Prelims 2020 · Science and Technology · Question 2
Consider the following activities:
- Spraying pesticides on a crop field
- Inspecting the craters of active volcanoes
- 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?
Answer
1, 2 and 3
1. Spraying pesticides on a crop field — Yes. Agricultural drones are already used for precision spraying of pesticides and fertilizers over fields. Verdict: Correct.
2. Inspecting the craters of active volcanoes — Yes. Drones are used to fly into/over active volcanic craters to capture images, thermal data, and gas measurements where human access is risky. Verdict: Correct.
3. Collecting breath samples from spouting whales for DNA analysis — Yes. Small drones have been successfully used to collect whale blow samples for microbiome and DNA-related analysis without close human contact. Verdict: Correct.
Since all three activities can be carried out using drones at the present level of technology, the correct answer is (d) 1, 2 and 3.