Week 7 Science & Technology Reading 3a Leggi il brano e prendi nota delle informazioni richieste nello schema. Infine, usando gli stessi dati, scrivi un paragrafo (circa 50 parole) riassumendo l articolo. What do drones have to do with eagles? The Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) is colloquially known as a drone. It is an aircraft without a human pilot on board. Its flight is controlled either by a computer or by remote control from a pilot on the ground. UAVs can have different sizes and shapes. They have both a military and a civilian use. For military and special operation applications, drones are very useful in missions that can be dull, dirty and dangerous , like in the Persian Gulf War. They are also used for civilian applications: policing, fire-fighting and security work. Scientists use drones to study and hunt hurricanes (obtaining precise data about pressure and temperature), to do research in the Antarctic in severe climate conditions and to prevent and detect forest fires. The use of drones is rapidly increasing and researchers are testing arms and legs for them, too. With these new limbs , UAVs are learning to grab objects while flying. The inspiration for this new use came from the bald eagle. This superb, majestic bird, national emblem of the USA, swoops down to catch fish from the water with its claws. By studying this behaviour, a group of researchers from the University of Philadelphia has developed a gripper-like tool for the UAV. It is a three-fingered claw attached to a motorized leg, so the drone can snatch an object as it flies by. Other researchers, from Drexel University, Philadelphia, are developing flight stability software for drones with arms. So UAVs with arms will be able to carry a load. This is not science fiction, it is simply the present day! (Adapted from WIKIPEDIA and P. Marks, Clawed drone grabs prey on the fly just like an eagle,from New Scientist) 3b a UAV means . b It is commonly called . c Example of military use: . d Examples of civilian use: . e In the future drones with limbs will . f This idea came from . SUMMARY USEFUL WORDS bald eagle = aquila di mare dalla testa bianca, o aquila calva; claw = artiglio; to detect = scoprire; dull = ripetitivo; to grab = afferrare; gripper-like = simile ad una pinza; hurricane = uragano; limb = arto; policing = vigilare; to prevent = evitare; remote control = telecomando; to snatch = afferrare; to swoop = piombare, avventarsi. 66