UPSC Prelims 2020 Question:

Consider the following activities

1. Spraying pesticides on a crop field.
2. Inspecting the craters of active volcanoes.
3. Collecting breath samples from spouting whales for DNA analysis.
   
   

At the present level of technology, which of the above activities can be successfully carried out by using drones?

Explanation:

• Drone technology is being used in sectors like agriculture, delivery services, disaster management, humanitarian relief, healthcare, disease control, remote areas imaging and weather forecasting etc. are some examples.
  
  
• Remote-controlled drones are gradually becoming popular amongst tech-savvy farmers in several villages. They have used drones during COVID-19 pandemic-induced farm labour shortage. So, point 1 is correct.
  
  
• Due to high risk for researchers, the imaging of active volcanoes has so far been a great challenge in volcanology. To overcome this challenge, scientists have used drones for a series of repeated survey flights with optical and thermal imaging cameras at the Santa Maria volcano in Guatemala. So, point 2 is correct.
  
  

• Marine researcher Vanessa Pirotta of Sydney’s Macquarie University used a drone for the first time to collect whale mucus from humpback whales at sea in a technique that could help monitor the health of whales around the world. So, point 3 is correct.
  
  

Therefore, option (4) is the correct answer.

Subject: Science & Technology | Recent Developments