Drones Offer Journalists a Wider View | Hacker News Reader

Drones Offer Journalists a Wider View

nytimes.com

6 pointskerben3 comments

Dear mainstream media: Please stop using the word 'drone' to describe remote-controlled planes and quadrotors.

That is all.

So, what attributes does an aircraft require in order to deserve to be called a drone?

Is it the degree of remoteness of control? E.g., ability to be operated reliably beyond the visual range of its operator? Or the ability to operate autonomously or semi-autonomously?

Well, as an aerospace engineer, I don't think any vehicle should be called a drone. Unmanned [Combat] Aerial Vehicle is a better term, or even Remotely Piloted Vehicle.

But if we must use the label, let's say that a 'drone' meets one of the following:

  * Has weapons
  * Operates autonomously
  * Operates over the horizon
  * Requires runway facilities -- large remotely-piloted aircraft

Everything else is just RC, including the quadrotors in the article.

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