Have you ever owned a drone? I can say from experience that it is a wonderful tool to have in your arsenal. It is not everyday that we see a complete transformation of an industry. I'm not going to argue that this is what we are looking for here but this may be the start of something. I guess only time will tell what happens.
Basically, there is a four-year-old autonomous drone startup founded by MIT researchers called Skydio. They are backed by Silicon Valley’s top investors and rightly so. Their technology is state of the art and now after a long wait, Skydio is finally ready to show off they've been working on for years!
Skydio would like to announce their newest commercial product, the R1.
It is a drone that has been built with a features referred to as “self-flying” capabilities.
So what exactly is being referred to with this mysterious term? Well, basically it is the fact that the drone is capable of locking-on to an individual and following them while shooting video and avoiding obstacles.
So here is where the moment of 'ahhhh' comes right? Instantly what comes to mind is the potential to shoot really cool music videos / films putting a lot of professionals out of work. Beyond that I see law enforcement opportunities in which criminals or suspects will be tracked automatically. Beyond that there are probably a bunch of other cool applications that didn't just strike me like lightning!
This doesn’t just mean that it can avoid a tree or two while flying through an otherwise open field; the drone can track you while navigating itself through a dense forest or urban environments like a warehouse.
Ok, now this is getting a bit scary. Can you imagine what would happen if this technology fell into the wrong hands? What if you had a stalker that picked one of these up at the mall for the sole purpose of keeping an eye on you?
Shockingly terrified now?
I had a chance to see these capabilities in action while running through Jefferson Square Park in San Francisco with the R1 hot on my tail. The drone is alarmingly impressive but there’s something a little unsettling about having an autonomous drone track you down on its own while it avoids tree branches to keep you in its gaze.
Ok, so even the author of the article I'm quoting here has the same feelings I do. This is potentially creepy. But it's also incredibly cool. I've got mixed feelings about this amazing new albeit creepy drone.
I don't know what else I can say about this drone so just check this video out and tell me if you can imagine a dystopian world in which these little guys are flying all over the place!
Now that you know what the Skydio R1 can do, how do you feel about it? I don't know about you guys but I kind of feel like if we can't beat them, then we should join them and have some fun at least!
I wan't one or two of these new advanced flying friends...
Let the drone fun begin!
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Source:
Skydio’s $2499 ‘self-flying’ drone knows where you are and where you’re going - TechCrunch
Image Source:
TechCrunch