Photo: Amazon
Browsing through the patents filed by various companies is like eavesdropping on the doors of mental institutions: you never get bored, but through all the madness, you might actually come across some pretty neat ideas.
We're still sitting on the fence on this latest patent from Amazon, though. The company seems to think that the next big thing in the gadget department will be miniature drones. These "Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Assistants" - or UAVAs - can serve all sorts of purposes, and the best bit is that they can be carried around in a pocket or dock on a pad placed on your shoulder. We're willing to bet a lot of people will name them Polly (and maybe start talking with a pirate accent).
But in order to offer useful assistance, these drones would have to be completely autonomous, allowing their owner to keep themselves busy with other things. Amazon's UAVAs do that, even though the company didn't say what kind of AI the small drones will be using.
It's not very hard to imagine the uses for such a device. For instance, they could act as a set of remote eyes or ears, with Amazon putting a big emphasis on the way they could help police officers. The body cam could be substituted with one of these drones, but they could also be sent ahead to scout in potentially dangerous situations.
The diminutive dimensions coupled with the processing power needed to carry tasks autonomously raise questions over the drone's maximum range. It could recharge every time it returns to its operator, but particularly in the case of law enforcement use, being able to rely on it to perform over a longer period of time would be critical.
If you've played the X-COM2 turn-based strategy video game, the scenario of a drone following a person around will seem awfully familiar. However, Amazon's version implies that everyone could one day use their own UAVA. It's not too hard to imagine the busy Manhattan sidewalks covered in darkness at noon just because there's a huge cloud of small drones hovering above the crowd on the ground.
But in order to offer useful assistance, these drones would have to be completely autonomous, allowing their owner to keep themselves busy with other things. Amazon's UAVAs do that, even though the company didn't say what kind of AI the small drones will be using.
It's not very hard to imagine the uses for such a device. For instance, they could act as a set of remote eyes or ears, with Amazon putting a big emphasis on the way they could help police officers. The body cam could be substituted with one of these drones, but they could also be sent ahead to scout in potentially dangerous situations.
The diminutive dimensions coupled with the processing power needed to carry tasks autonomously raise questions over the drone's maximum range. It could recharge every time it returns to its operator, but particularly in the case of law enforcement use, being able to rely on it to perform over a longer period of time would be critical.
If you've played the X-COM2 turn-based strategy video game, the scenario of a drone following a person around will seem awfully familiar. However, Amazon's version implies that everyone could one day use their own UAVA. It's not too hard to imagine the busy Manhattan sidewalks covered in darkness at noon just because there's a huge cloud of small drones hovering above the crowd on the ground.
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