Ralph DeFrangesco - The Big Book of Drones

Drones are taking the world by storm. The technology and laws governing them change faster than we can keep up with. The Big Book of Drones covers everything from drone law to laws on privacy, discussing the history and evolution of drones to where we are today. If you are new to piloting, it also covers how to fly a drone including a pre-flight checklist.

For those who are interested in taking drones to the next level, we discuss how to build your own using a 3D printer as well as many challenging projects for your drone. For the truly advanced, the Big Book of Drones discusses how to hack a drone. This includes how to perform a replay attack, denial of service attack, and how to detect a drone and take it down.

Finally, the book also covers drone forensics. This is a new field of study, but one that is steadily growing and will be an essential area of inquiry as drones become more prevalent.

First Edition published 2023

by CRC Press

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ISBN: 978-1-032-06281-5 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-1-032-06282-2 (pbk)

ISBN: 978-1-003-20153-3 (ebk)

DOI: 10.1201/9781003201533

Typeset in Sabon

by KnowledgeWorks Global Ltd.

Like so many other things in technology, necessity is the mother of invention. Three things happened that were the drivers for writing this book; first, this book started out as the two of us keeping notes. There were notes, more notes, and even more notes after that. Some notes were just reminders such as the preflight check material. Some were notes related to observations when flying. We transferred the many notes written down on pieces of loose paper to a notebook. Obviously, the notebook kept growing.

Second, many times when out flying our drones, people would stop and ask us questions. Most were basic questions about flying. Some were questions about drone-related laws, and some were hardware and software related. We started writing down the questions and how we responded. We would do a little research to make sure we were right in our responses.

Lastly, we noticed that people wanted to learn more about drones. Undoubtedly the internet is a quick go to solution, but the internet can only take you so far. We decided to start our own drone conference called USDroneCon. At USDroneCon, you can learn how to fly, or fly a drone you have never flown before. There are hands on labs and guest speakers that talk about their expertise and experiences they have with drones.

This book covers the history, laws, and uses of drones. It will explain how the military, commercial, and consumer sectors have adopted drones. Where applicable, the difference is notated and explained. Drones are a fast growing technology. The material presented in this book is the latest available; however, the technology is evolving so quickly that it could be outdated by the time this book is published. This is especially important when talking about laws governing the use of drones. All drone pilots should be familiar with the laws governing their individual state. Not knowing is not an excuse.

This book is organized by the following chapters.

This chapter gives the reader a basic introduction to drones. It defines what a drone is and what a drone is not. It discusses the differences between air, sea, and terra-firma (land based) drones. Military drones are touched on briefly and the types of drones that are used today. The market for drones is discussed then the chapter ends on the classification of drones.

This chapter discusses the history of drones from ancient times to today's drones and how the technology has evolved. This chapter touches on military drones in other countries, and some countries that do not allow the use of drones.

This chapter is important since it discusses the laws that govern the use of drones. Specifically, this chapter lists the places that drones are banned and why. The drone registration process is discussed in addition to drone insurance. The chapter ends with reported drone incidents that have occurred recently.

Hardware and software are really the focus of drone technology. This chapter discusses how consumer drones differ from commercial and military drones. A few drone manufacturers and some of the drones they sell are introduced along with sensors and options available for drones.

This chapter discusses the checklist that a drone pilot should use before flying a drone. The know where to fly list is discussed along with how to do stunts and how to set the auto land function.

Hacking a drone is different than hacking a computer. The processes and procedures may be similar, but the end result is very different. You will learn several ways that a drone can be hacked and what treasures the drone might hold!

Not all drones can be programmed, but for the ones that can this opens up a whole new world for programmers. You will learn how to connect to your drone, send it off to do a mission and then return safely to you, all through programming.

Most computer enthusiasts enjoy tinkering with hardware. People who fly drones, share the same enthusiasm. This chapter will show you how to build a drone from a kit and take you through 3D printing your own drone body.

Have a drone and not sure what you can do with it? The uses for a drone are endless. This chapter shares several projects that drone pilots might want to tackle.

Did the drone crash into the crowd on accident or on purpose? This chapter walks the reader through how to perform forensics on a drone. You will learn how to make a scientific guess at who owns that drone and how far it might have flown before it crashed. This chapter includes a forensic checklist to use in a forensic investigation.

Do you need replacement parts for your drone? Want to add Lidar or a high-definition camera? This chapter includes links and information to companies that supply parts for drone enthusiasts.

DOI: 10.1201/9781003201533-1