“Walk me home in the dark of night….”
With apologies to Pink: Who needs company when you can have an Autonomous Safety Drone?
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From My Future Tech Notebook — a collection of ideas that might or might not see the light of day.
Imagine you’re walking home from somewhere at night, alone. It’s dark. It’s a bit scary. You start to feel unsafe.
So you reach into your pocket (or bag, or pack) and pull out a small package, unfold and deploy the rotors, and toss it into the air. A small drone starts up and hovers a few feet above you. A bright light comes on, lighting your path and the area surrounding you.
As you walk, the drone keeps a few steps ahead, sensing which way you are moving and watching for any changes in direction.
You feel safer, knowing that there is light. And that the drone is taking a video of your walk and can call for help if needed.
Well, that’s the main idea. Here are some extras:
- Reconnaissance / Probe mode: fly the path to my destination and return, or fly a bit ahead and return. Identify and mark any objects of concern. Recognize humans and animals and alert me to their presence.
- Tandem mode: a pair of drones communicating with each other, the first providing light and the second being a probe.
- Add infrared detection in the probe.
- Add the ability to contact Emergency Services or a central monitoring facility and send video and locational information.
- Play a siren sound or other loud noise to alert other people in case of trouble.
- Provide situational awareness via an earpiece.
- Connect to health device (watch or fitness device) to monitor heart rate and calm me if needed (play soothing music, perhaps)
- Play a conversation to simulate a couple or group walking.
- Flashing blue lights or strobe and siren to simulate a police vehicle coming up the street.
