Isola Insight: PCBs Lighten The Loads For Commercial UAVs

By Fandy Wei, Senior Director, OEM Marketing in Asia, Isola Asia Pacific (Taiwan) Inc.

Drones or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are typically associated with military users, although a growing number of applications are being found for UAVs in commercial, industrial, and even medical markets.

Commercial users await approval from key government agencies, such as the U. S. Federal Aviation Administration, for properly authorized use of drones in non-military applications, but interest in non-military use of drones is growing rapidly, as the number of commercial drones with different sensor payload packages is growing, for help with everything from herding and counting cattle on farms to inspecting the structural integrity of commercial buildings.

The differences in commercial and industrial applications for UAVs from battlefield electronic warfare (EW), reconnaissance, and surveillance missions for the military are apparent. But how do commercial UAVs differ from military UAVs for the electronic payload circuit designer who must choose the optimum printed-circuit-board (PCB) material for that mission?