New start-up company Aptonomy Inc., have developed drone technology that could soon replace drone technology as we know it. They could be used in prisons, robberies, or any other malicious intrusions and will prevent real people from being injured. It has been built using the same camera-carrying octocopter that many filmmakers use – the DJI S-1000+. Added to it are a new flight controller and a second computer that can power day and night vision cameras, loudspeakers, bright lights, and much more. It also has built-in artificial intelligence and navigation systems that enable it to fly low and fast and avoid obstacles in its path. And the big selling point is that it can detect human activity or faces in the area, autonomously.
It is as simple as the user opening a browser, connecting to the Aptonomy interface, and clicking on the map location they want to send the drone. Then, off it goes! The drone takes a flight to the allocated area where the user can watch the captured footage in real time or via a recording later. These drones have the ability to fly wherever a motion detector transmits data pointing to unusual activity down below. As well as being self-flying, these drones are intelligent enough to fly back to a charging station to power up when their batteries are running low.
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The duo behind Aptonomy are no strangers to the industry. Mihal Pivtoraiko and Siddharth Sanan have both received doctorates from the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University. Mihal previously worked for company’s including Intel and NASA, and Siddharth’s research was the inspiration behind Disney’s Big Hero 6’s robot, Baymax.
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These drones could make a difference in the way many firms employ security. They can record suspicious activity, shine lights on intruders, and communicate with them through a loudspeaker, potentially scaring them away. Refineries are one area that could benefit greatly from using drone security guards. Because they are in such a remote area, it is often difficult to get real security guards in place and are subsequently a target for attacks. One energy company have already pre-order the drones for their oil refineries later this year and is only time before the rest begin to follow.
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