Call it a robotic dad double.
IEEE Spectrum contributing editor Paul Wallich decided to build a do-it-yourself quadcopter drone to supervise his son's 400-meter jaunt to catch the school bus, according to
Mashable. Wallich bought the necessary parts a la carte, including a drone control board, a GPS unit and a compass. Equipping his son's backpack with a GPS beacon, Wallich tested his drone's surveillance prowess by adding a video chat-enabled smartphone to the device.
While the idea has potential, the tree-lined route to the bus stop limits the drone's visibility. Windy conditions have also proven challenging. Perhaps the largest obstacle to Wallich's idea, though, is the limited battery life of the drone. If the bus runs late, the drone loses power, forcing him to retrieve it in person.
"Until the batteries improve by another order of magnitude or so," Wallich explained to
Mashable, "I'll have to do most of my watching the old-fashioned way, in person."
Photo from Mashable
Noelle Knell is the executive editor for e.Republic, responsible for setting the overall direction for e.Republic’s editorial platforms, including Government Technology, Governing, Industry Insider, Emergency Management and the Center for Digital Education. She has been with e.Republic since 2011, and has decades of writing, editing and leadership experience. A California native, Noelle has worked in both state and local government, and is a graduate of the University of California, Davis, with majors in political science and American history.
