Just a couple of years ago, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or drones were virtually unknown. But, these remote-controlled aircrafts have slipped onto the horizon rather stealthily and have caused a buzz from Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C to the rainforests of Sumatra. Initially, the uses of drones were just limited to military applications, but modern drones are able to offer a number of other uses that were previously unavailable. There is no doubt that UAV technology is here to stay, but this doesn’t mean that their uses will be limited to military technology and cloak-and-dagger operations.

Some of the cool uses that modern drones can serve are highlighted here:

Real estate sales

As a UAV videographer, Daniel Garate enjoyed a very lucrative career. He was able to capture some really stirring images of high-end properties in the real estate market of Los Angeles through his $5000 drone. Eventually, he was shut down by the Los Angeles Police Department, which declared that commercial use of drones wasn’t permitted. However, in 2012, a federal law was signed, which opened drone technology to commercial purposes. Garate has been approached several times to take photos of celebrities’ paparazzi-style as he had previously made videos for commercials too.

Sports Photography

Extreme sports photography and video has also been done through drones and special emphasis has been placed on base-jumping activities and skiing. It can give some really good angles, which would otherwise be unavailable to people using other devices like phones or cameras. You can find 8 best drones under $500 at Bestshoppy; these drones can be great for sports photography.

Highway Monitoring

In the United States alone, there are about 400 million miles of highways and watching all of them may not be practical or possible, unless you think of drones. The Federal Highway Administration, along with the Georgia Department of Transportation recently gave a grant worth $75,000 for a project that would study the uses of drones for surveying lands with laser mapping, inspecting bridges and roads and alerting officials about traffic jams and accidents.

Atmospheric Research

A critical role is played by ozone in the upper atmosphere as it protects the surface of the Earth from the harmful ultra-violet (UV) radiation. In order to understand the interaction of ozone with water vapors in a better way, a UAV is being sent into the stratosphere by NASA. These are just the first flights and more will be sent.

Disaster Relief

There are a number of applications of drones in this category ranging from searching for survivors in a landscape filled with debris to entering radiation-filled zones where it is dangerous for humans to enter. They can be very useful in delivering medicines and vaccines to locations that are hard to reach or disaster zones.

Environmental Compliance

Dumping of toxic waste during the night and other similar surreptitious activities have become the bane of environmental law enforcement. However, drones can turn out to be a cost-effective solution to this issue as they can help in monitoring and looking out at night to ensure there aren’t any suspicious and illegal activities.

These are some unique uses of drones that can make our easier and simpler.

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