AI + Drones: Revolutionizing the Field of Intelligent Flight

Explore the growing impact of drones in civilian, industrial, and military fields. Discover how AI enhances drone autonomy, safety, and real-world applications.

Welcome to the "Practical Application of AI Large Language Model Systems" Series

Table of Contents

Drones are a rapidly growing industry today. Beyond common civilian uses, they are widely applied in industrial and military fields.

For example, they play crucial roles in disaster relief, environmental monitoring, traffic control, agriculture, and logistics. If you've followed the Russia-Ukraine war, you'll notice that drones have been instrumental on the battlefield. Many targets are destroyed without much defense, especially by drone swarms, which are numerous, highly maneuverable, and very aggressive.

In May 2023, drones attacked the Kremlin in Russia. I was shocked by this event. Drones are hard to defend against, can take off from short distances, don't require onboard personnel, and are low-risk and cost-effective. They are a major focus of current military research.

In modern warfare, hand-to-hand combat and gunfire exchanges are rare. Instead, drones are used for reconnaissance and bombing. Both sides in conflicts are heavily investing in drones, equipping them with various bombs and controlling them from command centers.

Here's a video of a drone swarm navigating through a forest, developed by Zhejiang University. Their drone flight control algorithm was featured in the Science journal's Robotics sub-journal.

Next, let’s look at the history of AI combined with drones.