About the imagery

Image credits

Where every picture in DroneWorks comes from. We use publisher-provided news thumbnails, openly licensed or public-domain photos, and original DroneWorks illustrations — never images copied from search engines.

News thumbnails

Headline images are the publisher's own article image (RSS media or Open Graph image), shown with a link to the original story. They load only from each publisher's approved image hosts and must pass the classroom image checks; otherwise the story shows a DroneWorks illustration.

DroneWorks illustrations

Category illustrations, activity previews, the exploded drone and the career pathway diagram are original DroneWorks artwork.

Licensed photos

Industry and opportunity photos come from Wikimedia Commons under the licenses listed below. Each photo also shows a short credit where it appears.

2020-08-02-Neubaugebiet Efferen West-0025.jpg
By Superbass
License: CC BY-SA 4.0
View on Wikimedia Commons
Agriculture drone new technology.jpg
By Shreesha Sharma
License: CC BY-SA 4.0
View on Wikimedia Commons
Yacimiento arqueológico de Lancia 02 - by smart-drone.es.jpg
By smart-drone.es
License: CC BY 3.0
View on Wikimedia Commons
Drone view of a bridge during an inspection.jpg
By FedericaGaspari
License: CC BY-SA 4.0
View on Wikimedia Commons
Eagle Peak Search & Rescue- drone launch from northwest ridge (54074508851).jpg
By YellowstoneNPS
License: Public domain
View on Wikimedia Commons
Zipline Drone Launch.jpg
By Roksenhorn
License: CC BY-SA 4.0
View on Wikimedia Commons
GNSS surveyor on a wet development site.jpg
By Cvstr
License: CC BY 4.0
View on Wikimedia Commons
Atmospheric Probe Shows Promise in Test Flight (AFRC2024-0166-016).jpg
By NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center / NASA/Steve Freeman
License: Public domain
View on Wikimedia Commons
DRL Racer2 drones.jpg
By Melanie Wallner
License: CC BY-SA 4.0
View on Wikimedia Commons
Racing Drone.jpg
By Commanderbryce
License: CC BY-SA 4.0
View on Wikimedia Commons
USGS Team Flies Drones for Oregon BLM Forestry Research (14757978546).jpg
By Bureau of Land Management Oregon and Washington from Portland, America
License: Public domain
View on Wikimedia Commons
Dronamics Delivery Drone (53876861827).jpg
By David Merrett from Daventry, England
License: CC BY 2.0
View on Wikimedia Commons
GuelphAirportRunway14.JPG
By J. Steve Bond
License: CC BY-SA 3.0
View on Wikimedia Commons
DJI - Drohne Mavic 3.JPG
By C.Stadler/Bwag
License: CC BY-SA 4.0
View on Wikimedia Commons
2024-10- DJI Mavic 3 Pro - 04.jpg
By A.BourgeoisP
License: CC BY 4.0
View on Wikimedia Commons
2024-10- DJI Mavic 3 Pro - 19.jpg
By A.BourgeoisP
License: CC BY 4.0
View on Wikimedia Commons
Romanian DJI Matrice 30, Eastern Phoenix 2026 exercise.jpg
By Courtesy Video of NATO
License: Public domain
View on Wikimedia Commons
Aerial Sunset Over Paranal.jpg
By G.Hüdepohl (atacamaphoto.com)/ESO
License: CC BY 4.0
View on Wikimedia Commons
Neubaugebiet Klinkerhöfe, Efferen-West - Luftaufnahme Februar 2021-0484.jpg
By Raimond Spekking
License: CC BY-SA 4.0
View on Wikimedia Commons
Neubaugebiet Klinkerhöfe, Efferen-West - Luftaufnahme Februar 2021-0477.jpg
By Raimond Spekking
License: CC BY-SA 4.0
View on Wikimedia Commons
Neubaugebiet Klinkerhöfe, Efferen-West - Luftaufnahme Februar 2021-0486.jpg
By Raimond Spekking
License: CC BY-SA 4.0
View on Wikimedia Commons
USGS Team Flies Drones for Oregon BLM Forestry Research (14594324148).jpg
By Bureau of Land Management Oregon and Washington from Portland, America
License: Public domain
View on Wikimedia Commons
Salem McNary Field (orthoimagery)
By U.S. Geological Survey, The National Map
License: Public domain
Source: USGS
Seattle Sectional (2026-09-03), Salem area
By Federal Aviation Administration
License: Public domain
Source: FAA Aeronautical Information Services

DroneWorks illustrations

Original artwork shown when a story has no classroom-safe photo, one for each visual topic.

Drone delivery
Autonomous flight
Engineering
Mapping
Construction
Agriculture
Public safety
Search & rescue
Photogrammetry
LiDAR
Thermal imaging
AI / autonomy
FAA / regulation
Research
Education
Careers
New technology

Mission previews

The preview shown for each kind of preparation: real photographs, the FAA sectional, USGS aerial imagery of Salem (public domain) and renders from AeroNatomy's 3D model, with the mission drawn on top.

Real orthomosaic75% overlap
Photo: smart-drone.es · CC BY 3.0
KSLE291753Z23009KT10SMFEW04517/06A3006
Station: ICAO airport identifier KSLE.
Example METAR
Photo: J. Steve Bond · CC BY-SA 3.0
What airspace is this?
FAA Seattle Sectional · not for navigation
Capture points
Photo: FedericaGaspari · CC BY-SA 4.0
1/1000 · f/5.6 · ISO 100
Photo: G.Hüdepohl (atacamaphoto.com)/ESO · CC BY 4.0
F450 · assembled
Cell voltage
C1
C2
C3
Land at 3.5 V/cell
3S LiPo · 11.1 V
Can you fly here, today, this high?
FAA Seattle Sectional · not for navigation
Wind 080° 14 ktUpwind leg firstClass D · LAANC
Photo: USGS The National Map · Public domain
Hover · hold the box
Photo: C.Stadler/Bwag · CC BY-SA 4.0
Orbit · keep it centered
Photo: G.Hüdepohl (atacamaphoto.com)/ESO · CC BY 4.0
Course · heading + throttle
Photo: Melanie Wallner · CC BY-SA 4.0