Civil Bytes: That’s Not a Drone, That’s a Researcher – Civil Beat

For the average consumer, drones are just expensive toys for snowboarders and techies. But for businesses, researchers and government agencies, especially in Hawaii, they’re the latest tool to help them work in faster, safer and cheaper ways. Drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), or quad copters, or remote-controlled planes or whatever you want to call them, are being used in Hawaii for some very interesting and cutting-edge tasks, from letting University of Hawaii researchers cheaply calculate rainfall runoff rates to helping the Honolulu Fire Department quickly identify smoldering hot spots during brush fires.