Originally Posted by
Mechta
Lovegroove
That's because new applications keep coming along. The only common thread with UAVs is what the three letters stand for, and the last one is pretty vague anyway. As no man is required onboard, the size can be the smallest that is needed to do the job. A UAV doesn't have to be Global Hawk or even Desert Hawk size to have a serious application.
When one thinks of the most widely used computer applications these days, they are more than likely not to be the ones that were forecast thirty years ago. For all we know in 30 years time, the best selling UAV might be a 'flying duster' that goes around room gathering cobwebs. The video game industry grew out of flight simulator graphics technology, and I would hazard a guess that the video game industry is worth a fair bit more than its parent now.
On the other hand, a UAV is still a flying machine, and most of the engineering and science that applies to any other flying machine, still applies if there's no human being in it. Particularly if you're trying to design it to do a particular job (or using it to train students about flying machines in general).
G