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Essay / Overview of the History of Quadcopters
Quadcopters are primarily a form of VTOL (vertical take-off and landing vehicle) rotorcraft with four rotors or propellers that provide propulsion. The first attempt to create quadcopters was documented in 1907 by Jacques and Louis Berget. They created a prototype and tested quadcopters; however, their early designs were unstable and flight seemed impractical. Étienne Boehmite, a French engineer, successfully created a stable quadcopter in 1924 (Figure 1), capable of flying approximately 360 m (1,181 ft), which created a world record. The US military also created quadcopters and conducted flight tests, but the program was later abandoned. Early quadcopter designs had only a single main rotor attached to the tail rotor so that overall counterweight could be achieved. The prototype of using a single main rotor served no purpose and added complexity to the process. The single rotor used approximately 15% of the energy while no thrust was created to allow the quadcopters to lift. The other problem was with the large rotor blades, which were heavy and about 5 meters long, making the quadcopters inefficient. Most quadcopters have the motor placed in the fuselage while four rotors are driven by shafts or belts. The major challenge of quadcopters is to maintain stability by managing to maintain the same speed on all rotors. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essayDr. George E. Bothezat designed a Convertawings Model A quadcopter in 1956 and it was the first model to use propulsion to enable forward thrust; this meant that operators were able to control the aircraft's yaw, pitch and roll. The quadcopter has undergone significant changes over time, as companies like Blade, DJ, Parrot and others have added new technologies such as flight controls and the ability to take aerial photos. The quadcopter has further added features such as a coaxial helicopter and wind resistance agility, while also using three-axis gyroscopic technologies to improve the level of stability. ESCs (Electronic Speed Controllers) are activated in such a way that they control the flight with a remote-controlled transmitter. There are different types of aerodynamics used by the quadcopter so that it can be steered via its four rotors. The quadcopter relies on its center of gravity to manage its balance and is based on a simple design concept. The use of quadcopters has increased significantly in recent years and they are widely used in research and robotics, as well as research in difficult and dangerous locations; used by military and community agencies for various tasks (Quadcopters Arena, 2017). The 20th century witnessed the rise of quadcopters and they are now widely used as an innovative technology-driven product for surveillance, GPS-enabled tracking, various research works in dangerous places like active volcanoes and to monitor flood situations and other natural calamities. Quadcopter technology gradually became cost-effective, and with their ease of use, they became very popular with the public for entertainment, photography, and public works supervision. The way forward is to use quadcopters to replace police patrolling the streets; Amazon is also considering, 2007).