Getting Started with Drones

Chapter 1. Introduction

Some Definitions

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’re probably aware that the word drone is frequently in the news. The many headlines about drones have used the term to describe a wide range of aircraft—from small remotely piloted toys, to autonomous flying robots, to full-scale weaponized military surveillance models. This is mainly because different sources have had different definitions of the word drone. Where exactly is the line drawn, or what makes a drone a drone? Let’s start with a basic definition.

Merriam-Webster’s definition of drone is:

an unmanned aircraft or ship guided by remote control or onboard computers

This definition presents a very broad sense of the word, which contributes to the ...