21 Ideas For Interesting & Useful Ways To Use Your Drone

Drones, initially designed for the military and aerospace sectors, have made their way into the general public because of their versatility. A drone can also be referred to as an unpiloted aircraft or a UAV. Drones can range in size from as large as an airplane to the size of the palm of your hand.** **These devices come in different types with different capabilities and use. The uses and applications of drones are as varied as the sizes they come in. So if you’re at a loss as to what to do with your new drone, here are some ideas.

To help understand the various exciting and useful ways to use your drone, we have categorized their uses according to recreational or professional use in this article.

Recreational Ways to Use Your Drone #

Drones may be expensive gadgets for various purposes ranging from the most important to the very trivial. Nevertheless, drones are also simply a lot of fun to use. Recreational use of drones involves personal interests, hobbies, or for enjoyment purposes. Various recreational activities such as sports or tourism can use drones.

1. Play games with your drone #

Drones are useful tools for a variety of purposes. However, let’s remember that they are also suitable for recreational use. You will find children flying small compact drones or kid’s drones within their homes. 

There are plenty of games that kids (or adults!) can play with drones just as a way to spend time together. For a bunch of fun ideas of drone games to play, check out this article. 

2. Take your drone with you on your travels #

Amazing images and video footage during tourism activities or holidays are captured using drones. People tend to want to capture every moment they have fun, and what is the best way to do this other than using a drone? Beautiful scenery can be recorded perfectly using drone cameras.

The use of drones has hugely improved how tourists see tourism attractions such as monuments and huge ancient buildings. Make sure to carry your drone when you visit such places.

3. Film your athletic pursuits #

Drones also come in handy in sporting activities. This is because we can use them to take aerial images and videos of sports games. They are utilized to capture amazing views of swimming pools, basketball courts, or any other fun event.

Many drones can also be programmed to follow a moving object, so you can have your drone film you as you ski down an epic hill, or mountain bike over stunning terrain, or even while you’re skateboarding down a busy street. No need to get your bestie to chase you around with a camera while you’re performing epic athletic feats, let the drone do it.

The use of drones in showcasing sports events makes them more appealing to watch as they offer clear, smooth footage and you can save the footage for a later review or watching. You can use this just to document your adventures, or to work on improving your skills as you review mistakes that you made.

4. Join a drone racing club #

This is another favorite fun activity that involves drones that are making their way into our lives. Many more individuals are now taking part in drone racing and tend to see it as a captivating hobby.

Drone racing is similar to a video game race, although you will encounter real-world scenarios and control a real race quad. In this sport, we use a quick-moving drone and one that is capable of doing acrobatic maneuvers and sharp spins. Who would not want to take part in such fantastic events?

5. Watch drones in entertainment and light shows #

Parks and fields can use these devices. Large gatherings of famous events or shows may use drones to showcase different and exciting themes and shoots. Arguably more than anything else, a theme park drone light show is considered almost too fantastic to be true.

A large display setup can project various images from drones. This tends to be more enticing and lively than the usual projection in a park event. Picture a drone casting a bigger-than-life persona in front of you! 

6. Use your drone to help you fish #

Drones are surprisingly versatile in that you can use them to help you find, and even catch fish. Drone fishing is becoming increasingly popular, and the gear needed to use a drone for fishing is relatively simple and inexpensive. 

The primary way drones are used in fishing is to scout for fish from an aerial perspective using the drone’s camera. It’s much easier to spot the fish underwater from a higher angle. If you know where the fish are, you can head there to drop your line. 

Drones are also commonly used to drop baits from shore father out past the breaking surf than you could possibly cast your line using a rod. This makes it possible to catch bigger fish from shore. All you need is a drop rig fixed to your drone to put down the line and bait.

» MORE: Read our article on drone fishing to find out more

7. Use your drone for home maintenance #

Since drones can get up and look where you can’t reach with a ladder, you can use your drone to keep an eye on your roof, gutters, chimney, etc. Or if you have a lot of property, you can do periodic surveys of your land to make sure everything looks in ship-shape order. 

If you’re feeling ambitious, you can use the photos you take of your property to create 3D maps and track changes in the landscape over time. As long as you’re doing these kinds of projects for your own home maintenance efforts, you don’t need to worry about a professional drone license.

Apart from drones being for recreational purposes, these devices are beneficial for professional uses. We discuss the various valuable ways you can employ your drone.

Professional Uses Of Drones #

There are tons of industries that are using drones to improve safety and efficiency. If you plan to use a drone for any of these commercial uses, be sure to get a remote pilot’s license first. 

8. Drones in agriculture #

Drones are a farmer’s essential tool in a variety of ways. Most farms are stretched out across many acres of land, and these farm owners may spend a lot of time surveying the farms for drainage, irrigation issues, plant diseases, or crop growth rate. Drones can perform all of these tasks and much more and in a lesser time.

This makes drones ideal for farmers who own large pieces of land. Drones can be used to spray crops with required insecticides or pesticides and quickly, easily, and efficiently spray nutrients to the crops. Farmers can also use them to get real-time data concerning their crops.

