Drone Rangers

Meet the people pioneering new careers as drone pilots, from the South African savannah to the building sites of California.

Drones are the unmanned miniaturized aircraft of the future. Today these planes and helicopters are on the verge of revolutionizing the civilian workplace. From agriculture to industry, the specialized skills of the people who fly them are in ever higher demand.

Ready-to-fly drones are now available from around $1,000. Some have been developed from radio-controlled model aeroplanes. But their ability at low cost to operate autonomously comes from the use of commodity electronics developed for consumer gadgets. Mobile phones, for instance, contain a number of devices useful in making drones, such as gyroscopes, accelerometers, wireless transmitters, signal processors and GPS units. As a result the use of drones is spreading rapidly beyond their now familiar military roles. Civilian drones are being used by businesses ranging from surveyors to utilities, delivery firms, news organisations and farms.