Unmanned aerial vehicles, commonly referred to as drones, have moved from the realm of science fiction to just another fact of modern life.

This list of terms and concepts — courtesy of TechRepublic Premium — will help you grasp the vocabulary behind the technology, so that you can deal with the machines themselves and the people who are operating them.

From the glossary:

CLOSED LOOP

Control architecture that incorporates sensor feedback to adjust flight behavior. In drones, the PID controller is most commonly used in closed-loop systems. It is also known as hybrid control architecture.

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