When it comes to the different flying robotics such as drone, quad-copter, UAV and UAS that have beenevolving so quickly that their specific terminology will either have to keep up or be redefined. Drone is the most popular term in recent years. Everyone has heard the term “drone.” So, what exactly is a drone and how is it different from these other commonly heard terms such as quad-copter UAV, UAS and model aircraft?
By definition, every UAV is a drone as it represents an unmanned aerial vehicle. However, not all drones are UAV, as UAV works in the air, and "drone" is a general definition. At the same time, the UAS is the key to make the UAV work because the UAV is really just one component of the overall UAS.
●Drone
Drone’s History
Drone is one of the oldest official name for remotely piloted aircraft in the American military lexicon. When Chief of Naval Operations Admiral William Standley visited Britain in 1935, he was given a demonstration of the Royal Navy's new DH82B Queen Bee remote-controlled aircraft used for anti-aircraft gunnery practice. After returning home, Standley assigned Lieutenant Colonel Delmer Fahrney of the Naval Research Laboratory's Radiology Department to develop a similar system for the U.S. Navy's gunnery training. Farney adopted the name "drone" to refer to these aircraft in homage to the queen bee. For decades, Drone became the U.S. Navy's official name for its target drone.
What is the definition of “drone”?
However, if you were to technically define what a drone is, any vehicle can actually be a drone as long as it can travel autonomously without human assistance. In this regard, vehicles that can travel in the air, sea and land can be considered drones as long as they do not require human intervention. Anything that can fly autonomously or remotely over air, sea, and land is considered a drone. So, the truth is, anything that is unmanned and has no pilot or driver inside can be considered a drone, as long as it can still operate autonomously or remotely. Even if a plane, boat, or car is remotely controlled by a human being in a different location, it can still be considered a drone. Because the vehicle doesn’t have a human piloting or driving it inside.
In modern times, “drone” is a term unmanned aircraft that can be piloted autonomously or remotely, mostly because it’s a term that the media knows will catch the attention of casual viewers. It’s a good word to use for popular media such as movies and TV but may insufficiently specific for technical conversations.
●UAV
Now that you know what a drone is, let’s move on to what a UAV is.
“UAV” stands for unmanned aerial vehicle, which is very similar to the definition of drone. So, a drone…right? Well, basically yes. The two terms “UAV” and “drone” are often used interchangeably. Drone seems to have won out at the moment due to its use in the media, movies, and TV. So if you do use the same terms in public, go ahead and use the terms you like and no one will scold you.
However, many professionals believe “UAV” narrows down the definition of a “drone” from “any vehicles” to “aircraft” only that can fly autonomously or remotely. And UAV needs to have autonomous flight capabilities, whereas drones do not. Therefore, all drones are UAVs but not vice versa.
●UAS
“UAV” only refers to the aircraft itself.
UAS “Unmanned aircraft systems” refers to the entire system of the vehicle, its components, controller and all of the other accessories that make up an entire drone system or any other equipment that can help the UAV work.
When we talk about UAS, we are actually talking about the whole systems that make a drone or drone work. This includes all the different accessories enable the drone to work, such as GPS, full hd cameras, flight control software and the ground controller, wireless video transmitter and receiver. Even the person controlling the drone on ground can be included as a part of the overall system. But UAV is only a component of UAS as it only refers to the aircraft itself.
●Quad-copter
Any aerial vehicle that is unmanned can be called a UAV. This can include military drones or even model airplanes and helicopters. In that regard, let us narrow down UAV to the term “quadcopter”. A quadcopter is a UAV that uses four rotors, hence the name "quadcopter" or “quad helicopter”. These four rotors are strategically placed on all four corners to give it a balanced flight.
Summary
Of course, industry terminology may change over the coming years, and we'll keep you updated. If you're looking to purchase a long range drone video transmitter for your drone or UAV, let us know. You can visit www.iwavecomms.com to learn more about our drone video transmitter and UAV swarm data link.
Post time: Sep-18-2023
