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This is really cool, but I'm super skeptical of their proposed use case for protecting cities. Aren't lightning conditions often preceded by strong winds and p
by rkagerer 2y ago
This is really cool, but I'm super skeptical of their proposed use case for protecting cities.
Aren't lightning conditions often preceded by strong winds and poor weather conditions? Not a great time to be flying drones. And the approach seems more complicated than simply installing lightning rods.
I'd sooner envision people using the technique to get a kick out of throwing lightning around like they're Zeus.
- bestouff 2y agoAFAIK the electric buildup starts even before the meteorological shenanigans.
- prawn 2y agoI've flown my Mavics in rain and strong wind before - certainly stronger than anything I'd associate with lightning. Most of the lightning storms I've seen haven't been especially windy, but it might vary elsewhere. And that's a consumer drone with negligible weatherproofing. I assume if there's a business case, they'll eventually automate this with drone swarms that wait in cabinets on building rooftops.
- binary132 2y agoFWIW, where I live there are often intense thunderstorms during the spring and summer, and they are usually accompanied by windstorms, sometimes generating tornadoes.
- bamboozled 2y agoI've been in Tokyo in some massive storms (NTT is a Japanese company), the wind and rain is absolutely insane sometimes. Kind of like a 30 minute hurricane.
- wodenokoto 2y agoMy scepticism was more like “don’t cities already have lightning rods?”
- mbreese 2y ago> Aren't lightning conditions often preceded by strong winds and poor weather conditions? Not a great time to be flying drones. Well, the drone would be tethered by the ground attached wire, so it might not need to be that controllable. Elevation is the main concern, so as long as it can reach the right altitude, the tether could keep it reasonably in the right area.
- yencabulator 2y agoThe drone could crash down anywhere within the radius determined by that tether.
- shaky-carrousel 2y agoI'm pretty sure it'll be used as a weapon.
- Cthulhu_ 2y agoYeah I haven't heard of lightning actually causing damage to buildings or property in years, last times were old thatched rooves or homes that generally don't have lightning rods. But it mainly hits trees these days. It feels like a solution looking for a problem, however as someone else pointed out, a drone being able to withstand lightning strikes is pretty neat.
- barbazoo 2y agoProbably military then.