Bring on the Drones (Infographic)

Drones! They’re everywhere. Drones are invading our skies, they’re in the news, and if some retailers get their way, they’ll soon be on our front steps.
As Americans, we have a fascination with these futuristic, unmanned planes, and why not. Drone technology can help save lives, track and protect wildlife, and (from a logistics standpoint) drones may revolutionize the delivery services industry.
But the picture isn’t 100% rosy for drones. There are some real drawbacks to drone-filled skies, including civil liberties violations.
We wanted to take a closer look at this drone phenomenon, so we’ve put together this infographic called “Bring on the Drones.” If you like it, please share it with others on social media. You can add the infographic on your website using the HTML code below as well. We only ask that you credit Camcode, the leader in durable asset tags, as the source.

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Full Infographic Text Transcription:

Title: Bring on the Drones

Drones are invading our skies.  They’re the future of several things like conservation, warfare, and package delivery.  Should we be excited or scared?

Military: A mixed bag

• Pros of Drones
  • Saves Lives
    • greatly reduce putting military personnel in harm’s way
  • Low Cost
    • significantly cheaper to purchase, fuel, and maintain than regular airplanes.
  • Accuracy
    • Drones have pinpoint accuracy from greater distances
      • reduces collateral damage

• Cons of Drones
  • Limited Abilities:
    • cannot communicate with civilians for more detailed intelligence.
    • Drones cannot capture surrendering military personnel, abandoned hardware, or military bases.
  • Civilian Losses:
    • Drone warfare often causes collateral damages in civilian lives and property
  • Too Easy
    • The disconnected feeling can diminish ethical decisions

Conservation:

• Protecting wildlife
  • track endangered wildlife
    • flown over rough terrain in Malaysia where GPS-collared elephants are difficult to monitor from the ground
    • Used to count orangutan nests to survey orangutan populations
  • spot poachers
    • 946 rhinos were poached in South Africa in 2013
    • Using a Google grant, WWF launched a three-year project using drones to
      • track animal movements
      • track poachers
      • to generate a strategic deployment of rangers
        • to form a shield between animals and poachers.
  • chart forest loss
    • real-time images showing where forests are being cleared and set ablaze

Cons:

• Disruption of legal hunting and fishing activities
• In April, 2013, PETA announced plans to monitor farmers and hunters using aerial drones
  • they are intended to monitor illegal activity
  • the general public sides with hunters
    • they don’t want to be spied on for any reason
  • IL passed a bill to stop PETA from using unmanned aerial surveillance to disrupt hunters
    • violators will be charged with a misdemeanor
  • PETA says the law would not stop its activities
    • drones would be flown over public, non-residential land

The Private Sector:
Amazon:

• Drone delivery
  • Deliver packages into customers’ hands in 30 minutes or less
  • Pros
    • the basic technology is there
    • could be better for the environment
      • A single, battery-powered drone traveling to bring your order versus a large emissions-spewing delivery truck is a vast improvement
      • The drone also wins out when comparing it to you driving your car to the store for the same items.
    • Overconsumption is more likely in store than when shopping online
  • Cons
    • Senator Rand Paul thinks that government drone surveillance is a big issue
      • “The domestic use of drones to spy on Americans clearly violates the Fourth Amendment and limits our rights to personal privacy. I do not want a drone hovering over my house, taking photos of whether I separate my recyclables from my garbage.”
    • Drones are becoming much cheaper
      • Anyone who can afford one can now watch your every move
    • Privacy
      • The drone will use GPS to find your house and will likely use a camera in order to safely land
        • Protecting this information will have to be paramount
    • Logistics – Drones would revolutionize delivery services
      • Delivering to different types of addresses
        • homes
        • apartment buildings
        • commercial properties
        • In different types of conditions
          • Rural areas
            • flooded/impassable roads
            • Developing countries
              • Places without roads
                • This could minimize need to build new roads
                • Dense areas
                  • high traffic congestion
    • FAA developing regulations for the testing and licensing of commercial drones by 2015.
    • This could do for physical transportation what the Internet did for the flow of information

Other big players in the field

• UPS and FedEx Researching Delivery Drones
• Could be useful for delivery
• Other options:
  • help move packages around their own warehouses
  • bring packages quickly and cheaply from a major airport or city to pick-up centers

Drones may soon rule the skies.  Camcode offers logistics management solutions to help you stay ahead of the game.
Sources

• http://www.philforhumanity.com/Drones.html
• https://www.environment.gov.za/mediarelease/update_on_rhino_poaching
• http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/feb/07/wwf-wildlife-drones-illegal-trade
• http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/world/story/2012-08-19/drones-wildfire-conservation/57134836/1
• http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/14/opinion/rand-paul-drones/
• http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2013/12/01/amazon-bezos-drone-delivery/3799021/
• http://www.treehugger.com/gadgets/amazon-drones.html
• http://www.supplychain247.com/article/ups_and_fedex_researching_delivery_drones_that_could_compete_with_amazon
• http://www.kfvs12.com/story/22455099/bill-bans-drones-from-harassing-hunters
• http://www.cattlenetwork.com/cattle-news/Illinois-bill-protects-hunters-from-PETA-and-its-drones-209679391.html
• http://diydrones.com/profiles/blog/show?id=705844%3ABlogPost%3A1518753&commentId=705844%3AComment%3A1522299&xg_source=activity