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Drones Offer Journalists a Wider View
- clarkmoody 13y agoDear mainstream media: Please stop using the word 'drone' to describe remote-controlled planes and quadrotors. That is all.
- cynwoody 13y agoSo, what attributes does an aircraft require in order to deserve to be called a drone? Is it the degree of remoteness of control? E.g., ability to be operated reliably beyond the visual range of its operator? Or the ability to operate autonomously or semi-autonomously?
- clarkmoody 13y agoWell, as an aerospace engineer, I don't think any vehicle should be called a drone. Unmanned [Combat] Aerial Vehicle is a better term, or even Remotely Piloted Vehicle. But if we must use the label, let's say that a 'drone' meets one of the following: * Has weapons * Operates autonomously * Operates over the horizon * Requires runway facilities -- large remotely-piloted aircraft Everything else is just RC, including the quadrotors in the article.