SUPER DRONES
How unmanned flying machines are changing the world
WORDS SCOTT DUTFIELD
BEHIND THE BLADES
How alternating rotation allows drones to glide effortlessly through the air
D rones, also referred to as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), are autonomous or remotely controlled vehicles. One of the earliest examples of remotely controlling a vehicle came from the brilliant mind of Nikola Tesla. Renowned as an electrical engineer and the inventor of the alternating current, Tesla also tried his hand at building a working drone back in 1898. The 1.2-metre-long boat drone used radio signals to remotely control its manoeuvres. This was the first time a vehicle had been controlled by radio signals and driven without being physically manned by an onboard pilot.
Once Tesla’s prototype was built, the world of remote-controlled UAVs began to blossom. Inventors from across the world developed new ways to pilot a vehicle without the need for a human on board. In 1917, through a complex system of timed cranks, bellows and barometers, American inventor Charles Kettering created the first aerial drone, the Kettering aerial torpedo, also known as the Kettering Bug. The primitive drone was designed to carry bombs to assist troops on the ground, and although 50 were built, none saw combat.
Did you know?
The US’ smallest military drone weighs less than a kilogram
The first modern-day aerial drones wouldn’t make their way into the skies until Israeli inventor Abraham Karem created the rotary drone in 1973, which uses several propellers spinning together to lift a drone off the ground. His first drone was designed as a decoy for radar surveillance for the Israeli Air Force during the Yom Kippur War. Karem later went on to invent one of the most well-known military UAVs, the Predator drone, which first flew in 1994. Karem’s invention truly showed the world what was possible with drones.