CLOUDY podcast | #3 The past, present and future of drones

What exactly is a drone?

It is a general set of devices that move, but do not have a pilot, driver, etc. in them.

They can be either drones, which are the most typical for us, that is, aerial ones, but they can also be devices that go under water, such as submarines that are used in some rescue operations, but also tracked vehicles or wheeled vehicles that they serve for military purposes or in the construction industry, for example.

Is it easy to buy a drone? Do I need something for this, or do I just come to the store: "Hello, I would like to buy a drone"?

Today it's really easy. In the first electronics store you walk into, you have a choice of dozens of drones that you can simply buy. It's not even that expensive these days. They can be bought from all kinds of Chinese e-shops for a few tens of euros, the quality and stability of that kind will of course not be so amazing, but you can already buy a very high-quality commercial drone for a few hundred euros and theoretically you can start flying with it.

Practically, some administrative matters need to be fulfilled, after all, it is a device that moves in the air space and can endanger flight operations, property or people under the drone in case of a fall or some kind of accident. The flight itself is then subject to some kind of registration, for example at the transport authority.

Does it also depend on the size of the drone or do I have to report even the smallest drone somewhere? Do I need a permit to fly?

What the obligations are depends on the calculation of the degree of risk that the drone brings with it. Drones are also divided according to weight - up to 250 g, you only need to register the drone at the authority, above 250 g, you also need to have a license to fly.

Once I buy a small drone, can I just start it up and fly somewhere over the city? Where do I control it from?

It is necessary to realize what kind of drone it is. First of all, it needs to be registered at the transport authority, which will send a mark/number that needs to be stuck on the drone. Then we can fly the drone. The traffic office has published a clear info table where it is written what I can do with which drone. If one follows this, the flight should be safe.

Are there zones where you can't fly a drone?

Yes, they are zones e.g. around the airport, military facilities or power plants, i.e. zones where there would be a security risk. All such zones are marked on aerial maps, plus new drones already have information about these no-fly zones and won't even fly there.

If I don't register the drone, I fly it and somehow someone finds out, what's the danger?

You get a fine, it's a violation. If I wanted to make it very simple, it's like driving a car without a driver's license. In principle, it is a mean of transport that is part of air transport, and even a small drone can cause big problems for airplanes. For example there will be some damage to the plane or they can do a lot of economic damage by having to divert the airport administration because of the drone.

They seem like toys, anyone can buy a drone and fly it, but not all users are mature enough to fly drones. You have to behave responsibly.

Can the drone become uncontrollable?

Definitely, for example due to the wind. For example, it can easily happen that some steady wind is stronger than the power of the drone itself and blows it away like a sailboat. That drone is really trying, but it just blows him away. The fail-safe protocol will start, the drone will either land or try to return to where it took off.

When I already use a larger drone for work, do I also need to obtain any certifications in order to be able to control such a device?

The rules of the European Union say exactly what you can do with drones. You need to register as a drone operator. You need to have certified pilots, and then according to the flight itself, the flight is subject to further administrative matters, the development of some operational manual or scenarios of the flight itself, what do we want to do in case of non-standard matters.

Drones can also be used on the positive side, they can make life easier and help us. Where can the drone be used?

For example rescue missions I think are probably the least appreciated thing, but it is an extreme help. Whether when searching for people using a thermal camera, even in dense vegetation, or when the missing person no longer communicates.

Furthermore, in saving property. For example firefighters once told me that they arrived at the scene of the fire and saw only a burning building. They then took off with the drone to look around and found that two yachts were parked in the yard and that there was a gate on the other side of the building that they could open and pull the yachts away. The fire did not spread to them.

Drones also help in nature protection. We also work with this, where we install bird diverters on high voltage power lines to help keep birds from hitting the power lines. The diverters themselves are targets that reflect light, have an opening clip, they are placed on a drone that flies to the line, pushes on the line, the clip closes, the target remains on the line and the drone flies away.

Previously, this was done in standard ways through platforms, manually. It took a long time and was expensive. Thanks to drones, instead of 50 pieces per day, we can install 200-250 pieces of diverters per day. It is more efficient and the willingness of energy companies is also higher, and thus more birds are saved.

A parcel can also be delivered by drone. There is already a company that delivers medicine, blood, etc. in Africa.Those drones just fly in, drop the package on a parachute and fly away. The same company is now also launching food delivery, groceries, etc. in California.

If you had to give three pieces of advice, very simple, to someone starting out with drones, what would they be?

The first advice is to think about what you want to use the drone for.

The second is to read the rules of flights with those drones in great detail and start flying somewhere in a safe area, somewhere where I can see the drone in every single possible case. Flying with a drone needs to get under a person's skin. Practice makes perfect.

The third is that only when I can fly the drone properly and it goes naturally to me, only then can I start flying more complex missions.

You can listen to the entire podcast on SPOTIFY or watch it on YouTube. (in Slovak)