| Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) commonly referred to as "drones" have been around for over a century. Many of the first applications were for military use as flying bombs or target practice. More recently, as technology has improved and brought costs down, drones have begun to enter the commercial and private markets.;At first drones were mostly being used to capture photos and videos. As the technology has further evolved new and innovative applications have emerged. Drones are now capable of carrying a variety of payloads, ranging from traditional photography and cinematography equipment to LIDAR, capable of measuring variable distances using pulsed lasers, and Infrared systems. As battery performance continues to improve the flight capabilities of drones will also increase.;However, there are several major issues with the current drone landscape. Drones rely on high performance Lithium-ion polymer batteries that have complicated end-of-life issues and also hazards during use, with the potential to catch fire when not managed correctly. There are over 770,000 drones in the United States alone, each drone made of high performance materials, which are expected to have quantifiable impacts, especially when most drones are not designed with end-of-life in mind.;There are looming social and political issues, as well. Privacy and security concerns are first and foremost the issues that emerge when looking at social issues. As a result, there is pressure to regulate drones more strictly to ease the public's perception of these issues. However, these regulations could stifle the potential growth of an industry expected to be worth more than $127 billion in the next three years. This battle between the economic benefits and social concerns has created a tricky political landscape. Regulators need to act quickly and effectively because the industry is quickly evolving with new and innovative processes and plummeting costs, which will increase the market and significantly lower the barriers to entry.;Driving this tremendous growth potential are the key attributes that include: applications that can be used to efficiently and accurately mimic or replace business-as-usual practices in a variety of industries. The drone applications can save stakeholders time, money, and reduce their overall risks. Additionally, these new and innovative processes can help users do more with less resources, reducing the environmental impact of certain practices.;This thesis navigates and analyzes the evolving drone landscape from a whole systems perspective and quantifies the impacts and potential improvements through drone usage over the current business-as-usual practices. |