Drones generally save time for farmers proving to be a valuable tool in agriculture.

9. Drones in news and journalism #

Drones’ capacity to reach locations that reporters cannot safely access have expanded their use in the journalism sector. Drones equipped with cameras are also changing the way people watch the news. They are advantageous as drones tend to be cheaper to operate, are quicker and much faster to deploy, and are more maneuverable.

 10. Drones in mining #

Mining operations can employ drones where work conditions are dangerous to humans. Drones are used to scan for dangerous areas in mine pit walls before mineworkers can be deployed.

Search for minerals may also use drones fitted with specialized equipment. And 3D orthomosaics created from drone imagery can be used to calculate stockpile volumes and fill spaces. 

 11. Drones for warehouse management, delivery, and shipping #

Many big companies are now embracing the idea of using drones to transport and deliver their products. Drones cut a significantly huge amount of time in deliveries and also the cost of human labor. While most drone delivery is still a thing of the future, drones are commonly used to monitor and measure warehouse efficiency, as well as to fulfill orders. 

 12. Wildlife monitoring #

Poaching is still one of the most serious issues confronting wildlife conservation regions across the world. While numerous technologies are being explored and evaluated for eliminating the problem, drones have shown to be one of the most successful means of putting an end to poaching.

Having eyes in the air makes it easier to observe and monitor the wildlife than having actual humans on the ground. A single drone can cover a much larger tract of land than a person on the ground would, therefore making drones very effective in wildlife conservation.

 13. Drones in environmental monitoring #

Drones are becoming more helpful to governments and non-governmental organizations in monitoring and safeguarding the environment. Drones may take on a wide range of duties that can aid in the preservation of the environment and the early detection of problems. These activities may include: 

• Controlling deforestation activities
• Management of coastal erosion and beach restoration planning.
• Monitoring erosion, surveying rivers, and checking their flow simulations.

 14. Drones in search and rescue missions #

Drones have time and time again proved to be essential in search and rescue missions. First responders and other agencies use drones in such scenarios. Drones can reach someone in danger much faster, delivering aid or any other assistance required.

In search missions, drones offer a wider field of view and can also go in areas that may seem complicated for individuals to reach. Drones can also use thermal cameras to detect individuals covered by darkness or dense undergrowth. 

 15. Use of drones in professional photography and videography #

This is one application where drones have been swiftly adopted and are actively being used. Drones bring a unique view to places or situations that have previously been photographed from the ground. These drones are also capable of reaching areas where people are unable to get.

Many movies today include footage shot with a drone. Drones tend to be less expensive and more effective than previous methods of aerial filming. With advancements in video capture quality and drones, they may likely transform the video and film industry,

 16. Drones in fire fighting #

Drones can be employed effectively in firefighting, unlike the usually human-piloted aircraft. Drones are remotely controlled. Therefore, the life of the pilot is not at risk.

In addition, with the help of drones, you can control fire outbreaks. When a fire breaks out, it is usually preferable to send in drones to assess the situation before sending in humans. And again here, the thermal imaging capability of drones can assess fire scenes in ways far superior to other traditional methods. 

 17. Aerial surveying for maps #

Aerial photographs are instrumental in capturing geographic data. Drones have also had a significant influence on the field of mapping. Areas not easily accessible by man can be photographed by use of drones aerially. While surveying a place, you can access these data directly from the drones immediately.

The help of drones saves time and is more efficient. Surveying of a region using drones is also less expensive. And the quality of images is much higher than images from satellites, resulting in better and more accurate maps. 

 18. Surveillance and security #

Drones have the potential to improve a surveillance team’s capacity to cover a larger area in less time and with greater precision. Big event areas and countering criminal activities like drug and human trafficking may also use drones. Some private residences have also started using drones to boost their security as they offer greater perimeter surveillance.

 19. Drones in police and law enforcement #

Police can use drones as they can fly around unnoticed and alert on any criminal activities in real-time. Large groups of people can be monitored easily by drones, even if there is a limited number of officers. And individual police officers can send in a drone to assess a situation or deliver a message without having to get in harm’s way. 

 20. Inspections #

Drones provide a safe approach to check areas or equipment that might otherwise be impossible or unsafe to access. While traditional inspection methods take time and can be risky to the person performing the inspection, drones can do the examination considerably faster and more efficiently.

Using drones, people can quickly identify problems in areas such as towers, windmills, or pipelines. 

Construction and building managers use drones to monitor the progress of buildings and create 3D models of their projects. Drones also help in quickly identifying faults in a building or roof.

 21. Use of drones in emergencies #

In life and death scenarios, victims are reached much faster by drones which offer necessary help before actual people arrive. Specially equipped drones with two-way audio and video interaction ability and first aid kits that enable those nearby to help the affected victim in time are used in such scenarios.

The popularity of drones continues to grow significantly each year, and more sectors are embracing them. These drones are not only for recreational purposes but also offer huge help in other vital areas. These gadgets save a significant amount of money and time, and their versatility enables them to do tasks that would otherwise be impossible.