Zephyr: A High Altitude Long Endurance Unmanned Air Vehicle ...

Chapter 5Commercial Aspects5.1 Uses of UAVsUAV’s can be used for a number of purposes. Zephyr is being used for its cameracapabilities but many UAVs are created that do not have onboard cameras and have atotally different use.5.1.1 TransportUAVs can be used to transport goods from one place to another. This is mostcommonly done during warfare (for example transporting medical supplies oremergency equipment). Most payloads are stored within the airframe in an internalbay in order to protect what it is carrying, but for many unmanned helicopters externalpayloads can be fastened to the bottom. For a UAV which has fixed wings thepayload can be attached to the airframe, but the aerodynamics and weight imbalanceneed to be accounted for. In these situations it is normally easier to have anaerodynamic pod pre-attached to the UAV in which the payload can be stored.5.1.2 Scientific ResearchUAVs are capable of flying to areas that are too dangerous or out of reach forhumans. Many UAVs have been used for scientific research, for example studyinghow organisms such as bacteria survive at 60,000ft. It would not be possible for ahuman to fly to these altitudes and ‘open the window’ to allow the bacteria to55