輕松英語閱讀：無人機(jī)

The other day, someone sent me a link to an awesome aerial video of Takeda Castle in Japan. (See video below.) At first, I assumed that it had been shot using a helicopter, but as I was watching the video I realized that it had been made with a drone. This got me interested, so I checked the YouTube Channel of the video. There, I discovered a description of how the video was made and the drone that was used—the Dji Phantom 2 Ready to Fly Quadcopter.

I have seen drones used for filming at the Olympics or other such events, but I always assumed they were very expensive. I was surprised to find that this drone was only about $1,200. Actually, there are even cheaper models; the cheapest ones start at around 300 dollars including the camera. I immediately thought I want my own drone.

Of course I am not the only one. Drones are already flying off the shelves in the US. According to an analysis by the Teal Group, sales of UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) will reach $8.2 billion dollars by the end of this decade. This is incredible growth for a category that did not even exists a few years ago.

As usual, powerful technologies bring serious problems. There have already been reports of amateur-operated drones crashing into downtown buildings or dropping onto crowded city streets— not to mention issues of privacy invasion. As of now, they are largely unregulated in most countries.

What do you think? Are you ready for your own drone or do you think they should be more tightly regulated?