Why Not Ride The Drone Wave?
Why Not Ride The Drone Wave?
It seems everywhere I go these days, someone always has to bring up the topic of drones. To be honest, I can’t say I am that clued up on them either, but from the little that I have come to know, they definitely are beginning to seem like part of the future.
Jonatan Martensson once said, “Feelings are much like waves, we can’t stop them from coming but we can choose which ones to surf”. I don’t know a lot about feelings but if we replace the feelings part with “technology” the quote applies perfectly. New technology is continuously being invented and much more than ever, and in South Africa today we have Drones on the rise. Many people and organizations are trying to get a piece in the drone business. Are you going to surf or let this wave pass?
Personally, every time something new, innovative, or high-tech comes, I get excited. As a company, any day that we get an opportunity to introduce and facilitate hands-on learning and experiences in new technology is a good day indeed.
So let me tell you a little about drones and drone technology and how you can benefit from it. The term “drone” usually refers to any unpiloted aircraft and is sometimes referred to as “Unmanned Aerial Vehicles” and can carry out an impressive range of tasks, ranging from security to package delivery. They were originally developed for use in the military but they have found their way into the mainstream because of their high safety levels and efficiency.
Drones have two basic functions: flight mode and navigation. In order to fly they need to have some sort of power source which in most cases is a battery. They also have propellers and a frame as the other major components and a controller which allows the user to control, launch, navigate and land the drone. There are different types of drones but the most common are multi-rotor drones which as their name suggests have more than one rotor, usually three or more with the most common one having four and is called a quadcopter. Drones come in different sizes and are capable of carrying varying amounts of payloads, from life saving medication to cameras, and more depending on their function.
In order to fly a drone commercially you are required to have a remote pilot license (RPL), and many people are getting these so as to take up jobs as drone pilots. Drone maintenance is also another career that’s on the rise as more and more drones get introduced there is going to be a need for people who can maintain them. There are also opportunities for starting drone businesses focusing in package delivery, photography, or security, just to name but a few.
There is therefore an opportunity for interested individuals to ride the wave before it passes through. As for me and my team, we are more interested in making sure that our future leaders, the youth of today, are well equipped for a brighter future by providing them with the necessary skills training that will help their imaginations to flower including but not limited to drone technology training. I will leave you with my favourite F.D Roosevelt quote and I hope it touches you the same way that it does in me,“We cannot always build a future for our youth but we can build our youth for the future”.