Here is Question No. 42 a part of our series on UPSC Prelims 2020.
Q42. Consider the following activities:
Spraying pesticides on a crop field
Inspecting the craters of active volcanoes
Collecting breath samples from spouting whales for DNA analysis
At the present level of technology, which o the above activities can be successfully carried out by using drones? (a) 1 and 2 only (b) 2 and 3 only (c) 1 and 3 only (d) 1, 2 and 3
Answer: D
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) or drones are aircraft that can be navigated without a human pilot on board. Drones can be navigated via control from the ground, using a GPS tracking system.
Statement 1 is correct: They are now increasingly used to spray pesticides in agricultural fields to protect standing crops from pests.
Statement 2 is correct: Drones have become a critical tool for professionals working in a large variety of different sectors such as public safety, search and rescue, infrastructure inspection, surveying an mapping, wildlife conservation, and many more. It is also useful in Inspecting the craters of active volcanoes.
