For The Win has chosen drones as the primary tool in the Build | Fly | Code program for a couple of reasons. 

First, they are interactive and fun!  Building, Flying and Coding Hopper will help students

learn not only STEM specific topics like aeronautics and computer coding, but also problem solving, teamwork, communication, and application of creativity to enhance the value of technology. 

Second, there are so many applications of drones in today’s world, that it is highly likely that familiarity with building, flying, and coding drones will be valuable in the future. If you monitor the news for a couple of weeks, there are stories about expanding drone applications in many areas including:

Farming

Wildfire detection and fighting

Wildlife monitoring and tracking

Military applications

Police Work

Healthcare

Archeological

Delivery of goods

Tourism

Real Estate

Building

Climate monitoring

Disaster response

Sporting Events

The following examples are just a few of the potential careers where you may find yourself with a drone as a valuable tool.

Inspections & Mapping

Inspection of any industrial structure has a danger factor when performed by a person. Drones have the ability to fly into challenging environments, hover, and capture audio, photos and live video of the site for real-time evaluation. This removes the danger of a catastrophic accident involving personnel and allows inexpensive access to distant sites, saving money and potentially, lives.

Drones are now commonly being used to inspect bridges, cell towers, power lines, wind turbines, solar arrays, buildings, roofs, oil pipelines, water treatment facilities, historical monuments, railways, highway overpasses, tunnels, and even nuclear plants for radiation measurement.

Farming

There are many drone companies and projects being launched that will aim to improve the way farms operate. Such projects and companies will seek to determine things like the health of crops, whether crops are getting enough water, how much pesticide to apply and where to apply it, and the best times for harvesting.

Drones can also be used by farmers to save time scouting their crops, getting a better idea for crop rotation, and mapping out their farm.

Environment & Wildlife

Drones are being used by scientists to gather data on the environment. Applications include air-quality testing by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as well as usage by NASA to test the makeup of the ozone. Drones are also a useful tool for fighting wildfires. They are used to monitor fire boundaries, gauge the speed and direction of movement of fire lines.  But the greatest benefit drones provide is they can take to the sky when human-powered aircraft are grounded for pilot safety reasons.

Drones are also being used to monitor populations of animals in the wild, especially endangered ones. Flown high enough so as not to disturb the animals, drones provide an excellent way to observe their habitats and gather data on their behaviors.

Motion Picture Industry

Many major movies include spectacular aerial footage from drones, a practice that has saved the industry money because they no longer need expensive helicopters for the job. Also, by bringing their own drone, numerous “out-in-the-wild” documentaries have been enhanced by aerial footage.

Sporting Events

Drones have begun to take viewers of sporting events directly into the thick of the action.  They can track and follow a mountain biker racing down through a forest or follow a wide receiver running a pass route.  They can provide overhead camera shots at races, or golf events without the need or cost of a helicopter or blimp. Drones can also be used for security, crowd control, and even traffic control before or after an event.