Q. Consider the following activities:

  1. Spraying pesticides on a crop field
  2. Inspecting the craters of active volcanoes
  3. Collecting breath samples from spouting whales for DNA analysis

At the present level of technology, which of the above activities can be successfully carried out by using drones?

  • 1 and 2 only
  • 2 and 3 only
  • 1 and 3 only
  • 1, 2 and 3

Answer: (d) 1, 2 and 3

Notes
  • A drone refers to an unmanned aerial vehicle. Different drones are capable of travelling varying heights and distances.
    • The close-range drones have the ability to travel up to three miles and are mostly used by hobbyists.
    • The short-range drones travel up to 90 miles and are used primarily for espionage and intelligence gathering.
    • The Mid-range UAVs have a 400-mile distance range and could be used for intelligence gathering, scientific studies and meteorological research.
    • The longest-range drones are called “endurance” UAVs and have the ability to go beyond the 400-mile range and up to 3,000 feet in the air.
  • Some of the application of drones:
    • Aerial photography for journalism and film
    • Express shipping and delivery
    • Gathering information or supplying essentials for disaster management
    • Thermal sensor drones for search and rescue operations
    • Geographic mapping of inaccessible terrain and locations
    • Building safety inspections
    • Precision crop monitoring
    • Unmanned cargo transport
    • Law enforcement and border control surveillance
    • Storm tracking and forecasting hurricanes and tornadoes