The History of the Drone

Drones, more formally known as unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs, are unpiloted aircraft that are guided by remote control or autonomously by onboard computers and GPS. Today, drones have dozens of different uses from recreation to retail. But their beginnings, and most of their history, has been for military purposes, including surveillance, reconnaissance, battle damage assessment, and, of course, weapon delivery. Here is a brief history of the drone, along with some of its non-military uses, including real estate marketing.

Take a look at the nightly news and you will likely see a story about a recent drone attack on an oil tanker off the coast of Syria. Or you might get a glimpse of a Yemeni retaliation on a Saudi air base using drones. Not long ago, the Mexican Cartel was accused of using explosive drones to attack police.

But the use of unpiloted aerial vehicles for warfare is nothing new. In fact, the practice can be traced back to the mid-1800s, when Austria attacked Venice by launching about two hundred unmanned balloons loaded with explosives.

The early days of drones
When you think of a drone, you probably do not have in mind a nineteenth-century attack balloon. Actually, the first unmanned aircraft was developed by the British in 1916, after the start of the first world war. Although the early technology showed some promise, the British military did not continue to pursue it. But the Germans did. Recognizing its significance, they made multiple attempts to assassinate the British engineer who developed the technology (and they later adapted it for their V1 rocket program in WWII).

The US Army joined in soon after with the creation of the “Kettering Bug,” considered to be a forerunner of present-day cruise missiles. The Bug relied on gyroscopic controls to work as a sort of torpedo from the air. Once launched, each Bug would fly for a predetermined period of time before the engine was shut off and the wings were released so that the unit, along with its 180 pounds of explosives, would plummet to earth and detonate on impact. About fifty Bugs were built, but too late to actually see any combat in the war.

After WW!, the US Navy began experimenting with radio-controlled aircraft. So did the British. In fact, their 1935 “Queen Bee” is believed to have led to the use of the term “drone” for radio-controlled unmanned aircraft. A remote-controlled model airplane, also developed in the 1930s and called the “Radioplane”, became the first mass-produced UAV product in the US; nearly 15,000 units were made for the military during WWII. Actually, a number of developments occurred during the period following WWI, including the first UAV that could fly out of sight of its user, and, most notably, the emergence of the German V-1 Doodlebug, effectively the world’s first cruise missile, used for terror bombing of British cities in WWII.

Later, during the Vietnam war, UAVs were developed for use as reconnaissance tools to gather information in combat areas. They were also used as decoys that could launch missiles against fixed targets or drop leaflets for psychological operations.

The 1960s also saw the beginnings of remote controlled planes for recreational use, thanks to breakthroughs in transistor technology. Of course, the US military continued working on drones, and by the 1980s began to see success in the development of more reliable and less expensive models.

Modern uses for drones
Through the nineties and to the present, drones have gotten smaller, more powerful, more intelligent, and less expensive. And they have found an increasing number of uses outside of the military. Today, they find dozens of different uses, from defense to humanitarian aid and disaster relief. Consider just a few of the current non-military uses for drones:

• Real estate photography
• Real estate marketing
• Construction planning and infrastructure development
• Conservation
• Healthcare
• Weather forecasting
• Insurance
• Tourism and hospitality
• Sports and entertainment
• Retail deliveries

And the list goes on. Many applications, not only for the military, but for business and pleasure as well.

Drones for real estate
There are many applications and benefits for drones in real estate marketing too.

Drones can obviously capture images that standard land-based photography cannot. For instance, a drone provides a birds-eye-view of the front elevation of a lake home from the middle of the lake. Or even a look at the lake itself. 

Trying to capture the essence of a large home or estate? Drone photography allows for better views of bigger homes and their properties. Viewers can take in sweeping panoramas of the tennis court, the pool, and the guest house. Or the patio, the porch, the pillars. They can get a glimpse of the golf course next door. They can see the entire home and landscape and all its attributes.

A drone is also able to offer an overview of a large swath of land that cannot be seen from the ground. This is especially helpful if the property is wooded and cannot be seen in its entirety unless viewed from the sky.

Another use for a drone might be to take viewers on a tour of the town. Buyers want to know what the surrounding community is like before they decide to buy a property. An agent can accomplish this by creating virtual tours or videos of local attractions and by creating a drone video that connects them with the town.

Drone photography does a couple other things for a listing. For one, drones create a buzz. And not just with their propellers. They cause a stir across listing sites and social media platforms. The technology, regardless of their long history, are still considered new and novel. They are trendy. They have appeal. 

What’s more, drone video images bring photography to life. They make a space feel more personal by lending a sense, not only of what a property looks like, but what it feels like as viewers are flown up the driveway, across the lawn, down the street, or through a hedge row.

And all of these benefits come without a huge hit to a marketing budget. Drones offer aerial photography that is easy on the expense sheet, usually far less expensive (and far more flexible) than other forms of aerial photography.

Drones have quite a long and varied past. They are becoming ubiquitous in the present and are changing aerial photography in real estate. It will be interesting to see what is held in the future of drone photography services.