what is uav

An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs were originally developed for military missions that were too "dull, dirty or dangerous" for humans, but their use has expanded to many non-military applications such as aerial photography, precision agriculture, forest fire monitoring, river monitoring, environmental monitoring, policing and surveillance, infrastructure inspections, smuggling, product deliveries, entertainment, and drone racing. UAVs can be fully or partially autonomous and can be controlled remotely by a pilot on the ground or in another vehicle. The term unmanned aircraft system (UAS) or remotely piloted aircraft system (RPAS) emphasizes the importance of other elements beyond the aircraft itself, such as the equipment necessary for the safe and efficient operation of the aircraft. The term drone has been used from the early days of aviation, being applied to remotely flown target aircraft used for practice firing of a battleships guns. While "drones" make most people think of "an unmanned aircraft that can fly autonomously—that is, without a human in control," it can actually be used to describe a wide variety of vehicles.