国外无人机商业应用 航拍摄影 遥感测绘 应急监测 管控应用等商业应用介绍。

无人机商业应用从常规航拍摄影应用，逐渐向更广泛的市场应用发展，例如农林作业、矿产探测、交通管理、广播广告、应急监测，美国政府更将无人机应用于犯罪高发区监测服务及所谓的“热区”暴动监测。原文如下：（The US government is looking into using UAVs for surveillance over high crime areas, in order to prevent crimes from happening. They could also be used to control ‘hot spots’, where violence takes place habitually）

无人机商业应用方向：
Agricultural industry  农林作业
Crop monitoring        农林作物长势监测
Environmental control / weather research 环境监保与气象研究
Mineral exploration    矿产勘测
Telecommunications 电信应用（例如架线、规划等）
News broadcasting   新闻转播（空基中继站）
Remote sensing of marine resources 矿产资源遥感探测（搭载不同探测仪器，根据反射，，例如海矿探测）
Unexploded artillery detection  军事侦察
Air Traffic Control 交通空中管控
Ground traffic control 地面交通事故处理
 

Historical background
The concept of unmanned aerial vehicles was first used in the American Civil War, when the North and the South tried to launch balloons with explosive devices that would fall into the other side’s ammunition depot and explode. This concept was also used by the Japanese for around a month in World War II, when they tried to launch balloons with incendiary and other explosives. The idea was that high-altitude winds would carry them to the United States, where the dropping bombs would cause panic. Apparently, both these ideas were not effective.
The United States did use a prototype UAV called Operation Aphrodite in World War II. It was an attempt to use manned vehicles in an unmanned mode. However, at that time, the US did not have the technology to launch or control the aircraft.
Today’s UAVs owe much to the design of the cruise missiles that were used in World War II by the US and British forces. At the close of World War II, Chance Vought Aircraft, a company with no missile experience, was contracted to develop new machines. What won Vought the contact was that the proposed test missile would have a landing gear, which would help save cost. This was the beginning of the UAV.
 
Use in military
In the 1960s, the US started to develop ‘drones’, which were unmanned vehicles built for spying and reconnaissance. This was after they lost a manned spy aircraft to the Russians and a U-2 to Cuba. The first such drone was the ‘Firebee’ drone, a jet propelled by an engine made by Ryan Aeronautical Company. They were initially used heavily over Communist China in the 1960s, when major flaws were discovered and corrected.
The Vietnam War was the first time that UAVs, the drones in particular, were used extensively in reconnaissance and combat roles. A large number of Firebee drones, were launched for simple day reconnaissance activities. At first, they had simple cameras on them. Later, they were equipped with night photos, communications and electronic intelligence.
Over the last few years, it has been Israel that has been responsible for much of the development that has happened in the UAV sector. The Hunter and the Pioneer, which are used extensively by the US military, are direct derivatives of Israeli systems. The Pioneer was used in the Gulf War to good effect.
Following the Gulf War, officials recognized the importance of unmanned systems. The Predator, first an Advanced Technology Demonstration Project, demonstrated its worth in the skies over the Balkans. Some of the current versions of the Predator are loaded with Hellfire missiles for attack purposes.
Another popular UAV is the Global Hawk. This is a jet powered UAV that was used effectively in Afghanistan. It operates at around 60,000 feet, and carries a wide range of sensors.
UAVs that are in use and under development are both long-range and high-endurance vehicles. The Predator, for instance, can stay in the air for around 40 hours. The Global Hawk can stay in the air for 24 hours.
 
Commercial Applications
Unmanned aircraft are slowing finding their way into commercial applications. The US government is looking into using UAVs for surveillance over high crime areas, in order to prevent crimes from happening. They could also be used to control ‘hot spots’, where violence takes place habitually.
UAVs are finding use in the following industrial fields, based on information from [3]:

Industry	Use of UAVs
Agricultural industry	UAVs equipped with fertilizer and pesticide dispersing equipment can be used to spray over large fields.
Crop monitoring	Right now, only over 10% of the crops in the US are being monitored by aircraft. Use of UAVs would greatly increase the region or area under surveillance.
Environmental control / weather research	Weather balloons are being used to monitor the weather on the ground.
Mineral exploration	UAVs are being used in aerial survey and ground survey to find minerals on desolate and hard-to-reach regions.
Coast watch	UAVs are being used by the coast guard for monitoring coastlines.
Telecommunications	UAVs are finding use in telecommunications applications as mobile relay platforms, as well as in disaster zones for emergency telecommunications.
News broadcasting	UAVs are finding use in providing aerial video feeds for news events where reporters cannot get to in time.
Remote sensing of marine resources	Marine labs are using UAVs to detect the presence of resources under the sea that are inaccessible to humans.
Unexploded artillery detection	UAVs are now being developed that can detect unexploded artillery, especially dangerous mines.
Air Traffic Control	UAVs can be used to monitor air traffic over busy airports.
Ground traffic control	UAVs are beginning to be used to monitor traffic and accidents over major state highways.

 
The future
The Army is developing a tactical UAV called ‘Shadow 200’, which will give the leaders ‘over-the-hill’ surveillance capabilities. The Marine unit has Dragon Eye, a small, hand-launched UAV that can give small-unit leaders a view of the battleground.
According to [4], the next generation of UAVs will be smaller, affordable, easier to train and more precise than the existing UAVs. Also, in the foreseeable future, UAVs are predicted to be able to detect nuclear, biological and chemical weapons; see into double and triple canopy jungles; and provide low-cost and reliable communications and data relay across the battlefield.
In terms of commercial applications, too, UAVs are expected to play an important role. Companies and state agencies are already looking into using UAVs in operations. Right now, FAA regulations restrict the use of UAVs in commercial applications. But with the FAA taking positive steps in this direction, it appears that in the near future, UAVs will be widely deployed in commercial applications.