What are the types of drones?

The Diverse World of Drones: A Comprehensive Analysis of Major Types and Application Fields
In today's rapidly advancing technology, drones are no longer exclusive equipment in the military field, but have quickly integrated into every aspect of our social life, from film and television creation to agricultural crop protection, from logistics distribution to emergency rescue, their presence is everywhere. The so-called unmanned aerial vehicle broadly refers to an unmanned aircraft controlled by radio remote control equipment or built-in programs. It integrates aircraft, sensors, artificial intelligence, and communication technology to form a massive and complex system. To have a clear understanding of drones, we can classify them from multiple dimensions such as their technical features, application areas, and platform configurations.
1、 Classified by platform configuration and technical features
This is the most fundamental and core classification method, which directly determines the flight performance and application scenarios of drones.
1. Fixed wing unmanned aerial vehicle
This is the closest configuration to traditional aircraft, with wings and a streamlined fuselage, relying on engines to provide forward power, and lift generated by the wings. Its biggest advantages are long endurance, fast flight speed, and relatively strong payload capacity, making it very suitable for large-scale, long-distance mapping, patrol, exploration and other tasks. For example, in power line patrols or land surveying, fixed wing drones can cover an area of tens of square kilometers at once, with efficiency far exceeding that of manual labor. However, its drawbacks are equally evident: it typically requires a runway or catapult for takeoff, and requires parachute or glide recovery, unable to hover in the air, and has poor flexibility.
2. Multi rotor unmanned aerial vehicle
This is currently the most common and widespread type in consumer and most industrial markets. Most of the aerial drones we see in our daily lives belong to this category, such as quadcopters, hexacopters, and octrons. It controls attitude and position by adjusting the speed of multiple motor propellers. Its biggest technological advantage is the ability to take off and land vertically and hover in the air, with simple control and strong maneuverability. It is very suitable for scenes that require fixed-point observation and precise operations, such as aerial photography, power inspection, wedding tracking, etc. But its main shortcomings are generally short battery life, limited by battery technology, usually only between 2045 minutes, and slow flight speed.
3. Helicopter and drone
This type of unmanned aerial vehicle is similar to traditional helicopters, typically consisting of a main rotor and a tail rotor. It combines vertical takeoff and landing/hovering capabilities with longer endurance, and its payload capacity is usually better than multi rotor drones of the same class. In some special tasks that require carrying heavy equipment such as large surveying radars and agricultural spraying equipment, helicopters and drones still have their irreplaceable position. However, its complex mechanical structure, high maintenance costs, and difficulty in operation limit its popularity among ordinary users.
4. Vertical takeoff and landing fixed wing unmanned aerial vehicle
This is a hybrid configuration born to balance the advantages of fixed wing and multi rotor. This type of drone typically has a vertical lift rotor added to the fuselage, allowing it to take off, land, and hover vertically like a multi rotor. After reaching a certain altitude, it switches to fixed wing mode for high-speed, long endurance cruising. This innovative design has greatly expanded the application scenarios of drones, enabling them to conduct large-scale inspections and precise fixed-point observations, making them a new favorite for industrial applications.
5. Other special drones
In addition, there are some special configurations of drones, such as flapping wing drones that mimic bird flight, which are small in size and difficult to detect, suitable for military reconnaissance and covert monitoring; And airship drones, which use buoyancy to stay in the air for a long time, are commonly used for airborne warning, communication relay, or advertising.
2、 Classified by application field and function
Starting from the purpose, we can more intuitively understand the value of drones.
1. Consumer grade unmanned aerial vehicles
The main functions are aerial photography and entertainment. These types of drones are usually multi rotor, integrated with high-definition cameras, gimbals, and image transmission systems, with intelligent operation, allowing ordinary users to easily capture stunning aerial images. They are currently the largest category of unmanned aerial vehicles in the market.
2. Industrial and commercial drones
This type of drone focuses more on the professionalism and reliability of the mission, covering an extremely wide range of industries.
Agricultural drones: equipped with spraying systems or spreaders, used for plant protection, fertilization, and sowing, greatly improving agricultural efficiency.
Surveying and survey drones: By carrying high-precision cameras, LiDAR and other sensors, they can quickly generate 3D models and digital maps, which are applied in fields such as architecture, mining, archaeology, etc.
Security and inspection drones: used for inspecting power lines, oil pipelines, bridges and tunnels, as well as crowd monitoring, emergency command, etc., effectively ensuring public safety and infrastructure operation and maintenance.
Logistics drones: aimed at solving the "last mile" delivery problem, they have started piloting the transportation of express delivery, medical supplies, and takeout in some areas.
3. Military drones
This is the origin and highest level manifestation of drone technology. There are various types of them, ranging from tactical reconnaissance to strategic strike, with different functions.
Reconnaissance drone: responsible for battlefield surveillance, target positioning, and damage assessment.
Attack drones: capable of carrying missiles, bombs, and other weapons to directly carry out ground strike missions.
Communication relay and electronic warfare drones: responsible for establishing communication networks over the battlefield or conducting electronic interference against the enemy.
4. Emerging application areas of drones
With the development of technology, new applications continue to emerge. For example, the combination of drones and artificial intelligence can be used for wildlife conservation monitoring; In the field of environmental protection, it is used to monitor air and water pollution; Even 'air taxis' manned drones are moving from concept to reality, heralding a new form of urban transportation in the future.
3、 Classified by size and weight
This is a relatively intuitive classification standard, and regulations in various countries often use it as a basis for management.
Micro drone: usually refers to drones weighing less than 250 grams, such as some mini aerial photography toys.
Light unmanned aerial vehicles: weighing between 250 grams and 7 kilograms, most consumer grade aerial drones belong to this category.
Small/Medium sized Drones: Weighing between 7 kilograms and 150 kilograms, most industrial grade drones fall within this category.
Large unmanned aerial vehicles: weighing over 150 kilograms, primarily used for military or special industrial missions.
In summary, the world of drones is diverse and constantly evolving. From sophisticated multi rotor aircraft to durable fixed wings, from entertainment tools to productivity tools, different types of drones are playing irreplaceable roles in various fields with their unique advantages. With the continuous breakthroughs in battery technology, artificial intelligence, and communication technology, the form and application boundaries of future drones will continue to be expanded, deeply integrated into human society, and usher in a new era of "low altitude economy".