what is a drone and how do drones work is answered here in very easy to understand language. drone technology is constantly evolving as new innovation and big investment is bringing more advanced drones to the market every few months.

in this article i will discuss uav technology on one of the most popular drones on the market which has plenty of top drone technology. most drones will have very similar systems incorporated.

unmanned aerial vehicle technology and science in the widest aspect covers everything from the aerodynamics of the drone materials in the manufacture of the physical uav to the circuit boards chipset and software which are the brains of the drone.

one of the most popular drones on the market was the phantom 2 vision . this drone was very popular with professional aerial cinematographers. while slightly old now it uses plenty of advanced technology which is present in the latest drones. this uav is ideal to explain drone technology because it has everything in one package. it includes the uav gimbal and camera and uses some of the top drone technology on the market today.

in only a few months since writing this article some new and highly advanced drones such as the dji mavic phantom 4 pro and inspire 2 have come to the market. the fast pace of drone technological innovation is tremendous. i ve included these latest drone technology advancements in the below article. so it is right up to date including the links.

how drones work
a typical unmanned aircraft is made of light composite materials to reduce weight and increase maneuverability. this composite material strength allows military drones to cruise at extremely high altitudes. drones are equipped with different state of the art technology such as infra red cameras military uav gps and laser military uav . drones can be controlled by remote control system or a ground cockpit.

drones come in a wide variety of sizes with the large drone mostly used for military purposes such as the predator drone other smaller drones which can be launched by hand to other unmanned aircraft which require short runways. an unmanned aerial vehicle system has two parts the drone itself and the control system.

the nose of the unmanned aerial vehicle is where all the sensors and navigational systems are present. the rest of the body is complete innovation since there is no loss for space to accommodate humans and also light weight. the engineering materials used to build the drone are highly complex composites which can absorb vibration which decreases the noise produced.

what is a drone uav technology
below we examine the science and drone technology behind the dji phantom 2 vision uav. another terrific article is a drone components overview. this gives you a breakdown of the individual components seen in most drones.

radar positioning amp return home
the flight radar displays the current position and location of the drone in relation to the pilot.
exceeding the control range of the remote control will trigger return to home meaning the uav will automatically fly back to its takeoff point and land safely.
gyro stabilization imu and flight controllers
gyro stabilization technology is one of the components which gives the drone its smooth flight capabilities. the gyroscope needs to work almost instantly to the forces moving against the drone. the gyroscope provides essential navigational information to the central flight controller.

the inertial measurement unit imu works by detecting the current rate of acceleration using one or more accelerometers. the imu detects changes in rotational attributes like pitch roll and yaw using one or more gyroscopes. some imu include a magnetometer to assist with calibration against orientation drift.