Ian, Josh, Ben, Brandon, Adam

Professor Knight

Intro Engineering

26 February 2017

Team Drone On

Drones have existed for over one hundred years and they have done nothing but

grow in popularity since their creation. America has used drone technology since 1918,

but their beginning purpose was solely for warfare. Overseas, drones have been an

incredibly powerful weapon against America’s enemies. The overseas drone usage was

kept a secret from the public for decades, because this was strictly a government tool.

America has a long history of constantly improving its military drones to stay one step

ahead of our enemies (HUAV). In the twenty-first century, drones have skyrocketed in

popularity because of their accessibility to the American public (HUAV). Now that drone

popularity in America has exploded, people are making personal drones do vast

amounts of new things. Drones are used for deliveries, crime prevention and many

other everyday needs. Drone traffic in America is becoming an enormous problem

because every day there are more in the sky. The more drones we deploy, the greater

risk we have of colliding with airplanes or helicopters. NASA has been working with the

FAA for the past few years in efforts to work out a comprehensive air traffic control

method for these personal drones (Lozano). This paper will cover the technology of

drones, ethics that come into play when filling the skies with drones, and how America

can insure that this technology does not become more of a burden than a blessing.
 Drone technology began in America fifteen years after we created the first

airplane to make a successful flight. Orville and Wilbur Wright had the first successful

flight in 1903 and by 1918, they had “The Kettering Bug”. Charles Kettering (electrical

engineer) and the Wright brothers collaborated on this Kettering Bug, to create fifty units

(Stamp). This twelve foot biplane had to be slingshot into the sky and most of the time it

would be carrying a one hundred and eighty pound bomb. Engine revolutions were

calculated to figure out distance to the target, while factoring in other variables such as

wind speed, direction and weight. This technology was not an exact science and while

they would get close to their target, the military expressed their concerns about

dropping bombs on friendlies (Stamp). The Kettering Bug was never used in battle due

to World War One’s end in 1918, but it was still a revolutionary technology that was

created due to the outbreak of war.

A few decades later, the 1940’s through the 1950’s held more advancements in

the drone world, as America continued to strive for the latest technology. The men who

built The Kettering Bug teamed up with General Motors in 1941 to build a radio

controlled version of their earlier drone (UAV U). This comeback was called the GM A-1

and it was a large monoplane that carried a five hundred pound bomb. GM A-1

monoplane was faster, stronger and more technologically advanced than The Kettering

Bug. This project lasted a few years, then the nuclear power that the U.S gained

changed the focus of warfare. In 1946, we created B-17 bomber drones to fly through

the mushroom clouds of atomic bombs to collect radioactive data (HUAV). Prior to

1950, American drones were slingshot or took off like a plane, but new technology in

this decade created drones with jet propulsion systems. In 1954, a company called
Nothrop received a military contract to build supersonic, air launched drones (UAV U).

These jet powered drones, such as the XJ81 turbojet, had radio control capability that

could be utilized at over Mach one speed. This technology also included some of the

early television reconnaissance hardware. Pressure to make drones faster (harder to

shoot) came when America entered into the war in Vietnam. The 1940’s through 1950’s

was all about making drones faster, stronger and more capable against our enemies.

Skipping ahead a few decades, the 1980’s through the 1990’s created

technology that would revolutionize the world of drones forever. In 1984, the Pioneer

drone was created with advanced material technology such as Kevlar, fiber glass and

carbon fiber (UAV U). This drone had capabilities of flying a whole overseas trip on

autopilot or on a preprogramed route. Its autonomy run time was an astounding five and

a half hours and carried a huge, twelve gallon fuel tank. There was also a tracking

system on every drone to make sure they always knew where it was located. Due to this

machines light weight and non-metal material, it was barely visible on radar and made it

perfect for surveillance missions. The Navy received a large order of the Pioneer drones

in 1986 and by the Persian Gulf War in 1991, all branches of the U.S armed forces were

using Pioneer drones (UAV U). Over three hundred mission were flown with these

Pioneer drones during Operation Desert Storm and they were so technologically

advanced that our enemies were surrendering to the drone. Heading into the new

millennium, America’s armed forces were blessed with the RQ-1 Predator drone. RQ-1

(Reconnaissance Unmanned One) was a twenty-seven foot drone with one hundred

and fifteen horsepower. This beast required three men to control it and could fly up to

sixteen hours for surveillance or destruction (UAV U). Once we reached the new
millennium, America was on the forefront of the drone world because of our adapting

technology.

From 2000 to present day America, drone technology has improved in several

different categories. For the U.S military, the Predator RQ-1 was improved and renamed

throughout the 2000’s earning it the nickname of “Hunter/Killer” drone. But the real

advancements of the new millennium came in the form of personal, civilian drones.

Civilian drones became popular around 2012, when the FAA was pushed by the

president to allow personal drones more freedom in the skies. The FAA was required to

have civilian drone technology tested and a way to license these personal drones by

2015 (Lozano). The FAA called upon NASA to assist them in the creating of a new air-

traffic control technology to keep the skies safe. NASA came up with the UTM program,

which is a cloud-based program that uses “Geofencing” through radio frequency. This

geographical barrier (invisible fence) is created to keep low-flying drones out of

restricted zones and keep every machine in the sky safe. NASA did extensive testing on

this program and then transferred it to the FAA for their own testing (Lozano). The

twenty first century will see large increases in drone traffic and now that we have a way

to control this technology, businesses are seeing the benefits of it.

Drone technology and UTM programing has led many companies to utilize the

benefits drones offer (Lozano). Amazon is one of many companies that are testing

drones for delivery. Amazon sees drone delivery as a faster, cheaper and more

environmentally friendly way for deliveries. Amazon has patented technology for a large,

drone warehouse in the sky that could deploy smaller drones to make deliveries; but

that tech isn’t available yet. In the meantime, UPS has fitted delivery trucks with drone
docking stations to make deliveries. The drone docks on top of the truck while the driver

loads the package into the drone from inside the vehicle (CNBC). The driver then uses

a touchscreen pad to send the drone on an autonomous flight path for delivery. Many

companies and organizations are using these drones because they have become a

cheap tool. The technology, demand and possibilities for these civilian drones are

increasing greatly every day.

CNBC. "UPS Tests Drone Deliveries via High-tech Truck." CNBC. CNBC, 25 Feb. 2017.

Web. 26 Feb. 2017.

"History of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 20 Feb.

2017. Web. 26 Feb. 2017.

Lozano, Sharon. "First Steps Toward Drone Traffic Management." NASA. NASA, 19

Nov. 2015. Web. 26 Feb. 2017.

"1910-1990s Onwards - UAV Universe." UAV Universe. NOVA, n.d. Web. 26 Feb. 2017.

Stamp, Jimmy. "Unmanned Drones Have Been Around Since World War

I."Smithsonian.com. Smithsonian Institution, 12 Feb. 2013. Web. 26 Feb. 2017.