＜prologue＞
I started a blog called “The Baby Boomer Generation’s Miscellaneous Blog”（Dankai-sedai no garakutatyou:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳） in July 2018, about a year before I fully retired. More than six years have passed since then, and the number of articles has increased considerably.
So, in order to make them accessible to people who don’t understand Japanese, I decided to translate my past articles into English and publish them.
It may sound a bit exaggerated, but I would like to make this my life’s work.
It should be noted that haiku and waka （Japanese short fixed form poems） are quite difficult to translate into English, so some parts are written in Japanese.
If you are interested in haiku or waka and would like to know more, please read introductory or specialized books on haiku or waka written in English.
I also write many articles about the Japanese language. I would be happy if these inspire more people to want to learn Japanese.
my blog’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳 | 団塊世代が雑学や面白い話を発信しています
my X’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多帳（@historia49）さん / X
Recently, drones have been spreading and evolving at an alarming rate.
I used to be aware of drones only as “hobby equipment for adults to enjoy” much like “radio-controlled helicopters” which are similar to “radio-controlled airplanes”.
However, my perception changed on September 14, 2019, when a small unmanned drone attack on the world’s largest oil facility in Saudi Arabia caused damage that affected half of its production.
The Houthi rebels in neighboring Yemen have claimed responsibility for the attack alone, but the U.S. is aware of Iran’s involvement, saying that Iran is behind the attack. Saudi Arabia supports the interim government in Yemen, while Iran supports the Houthi rebels.
Finally, the fear of “drone warfare” is becoming a reality.
What is a drone?
(1) Definition
The term “drone” refers to “all remotely piloted or autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles,” named after the buzzing of bees.
(2) History
Drones were originally developed about 70 years ago during World War II for “reconnaissance” and other military applications, but were never put into practical use. The identity of the developer of the drone is a matter of military secrecy.
After the war, research and development continued for military use, and practical application was gradually promoted on a small scale, such as “for use as a target” and “for torpedo dropping.
In 1995, the military drone RQ-1 Predator was developed, and the existence of “unmanned aerial vehicles” (UAVs) quickly gained attention.
The U.S. has been steadily replacing its attack aircraft with drones since the Iraq War, and expects that 1/3 of its attack aircraft will be unmanned by 2023.
On the other hand, the first civilian (commercial) drone was the AR.Drone, launched by the French company Parrot in 2010.
The “function of downloading an application to an iPhone or iPad and controlling it” has been inherited by many drones even today, but at the time it was welcomed with surprise as an innovative function.
(3) Development Status in Japan
In Japan, “industrial drones” are being developed and commercialized ahead of the rest of the world.
Since the 1970s, various developers have been working to commercialize “industrial drones,” and it was Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. that developed and marketed the world’s first “unmanned industrial helicopter” in 1987.
Today, the market for industrial drones in Japan is expanding rapidly and is expected to reach 167.6 billion yen by 2021, including pesticide spraying, aerial photography services, surveying, inspection, and logistics.
2. practical application of drones
(1) Aerial video shooting
Aerial video shooting, which used to be mainly done by Cessna and helicopters, is now being done by drones.
Compared to large helicopters, drones are less noisy and less obtrusive for aerial photography of sports and races.
(2) Transporting small packages to remote areas (home delivery drones)
In 2016, China’s Jingdong Group launched the world’s first commercial drone delivery service (home delivery) in rural areas. Demonstration tests for practical use are also being conducted in the U.S., the U.K., Israel, and Japan.
In Japan, the Civil Aeronautics Law was revised in 2015, establishing basic flight rules for drones.
In Japan, it would be effective to use them to transport goods to remote islands and remote mountainous areas.
(3) Searching for airplane crashes and maritime accidents in mountainous areas
(4) Spraying agricultural chemicals and sowing seeds over wide areas of fields (agricultural drones)
(5) Volcano observation
(6) Surveying damage in the event of a major disaster
(7) Crime prevention and vigilance
(8) Security by indoor surveillance (surveillance robots)
(9) Hobby use (similar to radio-controlled airplanes and radio-controlled cars)
(10) Use as a video camera for selfies
A newlywed couple (Kaz and Mariko), who are traveling around the world on their honeymoon with a drone, uploaded a video of a spectacular view taken with the drone on Instagram and it has become a hot topic.
They are shooting for another dimension of ‘selfie’ (taking an image of oneself; a selfie is a picture of oneself). The video is indeed astonishing. If you visit the “Honeymoon Traveler Official Website,” you can see incredible and spectacular video footage of the two of them at close range, zooming out at once.
The two have also published a book titled “Around the World with a Drone in One Hand: 400 Days of Flying Great Views”
(11) Unmanned weapons (unmanned combat attack aircraft)
３．Advantages and disadvantages of drones
(1) Advantages
① Safe and easy entry into disaster areas, hazardous areas, and other areas that are difficult for humans to enter
② Compatible with GPS and various analysis applications
③ Lower cost than manned helicopters and large aircraft
④ Compact and lightweight for easy transportation
⑤ Capable of low altitude and close-up photography, which is difficult with manned aircraft
⑥ Easy to operate, requiring no qualifications
⑦ No space required for takeoff and landing
（２）Disadvantages
① Most are battery-powered, so the time available for flight is short.
② Vulnerable to strong winds and bad weather
③ Remote-controlled, so not very good at precision operations
④ Danger of crashes due to malfunction
⑤ Danger of collisions with buildings or between drones in overcrowded areas such as urban areas
If drones become more widespread and the number of drones increases, the risk of collisions between drones will increase due to overcrowding in the sky in urban areas, etc.
⑥ Danger of being used for crime
⑦ Danger of drones being used as unmanned weapons, leading to drone warfare without a declaration of war
