25 cool things you can do with drones

Drones have been getting better and better in the last few years and are now very versatile. All the big tech companies are trying to figure out how to optimize them. The only thing that has been holding drones back is regulation. With the lockdown scenario as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic crisis and the focus on no touch technologies for the future, this is one thing that could really take off.
Here’s looking at 25 cool things you can do with drones…

1. Spray disinfectant during Covid-19: All over the world, drones are spraying disinfectants in public places to keep zones sanitized. The same is the case with India. After the crisis is over, will drones take over the spraying of things like DDT too?

2. Deliver regular stuff: Potentially this is huge. BigBasket, Amazon, Swiggy, all have really mushroomed and the delivery boy network had reached unprecedented levels. Initially probably the larger orders and those at remote places can be handled by drones. Could they do it 100% in the future?

3. Deliver in hazardous zones: This is quite useful during earthquakes and floods when roads are out and helicopters and boats are limited and can be used sparingly. Drones can deliver medical emergency kits, food and get back valuable information for disaster planners.

4. Surveillance: This will be popular for governments: national, State and local; also for espionage. Corporates can also keep track of their large properties. This is becoming easier with increasing bandwidth speeds and data centre storage.

5. Aerial photography: Nothing says bird’s eye view like a drone. But it can also be used for underground tunnels, skimming the surface of water and generally getting into areas where it’s difficult for the human hand or camera to reach.

6. Film shooting: While the lockdown will end for the normal people, what about large gatherings? Film shoots may have hundreds of people and so the risk of infection is high. What if films came out with very less actors being shot by drones with cameras controlled from a remote location?

7. 3D mapping: Surveillance and aerial photography is fine, but what if you wanted to make a 3D map of an area? People like Albert Lin have been doing this for their documentaries for quite some time now and it is also useful for city planning.

8. Use in war zones: The military is usually ahead in using cutting edge technology and drones are no different. One person even managed to put an AK-47 a drone and make it work perfectly. They can also be used to neutralizing mines.

9. Racing: Drone racing is awesome thanks to the in-built camera plus the fact that the drone can go high or even appear to be hugging the ground. With large spectator sports under a cloud could we have the World Drone Championships in 2021?

10. Chatbot drones: What if you put a chatbot in a drone in a hospital or airport that would sort out the queries of visitors? Through facial recognition the drone would know who’s in trouble and go to them and ask: May I help you?

11. Observe wildlife: If drones can be big and menacing, they can be small and inconspicuous and observe on the sly. They can take the shape of something that wouldn’t alarm wildlife and act as a sort of candid camera in the forest.

12. Police the streets: Drones can act as a 24-hour police control and keep a lookout for suspicious activity and pass on the information to the control room. The police could also take charge of the drone and chase criminals.

13. Create mobile Wi-Fi zones: There have been many attempts to give Internet to the rural areas of India. Drones could move around as Wi-Fi hotspots from area to area. Facebook has been working on Internet drones powered by the sun.

14. Land surveys: Years back Karnataka did an ambitious Bhoomi project doing geographical mapping using satellite data. Imagine doing the same today with drones and a much detailed map of the land!

15. Advertising: Drones could be used for outdoor advertising. They could be used to carry banners, ads or even recordings to propagate a product.

16. Skyscraper maintenance: Drones could help in keeping track of what is going wrong in skyscrapers and maybe even do a bit of repairing and cleaning at the higher levels.

17. Carry people in emergencies: Drones are getting bigger and bigger and are able to carry more weight. The latest ones can carry people too. It could be used to evacuate people during emergencies or even some sort of passenger service.

18. Use in farming: In farming, a drone could be used to get detailed information in the case of large fields, spray pesticides and insecticides and even act as a scarecrow and chase away all the birds.

19. Site planning: Whether it is simplification at the pre-construction or things related to design drones can help in the planning of it all.

20. Asset management: Both governments and big companies can keep track of all kinds of assets with a fleet of drones.

21. Extraction pits for mining: This is also another hazardous area where drones can help out and save human lives.

22. Fish deep in a lake: This one is for fun. You could take the fishing line anywhere in the lake and fish wherever you wanted to. In this case, maybe the son could take his father fishing.

23. Replace the postal department: If the drones replace the delivery boy network, could they replace the postman too? Then the postal service would see a huge overhaul.

24. Take drone selfies: If you had a small drone of your own where you could attach your mobile, would you be able to resist the charm of taking selfies with it?

25. LED light show: We have had static light shows and musical fountains with light. You could put laser lights on drone or maybe even an army of drones to have a really wild light show.