CHAPTER 1

Pushing the Limits of Technology

A surfer parks her car at the beach. She takes a small plastic drone from the backseat. She attaches a high-definition video camera to the bottom. Then she straps a flight-control device that looks like a watch onto her wrist. She places the drone onto the sand, and then paddles out into the frothy ocean waves. Once she catches a good wave, she presses a button on the controller. The drone lifts off the sand and zips out toward her. It follows her as she rides the wave, catching all of the action around her. It zooms in and out to show all the angles of her ride. As her ride ends, the drone flies back to its original position on the sand. The new drone worked perfectly. Her test of the drone is finished. She will give the drone manufacturer feedback on the drone’s performance. She also now has the ultimate “selfie” video.

Extreme sports athletes aren’t the only people who are trying out drones. Military forces, delivery companies, and meteorologists are all experimenting with them. Although thousands of drones are in use, the ones in testing are pushing the limits of what drones can do.

Many drone manufacturers focus on a drone’s ability to take high-quality video and photographs. Cameras can either be built-in or attached to a drone.