As prices have dropped drastically over the past year, the market for consumer drones has really taken off. Just a few years ago drones were immense, intricate, and incredibly expensive to purchase; but today just about anybody can own a quality drone for roughly the same price as a desktop computer. However, as is the case with many emerging technologies, drones are often misunderstood because it’s hard to disassociate them from their initial application — which, in their case, primarily involved spying and dropping bombs on people. So to help you navigate this futuristic new world filled with flying robots, here are seven common misconceptions about drones.
7. Most of Them Aren’t Actually Drones
According to Vijay Kumar, an engineering professor at the University of Pennsylvania, the only thing that’s drone-like about these robots is that they make a continuous humming sound. The proper name that should be adopted is remotely piloted vehicle or RPV because, in most cases, there is still a pilot on the ground controlling the aircraft’s flight. In addition, RPV’s that utilize four rotors for lift shouldn’t be referred to as “quadcopters” since the name implies four separate aircrafts each with their own rotor — quadrotor helicopter would be a much more appropriate name for the design.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quadcopter Via Wikipedia