Very soon, cyclists might rely on drones to get protected from nearby cars and other upcoming dangers. Cyclodrone and the other drones developed by frog design could definitely change our lives for the better.
frog design imagined four types of drones that could be used in several different environments, either in emergency situations or for the prevention of accidents. Cyclodrone, the first of them, is meant to raise awareness of approaching cars, regardless if they are in front of or behind cyclists. The idea is to have one such drone in front and one behind of you while cycling, so there aren’t any surprises.
Cormac Eubanks, the developer of the Cyclodrone, noticed that “Drones are taking a beating in the press, being characterized as spies and assassins. At frog, we are more fascinated by the design potential at the leading edge of technology. We believe now is the time to explore how drones could be a force for good.”
Eubanks also explained why drones would make a better job than stronger lights: “Lights work great at night, but during the day they need to be unbelievably bright to be visible in sunlight. During the day, our visual systems are more sensitive to moving physical objects.”
The next concept, which is called Firedrone, has a very suggestive name. This one would be used for helping people trapped in burning buildings. Once firefighters know the location of these people, they can proceed to rescuing them. Of course, to function properly, such a drone would have to be equipped with all sorts of sensors.
Hummingbird and Beetle are two drones that would be involved in farming and pollination. While the idea is nice, maybe we should focus on preventing the extinction of bees and hummingbirds, instead of creating robots to replace them.
Snow Cyclops wouldn’t be used for locating people trapped by avalanches, as some may think. Instead, this drone drops explosives in precise locations in order to trigger avalanches, thus allowing skiers to enjoy their time in the great outdoors without fearing danger.
As with all the other drones, these four could probably be hacked for evil purposes such as spying or dropping explosives and causing accidents. In the end, it is a matter of ethics if people use these to protect themselves or to harm others.
If you liked this post, please check the Oculus Rift hack that enables POV on the Black Armor drone and the OppiKoppi drones that delivered beer from the sky in South Africa.
