The world today is gearing up to see the next technological revolution after the computer and Internet as it sees a veritable swarm of drones globally. A drone, in a technological context, is an unmanned or unpiloted aircraft or spacecraft.

Drones, formally known as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), are power-driven aircrafts that are designed to fly without a human operator on board; or to put in other words, they could be dubbed as ‘flying robots’. The aerial system may be remotely controlled or can fly autonomously through software-controlled flight plans in their embedded systems in conjunction with GPS and are usually equipped with a camera and can also be armed with missiles.

Presently, in India, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is working around regulations for commercial use of drones. The Indian armed forces have been using unmanned aerial vehicle for intelligence gathering and vigilance at international borders. But drones can be used for civil purposes like filming of aerial shots and agriculture management. Drones could be a saving grace during natural calamities such as earthquake, floods. They have the ability to undertake varied tasks such as–providing wireless internet, delivering medicines, assessing earthquake damage, recreational usage, and could also be used for amazing possibilities such as search and rescue, surveillance, traffic monitoring, weather monitoring and firefighting, for commercial as well as individual purposes.

Drones, however, are already starting to claim their place as the aerial wing of the Internet of Things (IOT): Initial applications include capturing footage for movies, TV, and documentaries, and data collection for agricultural and construction projects.

Today, over 90 nations and non-state groups are known to operate drones, including at least 30 countries that either operate or are developing armed drones.