Drone images from here and here. |
Now that we learn that Alaska is one of six states to get drone research funding, there are all kinds of possibilities.
Road Safety:
- Alerting drivers of moose near the road and of icy patches
- Spotting drunk drivers and alerting authorities, or better yet, turning off their engines
Household
- Clearing snow from driveways
- Monitoring children playing outside
- Mildly zapping dogs that bark for more than five minutes straight
- Warning when moose or bear are nearby - with zapping ability to keep them from eating the broccoli or raiding the garbage
Politics
- Each politician gets a drone upon election
- that follows them around recording everyone they meet with, what they say
- with programs that highlight contradictions between public and private promises
- that allows constituents to know where their rep is and what he's doing at any moment and voice an opinion about it
Hunting and Fishing
- Alerts game animals when hunters enter their territory
- Same for fish
Work and School
- Can take homework to school while kids sleep in
- Monitors class so kids can watch it when they feel like it
- Alerts employees when boss is nearby
- All drones equipped to call for medical assistance when they injure some one
- Monitoring prisoners on home detention or probation
- Pick up coffee
- Warn cyclists of nearby cars and other hazards
This is just a quick, off-the-top-of-my-head, list. I'm sure you can think of many, many more uses. We'll let Rand Paul deal with the privacy concerns.
Happy Brave New Year - let's do lunch soon. Have your drone contact my drone.
There are two copter drones in the window of Juneau's Ben Franklin store, one with a built in HD camera and one with a mount for a GoPro HD helmet cam. They have electric motors and a lithium battery that's good for 15-20 minutes of flight.
ReplyDeleteWith the electric motor, they are relatively quiet. How long do you think it will be before cops are using them?
When does a remote control model airplane/helicopter become a drone?
ReplyDelete