lapse drone photography that part of his crop is not being properly irrigated, a prompt resolution to this problem will save us from a poor harvest.

Drones in agriculture will mainly be used for mapping/ surveying & cropdusting/ spraying. The first process, mapping or surveying, crops is fairly simple and will be used in the near future. Many of the newer agricultural drone models are equipped with flight planning software that allows the user to draw the area to cover. As the drone flies, it automatically takes photographs using onboard sensors and the built-in camera. As previously mentioned, rapid detection of potential issues will lead to better yields.

Drones used for spraying crops are much more advanced and precise in their task than traditional tractors. A more precise approach comes with a number of advantages. First of all, it helps to reduce costs and, in addition, it prevents the possible exposure of workers who would have had to spray the crops manually to pesticides.

There are a multitude of reasons why drones can be useful for law enforcement purposes down the road. The most obvious ones are: surveying vast open areas, chasing suspects, traffic and flow management, event management and seizing illegal drones.

In dangerous cases like negotiating hostage situations, pursuing armed suspects and investigating bomb threats, drones could allow police to safely navigate through potentially dangerous scenarios while ensuring the safety of their officers. The number of victims should consequently decrease.

In the aftermath of hurricanes, tornadoes and other natural disasters, it can be extremely challenging to get ground troops to the affected areas. Getting manned aircraft into dangerous areas without endangering the pilots can be equally difficult. For this reason the future well-equipped and improved drones will be used to survey disaster sites and identify areas and people in need of help.

Intelligent drones are expected to change the delivery industry for good. Through the use of drones for the delivery of goods the world might become even more interconnected. Unmanned aircrafts can access the hard-to-reach places on earth, even the most remote and rural areas will become instantly accessible.

For every different kind of transportation there will be a new sort of drone. A new wave of airplane-sized autonomous delivery vehicles can transport hundreds of pounds over hundreds of miles. They are called cargo drones. With their speed, eco-friendliness, and ability they will change the freight industry completely.

Impulse purchases could skyrocket over the next few years. Following the promises of various retail and transport giants, which claim that soon deliveries could be carried out on the same day or even within 30 minutes.

Most importantly, if other modes of transportation are unviable, drones might become lifesavers. The use of drones reduces the difficulties associated with the delivery of relief and medical supplies in disasters and emergency situations.