Drones turning civilian

Technology is only as limited as scientific imagination. Inventions to aid military purposes have long been adapted to civilian uses. British air tracking radar technology found its way into microwave ovens, U.S. night goggles and digital photography to simple cameras, and Swedish fire-steel now helps campers light a fire in the rain.

Future role for the controversial drone? Try crop dusting.

Military drones or UAVs - unmanned aerial vehicles - can deliver potentially lethal hits without risking a pilot's life. They are operated remotely, even from across the ocean. Changing the strategy of warfare isn't all they can do. Drone technology is expanding and getting more sophisticated, in and out of wartime.

For UAVs, size doesn't matter. Some are just a few pounds and resemble a model aircraft; others as big as a plane (Remember the movie, "Stealth?" No, drones don't talk back. Yet.) Experiments in drone technology began as early as 1915. Largely with military use and expertise through both world wars and Vietnam through today, the technology is slowly turning civilian.

Take oil and gas; drones can perform geophysical surveys. That could be expanded to monitor pipelines. Drones have been used since 2006 as "hurricane hunters," collecting vital information in the middle of dangerous storms.

Some policing agencies use drones for surveillance, although that's eliciting mixed reactions. A plan to buy small UAVs was abandoned by a Seattle police department after negative public feedback (a little too "big brother" for some). Likely that was a temporary setback for tight law enforcement budgets; the small surveillance and search-and-rescue drones cost a lot less than, for example, a new helicopter.

Other potential uses of drone technology include:

* Crop dusting

* Traffic control

* Border patrol (already operating a fleet of UAVs)

* Weather detecting and forecasting

* Rescue operations/scouting in dangerous or remote areas

* Nature and wildlife conservation efforts

* Forest fire detection

Also called RPVs (remotely piloted vehicle) or RPAs (remotely piloted aircraft), the FAA requires certificates of authorization to operate drones in national airspace. For now, generally only public entities get those certificates (which retire when unused), although odds are that will change soon. In 2009 the FAA issued 146 COAs; in 2011 that jumped to 313. As of February 2013 there were 327 active certificates.

That's all fascinating stuff, but I'm not sure I'm ready for the aerial version of "I, Robot."

Sholeh Patrick is a neo-luddite and columnist for the Hagadone News Network. Contact her at [email protected].