Drones. They’re becoming a regular part of our everyday routine. Wake-up, hear a knock at the door, and BOOM, there’s a robot delivering you a package. Ten years ago, you would’ve thought that a robot deliveryman was impossible… and maybe a little bit weird. But now you’re asking why drone helpers aren’t more ubiquitous in your day-to-day life? You know, helping you paint your house, walking your dog and destroying that guy’s car that you hate.
In honor of the new RoboCop movie (opening in U.S. theaters Feb. 12), let’s take a look at the humble beginnings of drones and extrapolate what might be coming in the future…
Robot Beginnings
Flash forward 45 years from Tesla’s prediction and you’ve got drones flying missions in the Tonkin Gulf during the Vietnam War. Since then, drones have been used for search and rescue purposes, espionage, reconnaissance and even some light combat.
Frankly, it’s weird that it took more than 40 years for the private sector to adopt these little flying robots to do practical work that went outside the scope of warfare, but here we are, ready to break-in a new world.
Where We’re Headed
The next question that we all have about drones and robots is, what will they be doing next? Well, considering that the delivery drone is a product of Amazon’s need to unshackle themselves from FedEx and the US Postal Service, it would make sense that other megalithic corporations will be the ones to define the role of robots in the future. In other words, what will Google, Apple and Microsoft need from their drones?
Apple seems to need to know where you are at all times (at least according to your iPhone), so we’re going to venture a guess that their next invention will be the iDog, a little robot pal that’ll follow you around reporting your geographical data at all times.
And what about Microsoft? Well, their goal seems to be to bring your entire reality into one operating system. Tablets, phones, game systems, computers, television… What about, instead of playing a first person shooter, they actually bring you into the action. Video games-schmideo games, let’s talk about some real life robot games that you can setup in your backyard!
