Two words: Airborne. Burrito.It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No, it’s a drone, and it’s about to rock your world.Researchers are attaching small electronic backpacks and electrodes to create a half-bug half-machine life forms that can be controlled wirelessly. What.It’s no secret that drone technology has been a hot topic: Drone usage goes far beyond idiots flying them too high. In fact, I'm calling it now: drones are about to become a part of your daily life in a big way.

Half-Bug, half-robot

beetleDrones are being put to use for jobs where it wouldn’t be safe, practical, or possible to use a human. Drones could be used to save lives in disaster situations and make our communities safer.In fact, this goes way beyond drones. Engineers at the University of California Berkeley and Nanyang Technological University (Singapore) have created tiny robot beetles, or “biobots,” that actually replace drones.Yes, that’s right. These researchers are attaching small electronic backpacks and electrodes to create a half-bug half-machine life form that can be controlled wirelessly.
  • These robotic insects are said to be far more agile and need no engineering to keep them airborne.
  • These robots could be used to go into small cracks, crevices, and other places where drones can’t go.
  • The main appeal of these bugs over drones is that they don’t require constant human control to fly. Human control is only used to change the direction of the creature.
https://youtu.be/yN3T04yDIqUAlso, the technology involved only costs around $1.44 per insect, making it a much more cost effective option over drone use.While you may not be able to get a lot of use out of robot beetles in your daily life yet, unarmed aerial vehicles (UAVs) have the potential to change your life drastically, pretty much right now.

The drones are coming

Drones get a lot of bad press but some of them are being put to good use. Here are 4 ways drones are being used to actually help people (sometimes by, um, delivering beer).

#1: Search and rescue

The can help find people who have been stranded in natural disasters.https://youtu.be/oVZHZz9gFq4

#2: Catching poachers

Engineers at Polytechnic University of Catalonia have created a drone that can be used in national parks in Africa to catch rhino poachers using thermal vision technology.rhino

#3: Spotting wildfires

Drones can be used to spot wildfires before they get too big to be stopped.https://youtu.be/wmWEpFFbb0M

#4: Fighting bad guys

Cops can use drones to track down criminals on the run.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzHx7AxHmOA&feature=youtu.be

Game of Drones

Drones will make it easier and faster for you to get the things you love:

Imagine getting beer delivered to you while frolfing with your friends

beer

Amazon Prime Air: Forget about 2 days, get that new iPad in 20 minutes

amazonprimeaire

Up late gaming? Get an airborne burrito delivered right to your door

https://youtu.be/3lqMRHwGsRA

Forget about a flight simulator. Your gaming world will be changed forever when you engage in stunts, air races, and dogfights with other players using real drones.

drone-fight

What's Next: The FAA learns to chillax

The major roadblock to commercial drone use is FAA regulations which state that drones cannot be flown for commercial use.Once they ease up on their restrictions the drone economoy will start booming. Biobots will most likely be used for public service and other humanitarian efforts like search and rescue.However, drones will become a huge part of your daily life as they’ll get you the things you want quicker. And who doesn’t like instant gratification?

Have you flown a drone before or used one in a cool way?

Let us know in the comments below!

Image credits:kickstarter.com, Youtube.com, arstechnica.com, abcnews.com, telegraph.co.uk, flyver.co, techworld.com, washingtonpost.com, Tomonews

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