The Skies of Tomorrow--TODAY! Flying Robots (Robots and Robotics) by Daniel Faust

Although the world of the Jetsons has yet to materialize (Where's my flying car?), the world of robotics is already here.

Large manufacturing robots in giant assembly buildings make steel, build cars and airplanes, and rule over the assembly of many things, from tiny electronics to huge airplanes.

But a lot of the action in robotics is up in the air, those flying bots known as drones or UAVs, unmanned aerial vehicles.

Some flying robots seem to have been borrowed from nature, resembling dragonflies or bees, and some look like the the stripped-down machines they are, equipped with rotors for lift, stabilizers for control, motors for the rotors, wheels or pads for landing, and sensors to help them avoid objects, and their payload which can be a camera for making taking aerial film, or cargo for quick, direct deliveries. Flying robots can be controlled from the ground or they can execute longer flights programmed into their internal computers, some with artificial intelligence (AI) to make them safer and more effective.

Drones can be used for military weaponry and surveillance, map-making, photography, and short-range delivery of everything from medications to a world of products.

There are many components and plans for flying robots and many shapes and purposes described and pictured in Daniel Faust's book, Flying Robots (Robots and Robotics) (PowerKids Press), a basic state-of-the-art book on aerial robotics designed expressly as an introduction to flighted rebotics for upper elementary and early secondary readers, complete with a glossary and index to give early enthusiasts an easy takeoff into the popular subject of drone-building and flying.

Books for getting young drone fans up to speed include David Macauley's The Way Things Work Now and National Geographic Kids Everything Robotics: All the Photos, Facts, and Fun to Make You Race for Robots.