Drones come in two forms: Military and Consumer.
Military drones are used in combat. This website does not discuss military drones. We provide consumer drone information.
A consumer drone looks like this:
This verion is called a Quadcopter. It has four blades. Other versions are hexacopters (6 blades) and octocopters (8 blades).
These drones are controlled by a pilot using a remote control from the ground. They can control its height, speed, and direction of flight.
Many drones these days come with advanced features:
- Obstacle avoidance
- First person view
- Autonomous flight paths
- Autonomous landing and takeoff
- GPS positioning
Prices range across the entire spectrum. So depending on the features you want, you can get a cheap drone or an expensive one.
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Drones also come with cameras. The camera is what really sets drones apart from other technology.
It allows them to take aerial images and photos that can be used for maps, models, marketing materials, inspections, search and rescue, and a bunch of other applications.
A quality camera drone will usually take 4K video and at least 8-10mp photos. It will also come with autnomous flight tech in order to give the photographer smooth footage.
A variety of media outlets have popped up around the subject of drones, from blogs, to podcasts, to news websites.This has allowed a variety of people to voice unique opinions about the evolutions of consumer drones.
It's not unlikely to encounter totally opposing viewpoints on certain subject, especially regulations (particularly in the United States). But this is to expected in an infant industry.