Drones, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), quadracopters and remotely piloted vehicles are subject to crashes and entanglement – because there is no human on board to take corrective action if a hazard exists. Whilst some drones are fitted with cameras, the operator may be focused on what they are observing instead of flying the drone around obstacles that could cause the drone to crash or get caught in trees or wires.
One of the biggest impediments to utilising drones for tasks such as deliveries and aerial observation, is that the drone (and it’s payload) may become lost – such as by hitting a power line or crashing into a tree, building or river. This requires that drones are not fully unmanned – they need a pilot who can either see the drone or use an onboard camera with live streaming of the signal to an operator. This either requires two operators, or ensuring that the drone is within line of sight or in signal range.
Technologies have been developed (such as by using stereo cameras and ultrasonic distance sensors) to allow a drone to avoid obstacles when they encounter them, however this does not allow the drone to avoid entering the zone of a hazard, or undetectable hazards such as rising air or flying over open water.
Privacy becomes an issue with concerns raised about drones having cameras. There are also no-fly zones and airspace restrictions that are currently honoured by people performing planning to avoid known areas of restricted airspace. This knowledge of airspace restrictions, requests for privacy and rules are often not known by untrained individuals.