As drones become more and more popular each day, they continue to get more publicity as well as people seeing the risks that come with strangers essentially having their own flying surveillance machine. But does this mean they should be banned?
Drones shouldn’t be banned because of a few instances that might have occurred due to a few individuals with bad intentions or reckless use. Drones are very useful devices and are used globally for advanced technological and security purposes that help thousands of lives, making them an integral part of the economy and society.
Keep reading as I discuss why drones should not be banned and why they can be useful to everyone, including those who do not actually have them.
31 Reasons Why Drones Are So Useful
Drones can be used for many things and aren’t just loud flying contraptions you might be irritated by from time to time.
Urban Planning
As urbanization continues and more and more people flood the cities forcing cities to need to adapt to a larger population and congestion, by using drones, urban planners are able to understand the environments and make improvents.
Drones are able to take aazing aerial photographs and are able to take photos of property, which just shows how versatile drones can be and they can be implemented into every industry.
Drones offer low cost photography options to those who can’t afford expensive photography crews.
Even smaller FPV drones are being used to shoot amazing B-roll footage of the insides of various homes.
Emergency Response
While drones are improving cameras are also improving and when these two pieces of tech are put together they can help a lot of people during mass emergency situations such as earthquakes and tsunamis.
Drones are being used in search and rescue operations all the time as they are smaller than helicopters so they are able to get an aerial view of places that helicopters can’t get to.
They are also airborne so they can go places cars and bikes can’t go. When they are paired with thermal imaging cameras they now provide emergency response teams with an ideal solution for identifying victims who are difficult to spot with the naked eye.
Drone manufacturer DJI launched an emergency response program in 2019 that allows first responders access to some of the company’s drones as well as peripherals. They even offer technical support and assistance.
The Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) took full advantage of this in 2015 when Batallion Chief Richard Fields initiated the LAFD’s UAV program.
This program was key in 2019 during the infamous California wildfires. Drones were very helpful during that time and continue to be helpful.
If drones are banned this could have a negative effect on the lives of many people and the efforts of emergency services.
Agriculture
Farmers around the world are starting to use technology to better improve the way they farm. They are constantly looking for new ways to reduce costs while still effectively expanding yields.
With the use of drones, farmers are able to collect data about their crops and improve their efficiency around their farms.
Another area where drones are being used on farms is the cultivation of crops. Crop cultivating is a process that can be repetitive, time-consuming and largely detail-oriented.
Drones are also helping in areas like this by helping farmers save time and resources.
Defense
The military have been using drones for well over a decade now. Everyone knows the General Atomics MQ-1 Predator and while you might not know the name of this drone you have definetely seen it any many movies and tv shows where the military have been involved.
This is a very large drone but smaller drones are also being used by the ground forces on a regular basis for surveilance.
Drone technology is constantly saving the lives of military personel by being sent in first to scout a dangerous situation or area before they send in people.
Future Uses For Drones
Drone technology is constantly improving and the companies that make these drones are not looking at stopping anytime soon.
More tech is being added to drones so they are able to fly themselves and avoid objects.
Larger drones are being created that are able to fit people inside and carry them from one point to another. This will defenitely be the future of travel within cities and it is the future of flying cars that we have all been waiting for since watching Back To The Future when we were kids.
Companies like Ehang have already had successful flights with these passenger drones and soon dreams will be a reality.
Companies like Amazon are working on Delivery drones that will be automated to fly to a customer’s house, deliver a package, and return to base.
Drones in the future will be doing that and possibly even delivering pizza to your door in the future.
Honestly the possibilities for drone technology implemented everywhere is endless and to ban them and take that away would be the wrong call to make.
Besides all these reasons, droning as a hobby is amazing and thousands of hobbyists shouldn’t be deprived of that because of the actions or could be actions of a few.
Common Concerns Regarding Drone Use
Many people feel that drones should be banned as a whole. Both military and recreational drones have lead people to fee that drones are becoming more and more of a safety and security issue for everyone around them.
The truth is that drones can be dangerous if in the hands of the wrong person, as with anything in life. After all, they are flying devices that have cameras attached to them. This alone can pose some serious security and privacy issues.
Anyone with bad intentions can use a drone to spy on someone else. People can use drones to harm other people, considering that they can be used as devices to carry bombs or lethal toxins to crowded areas, they are also a danger to commercial flights.
This is the main reason why people feel like drones should be banned. It is a little worrying that anyone with a couple of hundred dollars or even less can just buy a drone and use it anyway they see fit!
Banning drones won’t solve the problem. There will always be bad people in the world and there will always be irresponsible people, so banning something that has many uses to people just to try and keep it out of the hands of a few won’t solve the problem at all.
All this will do is snatch the enjoyment away from people who have been using drones for fun, and instead making it harder for people who have these bad intentions to get their hands on a drone. Notice how I said that it would be harder for them to get a hold of a drone, but certainly not impossible.
After all, in some states it’s still perfectly legal for anyone to purchase a firearm without a a permit and in some states even though you need a permit, people without them are still able to get their hands on them.
Drones are not just flying hazards just waiting to come crashing down to earth to hurt you. Drones can be used for many things and can help a lot of people do things that they were previously unable to do. Drones are helping people take the various skills they have to the next level every day.
One thing we have to acknowledge is that drones will be a very common object to see in the sky and that they will play an integral role in our economy and society for years to come.
What we must remember is that everything can be dangerous when it is still new, and people are intimidated by things they cannot control.
Drone technology is constantly improving every single day, and with that improvement they are becoming easier to fly as well as a lot safer to fly. Some drones you don’t even have to control anymore, and they fly themselves!
