From the toys of the kids to the surveillance system of the military, there are different types of quadcopters and multirotors can be found for a specific need. I have listed some of the best quadcopter flight simulators and RC controllers to manage the flights of this powerful machine. But, do you ever wonder when the first drone flight happened or what is the quadcopter history? Today, in this post I will give you a brief on the idea, invention, and other details of the multirotors.
History of Quadcopters, Drones, and Multirotors
You know the modern revolutionary drones and quadcopters which are taking the tech world to a new extent. They are allowing the users to have a new, advanced, insightful ways to the air. Let’s have a look at what precisely these machines are.
What are Quadcopter, Multirotors, and Drone?
The quadcopters basically are the machines built with four rotors or propellers (two clockwise, two counterclockwise) used for thrust. On the other hand, the multirotors are not only defining quadcopters, but also the octocopters, hexacopters, and tricopters.
The drones are also the aerial vehicles which do not use rotors. They can have a flight without the pilot. And so, they are also called UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles).
When Did the First Quadcopter Flight Happen?
The quadcopter works on VTOL (Vertical Take-off & Landing) functionality. In the mid of 1920, the first quadcopter weighing over 42K lbs had taken the first successful flight of over 300 miles. It was a type of helicopter with four rotors due to which it is also known as a quadcopter. Before this, many experiments were made in early 1900 for a multirotor flight.
How Do Drones Work?
The drones use the GPS (Global Positioning Technology) to navigate the aerial routes and to track them through the device in the user’s hands. The multirotors as stated before, built with multiple rotor blades which turns quickly to provide enough thrust to lift them in the air. These blades also help such machines to maintain balance during the flights. The user (pilot) operates them from the ground using the RC transmitters and control according to the needs.
Why There Was a Need to Build UAVs? And How the Machines Progressed?
The initial purpose of the development of the drones/quadcopters was to use them in wars by the military. The first of these kinds of devices were made by the Austrian combat forces to attack Venice in 1849. It was the balloon in which the explosives were filled and passed towards the Venice army territory. Though it was not made like the modern drones or quadcopters, the unmanned aerial design made a significant impact in the technology field.
After the WW1, the pilotless aircrafts were made for the US Navy. They were named as the Hewitt-Sperry Automatic Airplanes. This machines also known as flying bombs as they do not need a pilot to operate them and carried torpedo and bombs to their target. Later, the United States army turned the Standard E-1 airplanes into the specially designed drones.
Soon after that, the British and American armies started using the new, advanced multirotors and drones for attacking, spying, and monitoring the enemy as well as state territories.
Top Features of the Quadcopters
There are too many advantages and usefulness of the multirotors, quadcopters, and drones that can lead to writing a whole blog post. But here, I will show quick and short features of a modern quadcopter:
- You may know that the helicopters can have different designs like co-axial or pitched. The quadcopters incorporate these both. Which means the quadcopters are stable, wind resistive, and have comfortable flights even in the windy season.
- To control the movement and functionality, it has two clockwise and two counter-clockwise rotors which in turn, create a different design than an airplane.
- The quadcopter can be operated through an RC (Remote Controlled) transmitter which makes them favorite among the users. A receiver is fitted in the quadcopter which catches the radio signal given by the pilot on the field.
- Due to the center of the gravity formed between four propellers, it gets strong balance in the air.
- The quadcopter comes in a simple design; four rotors connected with a motor, camera, and other required part at the center. It makes the flying machine even more lovable by the enthusiasts.
Where Can You Use Quadcopters/Multirotors/Drones?
- In research
- In military operations
- Aerial surveillance
- Just for fun in the air photography
- AR games
- Commercial purpose
Future of UAVs
There are many areas in which the multirotors can help in a significant way. Like; to supply medicines and goods to the places where a human can’t reach easily, to help disabled people to carry their things while going from one place to another place, or to take images/videos of the surroundings to create a better environment. In fact, some organizations and militaries are already using the drones and multirotor machines to help at the needed places. There are also some companies who create flight simulators to learn operating this unmanned aerial vehicles.
The quadcopters, multirotors, and drones have tremendous functionalities, capabilities, and uses. And I am pretty sure that in the near future, there will be many fields that will use these UAVs as the heart of their any activity and find it difficult of doing anything without using them.
