Drones have come a long way from the early remote-control helicopters of our past. Modern drones are far more than play toys and are used in several high-profile industries. For research, surveillance, planning, and even deliveries, drones perform tasks that humans often can’t. To reach these goals, drones must first be programmed.
At iCode School, our goal is to provide the skills early learners need to be successful in the future. Drone programming is one of these skills. Throughout this blog, we’ll take you on a walk through the future of drones and drone programming.
What is a Drone and Why Does it Need Programming?
A drone is an unmanned aerial vehicle. By this definition, it could be any shape or size, but here we’re mostly talking about the smaller remote-control drones, often paired with a video recording system. There’s a lot of misinformation out there regarding drones and what they do. While flying one of these miniature devices is a lot of fun, they’re designed to do much more than entertain.
Drones perform jobs. For example, recently Amazon.com has begun using drones to deliver packages. For a drone to make it from point A to point B with a package in hand, it must first be programmed to do so. Programming requires intricate computer coding, which helps the drone understand what its purpose is and how to fulfil that purpose properly.
Drones for Business
Drones do more than deliver packages and loop the loop. There are a variety of industries currently benefiting from the use of drones, including:
- Wedding and wildlife photography
- City planning and Architecture
- Search and Rescue
- Film and Television
- Real Estate
- Mining
- Mapping
The data drones capture is used for many reasons. In some fields, such as photography, the data is edited and turned into high-resolution prints. In real estate, city planning, and mapping, data is delivered to their respective departments to be analyzed. In many businesses, the data analyzed from drones is used to make big decisions, such as improving practices, suggesting budgetary changes, and estimating future work.
As drones continue to evolve and change, they may begin to develop even more use in these and other industries. Developing drones to serve the individual purposes of niche markets is certainly a possibility. Any changes we see will depend on the limitations of drone programming and whether our youngest generations choose to pursue careers with a STEAM foundation.
The Drone Impact on AI
The future of drones is unlimited. Especially as so many models continue to develop new and unique ways to benefit their prospective buyers. Artificial intelligence is one of the leading advances in drone technology. Currently, drones are limited by the manual operations of their human counterparts. However, drones are becoming closer than ever before to a time when they may power themselves.
The concept of AI-powered drones is both exhilarating and alarming. It could open a world of possibilities or a world of limitations, depending on how the AI functions and to what extent. AI has always been a futuristic subject, but already it’s taking shape in household items. Even the mobile phones we use have AI support, like Siri and Google.
Understanding the programming of drones plays a massive role in whether we will achieve fully AI-driven drones in the future. This is a big part of why iCode School supports drone programming. Not to develop AI, but to give young learners the chance to explore these opportunities of the future.
Developing early drone programming skills gives students the foundational skills necessary to advance this technology further when it’s finally their time to take the key to the city.
Drone Programming with iCode School
iCode School works hard to provide the children of today with the skills they’ll need tomorrow. To do so, we offer STEAM learning, which prepares young learners for work in fields related to science, technology, engineering, art, and math.
Through a comprehensive computer science curriculum, students learn the programming behind many of the latest technologies including drones. These skills provide a strong foundation for advanced computer and technology courses and a variety of career paths. The future is filled with amazing technological discoveries yet to be made, and at iCode School, we truly believe our students will be among those to do so.
For more information on iCode School, programming courses, and other STEAM-based programs, contact us today.