Many terms related to the drone industry originated in the Anglo-Saxon context and only later spread to other languages. Anyone working in the drone industry should know how the English and Italian terms correspond. Qabiria offers a free glossary in English, Spanish and Italian with the most commonly used words when talking about drones.
What are drones?
Drones are defined as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), and originated in the military for carrying out tasks deemed too dangerous or too tedious for human pilots. The transition from military aviation to civil aviation and then to the recreational sector has taken place, so much so that nowadays, when the average person thinks of a drone, they tend to think of the quadricopters used for video filming from above rather than the military reconnaissance or surveillance ones.
We have become accustomed to seeing these devices on the beach, in playgrounds, usually radio-controlled by children with the help of their aviation-loving parents. However, there are many sectors that have begun to use drones, or are starting to develop them from scratch. As the technology and materials become cheaper and cheaper, drones are now available to everyone. Devices that until recently were reserved for governments and armies have found a use for more peaceful purposes and are spreading everywhere. CNN in 2013 already described 15 ways in which drones will change our lives, without stressing in the headline that they were already doing so.
Where does the term “drone” come from?
The term “drone” indicates the male bee whose sole purpose is to mate with the queen. “Drone” has come to designate unmanned aircraft, both because they perform limited functions without decision-making autonomy and because of their monotonous and buzzing type of flight.
However, the change in meaning from ‘drone’ (the insect) to ‘unmanned aircraft’ took place much earlier than one might think, in 1946, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, although the topic became fashionable just in recent years, as can be seen from Google Trends.
The spread of drones
Their flexibility and relative ease of use have enabled drones to find a place in an increasing number of professional fields. The first of these is undoubtedly photography and video, as can be seen from the proliferation of videos with zenithal shots, which until recently were very difficult to obtain without expensive equipment. But technology has now gone much further, combining cameras with atmospheric and remote sensors to obtain aerial images and collect scientific data, meeting the needs of sectors such as agriculture, forest management, public works, environmental studies, topography, cartography and town planning.
In addition, transportation and package delivery services are being tested, as well as the use of drones in emergency situations, for search and rescue missions, or for dealing with hazardous substances. And last but not least, these unmanned aircraft can also support existing security and surveillance systems.
Finally, one cannot overlook the recreational and even sporting aspect of these radio-controlled devices, which encourages people to buy pre-assembled models or assembly kits. For the more hardened, there are individual races using first person guidance (FPV) systems, and even full-fledged championships, such as the DRL (The Drone Racing League), whose top-level sponsors (ESPN, Allianz, DisneyXD, among others) show that the sector is already considered very attractive and profitable by multinationals.
The drone market
As such, any innovation-conscious professional should approach the world of drones with this in mind.
From beginners to professional pilots, there are more and more people interested in this phenomenon at all levels. The figures also speak for themselves: in 2016, 2.2 million drones were sold worldwide and sales grew by 36 % to $4.5 billion, according to Gartner, as reported by Business Insider. And this is a downward calculation. Taking into account all types of drones, even the smallest ones, there are an estimated 2.4 million personal drones sold in the United States alone, more than double the number sold in the previous year.
In such a context of growth, it is plausible that the demand for translations for all products and services in the supply chain will also increase. In fact, from courses to learn how to fly a drone to professional services, such as aerial video or photo shoots, to components and spare parts to build or upgrade a drone, many people need to communicate with their partners and clients in various languages.
Drones and languages
Companies operating in the drone sector should acquire a basic knowledge of terminology to enable them to correctly interpret technical and commercial documentation, which is often written in English. Flight manuals, instructions and catalogues draw many of their terms directly from the aviation sector. However, they sometimes use aviation terms in a particular way that should be known and kept in mind. Not to mention a lot of typical terms used in modelling in general, and in particular in radio-controlled dynamic aeromodelling.
How the free glossary came about
At Qabiria we did not want to be caught unprepared. First of all, we equipped ourselves with a drone, a simple but useful model for learning the basics of flying a radio-controlled quadricopter. In order to properly educate ourselves, Sergio attended a course organised by Area Dron in Barcelona, where he was able to engage some experts in the field, taking the opportunity to also improve his flying skills.
Finally, since we are linguists and not aviators (although we are fascinated by this sector), we decided to share our experience by collecting the most common terms of the drone industry, taken from the most up-to-date sites in the sector, in a multilingual glossary in Italian, English and Spanish.
The drone glossary is available free of charge in ODS format, compatible with Microsoft Excel. Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
If you have technical material related to the drone industry to translate, such as operating manuals, maintenance manuals, catalogues or other, please do not hesitate to contact us and rely on those with the necessary technical expertise to assist you.
