If you’re new to the drone industry, it can be hard to get your head around all the acronyms, abbreviations and industry terms.
That’s why we’ve put together a list of all the drone terminology you’ll ever need to know.
a
ACAS
Autonomous Collision Avoidance System (ACAS). This allows the drone to detect obstacles and reroute or hold a position to avoid them.
AGL
Above Ground Level
Accelerometer
Measures the acceleration of a drone in a specific direction.
Altitude Hold Function
A function that allows a drone to hover in the air at a specific height.
Autonomous Flight
A drone flight that is pre-programmed by the pilot to follow a path dictated by various waypoints. Once the flight commences, the pilot does not intervene/control the drone, the drone follows the path and comes to land at a predefined point.
Autopilot
A feature that allows the flight to continue without manual control by the pilot.
b
Bind
A process to link a drone with the controller.
Brushless Motor
A type of drone motor with permanent magnets that rotate around an armature, generally considered to be more robust and efficient than other motor types.
BVLOS
Beyond visual line of sight.
c
CAA
Civil Aviation Authority, the statutory corporation which oversees and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the United Kingdom.
Collision/Obstacle Avoidance
A vision system that allows drones to avoid obstacles and prevent collisions.
Controller
The handheld device used by pilots to control a drone.
d
Digital Twin
A virtual replication of a physical object/process using real-world data. They are used to map out an asset and its performance.
DJI
The largest UAV manufacturer worldwide, based in China.
DRONE
Dynamic Remotely Operated Navigation Equipment
DSM
Digital Surface Model. Captures both natural and artificial/man-made features of the environment.
DTM
Digital Terrain Model. A bare-earth model.
f
FAA
Federal Aviation Administration. Part of the US Department of Transportation Agency that regulates and oversees all civil aviation in the United States.
Fail-Safe
A preventative system to protect a drone in the event of a failure. For example, a drone may be programmed to return home if it loses connection with the controller.
Fixed Wing Drone
A drone with long tilted wings that create a lift effect while cruising – similar to a passenger aircraft.
FOV
Field of View
FPV
First Person View
g
Geofencing
A virtual geographic boundary created through the use of GPS and software to limit where a drone can and cannot fly.
Gimbal
A camera stabilisation device that allows for steady video and clear pictures while moving at high speeds.
GNSS
Global Navigation Satellite System
GPS
Global Positioning System
Gyroscope
A device that measures the rate of rotation and keeps the drone balanced.
l
LCD Monitor
Liquid Crystal Display Monitor. A screen, usually attached to the controller, used to view what a drone’s camera is seeing.
LiDAR
Light Detection and Ranging. A LiDAR sensor emits pulsed light waves into the surrounding environment. These pulses bounce off surrounding objects and return to the sensor. The sensor uses the time it took for each pulse to return to the sensor to calculate the distance it travelled.
LiPo
Lithium polymer, the type of battery favoured by most drone manufacturers.
m
3D Mapping
Software that allows you to create 3D maps and models from inputting a number of images from varying altitudes and angles.
MTOM/MOTW
Maximum Takeoff Mass/Weight. The maximum mass at which an aircraft is certified to take off due to governmental/regulatory or structural limits.
n
Nano Drone
An extremely small drone, with measurements of around 10 x 2.5 cm.
No Fly Zone
An area in which flying drones is restricted, usually by government regulations.
o
Octocopter
A drone with 8 rotors.
OSD
On Screen Display
p
Payload
The weight which a drone can carry. Payloads include any additional attachments to the outside of the drone, e.g. cameras or sensors.
PDB
Power Distribution Board. A component of a drone that distributes the power from the battery to the other parts of the device.
Photogrammetry
The process of transforming a collection of images into a 3D model by stitching photographs together, correcting any geometric distortion, to create one large image called an Orthomosaic.
Pitch
A description of the upwards and downwards tilt movement on each side of the drone.
Propeller
An angled blade that transforms rotary motion into thrust, allowing for a drone to lift off the ground. Sometimes referred to as ‘prop’ for short.
q
Quadcopter
A four-rotor drone.
r
Roll
Used to describe the upwards and downwards tilt movement on each side of the drone.
RTF
Ready to Fly
RTH
Return to Home. A GPS destination can be programmed as a ‘home’ point for the drone to return to.
s
Skydio
The largest U.S drone manufacturer and leader in autonomous flight technology.
Spotter
A person who keeps the drone in their visual line of sight.
t
Telemetry
A two-way digital data stream between the UAV and a ground station that is used to communicate flight data and instructions to control the UAV.
TFR
Temporary Flight Restriction. An area where flights are restricted, usually due to out of the ordinary events e.g. natural disasters or government presence.
Thermal Imaging
The technique of using the heat given off by an object to produce an image of it or to locate it.
u
UAV
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle
Ultrasonic Sensors
Sensors that calculate height and balance.
Upright Launch
The ability of the drone to take off upright, as opposed to a fixed-wing aircraft.
v
Video Latency
The lag time between the video stream a drone is capturing and the actual time it is relayed to the pilot/controller.
VLOS
Visual Line of Sight.
w
Waypoints
Coordinates defining a point in space used to create a flight path for UAVs.
y
Yaw
Rotating the drone along its vertical axis.
