A drone with a nail gun…..a weapon in the wrong hands
An octocopter capable of attaching asphalt shingles to roofs with a nail gun has been demonstrated at the University of Michigan.
This aerial vehicle is autonomous, meaning that it positions the nail gun on a nailing point, places the nail and moves to the next point without needing a human at the controls.
“For me, the biggest excitement of this work is in recognizing that autonomous, useful, physical interaction and construction tasks are possible with drones,” said Ella Atkins, a professor of aerospace engineering and robotics.
She added that tasks best suited to robotization are said to be “dull, dirty and dangerous,” presumably moving the human workforce on to cleaner, safer and more interesting jobs.
Already, drones spare humans some high-stakes fall risks by inspecting bridges, wind turbines and cell towers. The natural next step, according to Atkins, is to upgrade from surveillance alone to performing physical tasks.
