If we could get autonomous drones, I would have one hold up an umbrella to shield me from the sun at all times as I walk around, lol!

  • Freeman@lemmy.pub
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    1 year ago

    Are we talking flying drones only? Because i have a vaccum cleaner and mop that is basically a little ground drone to clean up my messes. I can even take over control and “fly” it with the camera feed.

  • hexachrome@monero.town
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    1 year ago

    I’ve used mine to blow the leaves out of gutters on the roof. Just fly very low and let the prop wash do the work.

  • Sea of Tranquility@beehaw.org
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    1 year ago

    If the drone could fly around the city autonomously, I would use it to digitize my city and get a personal Google Street View on steroids. I already use drone shots for structure-from-motion projects, but it would’ve to be autonomous for such a large-scale operation

  • corytheboyd@kbin.social
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    1 year ago

    I bought it to take pictures of my roof because the insurance company wanted proof that it’s the material we said it was. My life is exciting

    • reactormonk@beehaw.org
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      1 year ago

      Used the drone to check the roof for damage to replace the tiles. Neighbors saw it and asked us if we could check as well.

  • astrosalt@beehaw.org
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    1 year ago

    I often get stuck waiting for a train on my way to/from work. I’ve often wanted to have a drone so I could figure out how long I’d have it wait, and see if it’s worth it to go around.

  • Sam Vimes@beehaw.org
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    1 year ago

    I actually own and use drones for these things:
    Scouting out roads/hiking-biking trails/camping spots/photog raphy spots. The drone has saved a good bit of time, and kept me from going down some real nasty roads for no payoff or just regular roads that dead end somewhere that has no view, or already has someone parked at. Similarly my ebike is also helpful for scouting out roads to see if it’s worth taking the van down. Yes, I’m conscious of drone laws and how obnoxious they are, I do my best to minimize noise and am careful about not bothering people, people deserve to hear nature in nature.

    Figuring out if I have to clean the gutters again.
    Make friends.
    One time I used it as a birds eye view with VR(ish) goggles for fun. It was fun, it was awful.
    Take pictures of a friend’s van’s solar installation for insurance purposes.

    Things I do that aren’t weird:
    Take aerial photography/videography.
    Fly around and have fun.

    I may use a drone for the following, but have yet to:
    Get a different view to see if I’m gonna run the van into tree limbs, rocks, etc.
    Fly a cup of sugar to a neighbor who would like to borrow some.
    Have an outdoor “ceiling” light.

    If you have any questions, ask away.

      • Sam Vimes@beehaw.org
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        1 year ago

        If it was a one time thing, some tape and string, I’d just hover it and they’d snip it.

        If this was something I wanted to do frequently, there are fairly cheap attachments that you can drop things with, which would be more fun, and I wouldn’t have to worry about the person snipping the string tugging it and causing danger to themselves and/or the drone.

        They’re a battery, little servo to move a pin, and usually a photosensitive trigger, and you can drop things by turning the auxiliary/landing light on or off.

        Here’s the first Amazon result for that type of device it’s $37 and has a max payload of 500 grams.

          • Sam Vimes@beehaw.org
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            1 year ago

            Wow, yep I did.
            This is actually a different one which looks slightly better. To be clear, I don’t know if any if them are worthwhile, I don’t own any, I just searched for “payload Air2S” on Amazon.

            https://a.co/d/5GZFWCP

            Not sure how to tag people on Beehaw, @Freeman pleas let me know if this tags you?

  • numbermess@kbin.social
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    1 year ago

    We played a game with our Cub Scouts where they would set up a pyramid of red plastic cups in a field and then fly a drone equipped with a release mechanism to drop a ball from as high as they wanted to take it and see how accurate their aim was. Their aim was terrible and hilarious and they ended just running through the cups and throwing them at each other, but loved thinking about where to position the drone and ask about doing it again a lot.

    • jrubal1462@vlemmy.net
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      1 year ago

      If you’re brave enough, you could throw on some VR, have the drone follow you, and drive around in 3rd person.

      • Sam Vimes@beehaw.org
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        1 year ago

        I did that once, albeit walking, not driving, and the drone had no auto flight programming. It was really hard to do anything more than walking on flat ground. Bumpy ground, difficult. Try to grab something on a shelf, difficult. This was a few years back, so tech is better, having auto follow would free up some brain power, but it’d still be real rough.

        There’s a video of a bunch of soccer players trying to play using VR and a camera above the field, it’s got some funny moments.

      • PickTheStick@lemmy.fmhy.ml
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        1 year ago

        They did that with a 30-40 foot stick a few years ago, and the initial attempts by the driver were hilarious. They didn’t show improvement because I’m sure it wouldn’t be as funny, but I think we all forget how difficult it first was to match up how far to push the stick left or right for a particular turn. Now imagine an actual wheel.

    • shanghaibebop@beehaw.org
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      1 year ago

      I did exactly this, and also checked on the status of my gutters. My roof is 40ft above street level, and it’s scary to climb up there myself.

  • lightingnerd@kbin.social
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    1 year ago

    I personally want to have an automated camera-turret guided by microphone triangulation, and small fleet of drones that will launch when any loud car is detected driving in my neighborhood past 10PM that will both collect video evidence of their license plate, the driver’s face, and hopefully scare the living shit out of them as punishment for disturbing my beauty sleep.

  • JollyRoberts@kbin.social
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    1 year ago

    @Dymonika

    Id love to have one just follow my daughter (5 yr old) around and record her conversations/talking to herself. She is so adorable and funny. I love the way her mind works and would enjoy listening to her stream of conciousness.

    • Dymonika@beehaw.orgOP
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      1 year ago

      I wonder if you could already begin doing this with a mic, memory card, and battery pack for a tiny phone or similar device! A fully powered Zoom H4n can record for hours.