Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), popularly known as drones, have been a thing for over a century now, although they only went mainstream about 10 years ago. While ancient quadcopters were mainly used in battle, the new ones have robust uses, from agriculture to medicine and even filmmaking. Below are 5 cool drone ideas that will surprise, and interest you:
1. Shepherding Livestock
As it is, livestock farmers can purchase specialized livestock monitoring drones and save themselves the hustle of following their cows and goats around all the time. These quadcopters , containing thermal imaging cameras, can zoom in on herds and give real-time updates on any missing or injured livestock. Additionally, live camera can also help in monitoring grazing routes and letting shepherds know of any looming danger or dead ends. Admittedly, it may initially scare the animals as they are quite noisy but the long-term effects are negligible.
2. Foldable Drones are Here!
A couple of years ago, drones were expensive, cumbersome and a pain to move around with. However, with advancements in manufacturing technology, quadcopters are not only cheaper and easier to control, but they can also fold and fit in a small box. Well, not all drones are foldable but camera drones, which are what most civilians use anyway, are relatively portable. Notable examples include GoPro Karma and DVI Magic Pro, which are usually mounted with outdoor HD cameras.
3. Seen the WIFI Camera Drone Trend?
As with every other subset of the tech industry, quadcopters manufacturers tend to follow trends that are popular at a given time and currently, First Person View (FPV) quadcopters are the craze. FPVs are typically WiFi camera drones that stream live footage to the pilot’s monitor. Basically, the pilot gets to see what the quadcopter sees, in real-time. Such quadcopters have no particular use and can be used for fun viewing or, if the footage quality allows, to record live videos of events.
4. Wildlife Conservation
Governments are increasingly using technology to supplement their efforts towards protecting wildlife and the environment. The U.S government, in particular, uses live camera drones to monitor and track wildlife populations and keep watch over forests and wetlands. Such quadcopters are fitted with quality video cameras to give amazing end displays. For both government agencies and NGO’s involved in wildlife conservation, use of quadcopters is cheaper, faster, convenient and more effective than human labor.
5. Live Camera Drones for Video Creators
If you frequent online video platforms, you might have seen a couple of vloggers and movie-makers using footage shot using drones. Most of them use camera drones – that is, drones fitted with a bunch of cameras that all send back live footage to the pilot, almost like the FPV’s. What’s more, a typical live camera drone comes with one or two 4k camera meaning the ensuing footage is as close to realistic as possible. The footage that you see most of the time is shot using the best drone with 4k camera.
Conclusion
That’s all for now about modern quadcopters uses, but that doesn’t mean the conversation is over. Feel free to contribute your two cents in the comments below as well as give your feedback on the article. Thanks for reading.
Guest article written by: 
Alex Green is a writer and a techie from LA. He studied at California State University. Infatuated by technology and photography, goes in for drones and everything connected with it. He works as a software engineer and gladly shares his knowledge in this area.