We Now Have Drones That Can Draw

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Two drone specialists out of the Fluid Interfaces department of the MIT Media Lab have developed a drone with a special talent: drawing.

The drone, which research assistant Sang-won Leigh demonstrated for CRNtv, is actually just one tool in a solution that allows a person to control a drone through a simple pen motion.

In the demonstration, the "artist" makes motions with the pen on a board in front of motion-capturing cameras, which would then supply the information to the drone through a computer. The drone would then "draw" the motions on a wall.

It might not seem like a technology with many real-world applications, but Leigh explained that the solution demonstrates how easily people and drones can harmoniously connect and produce.

’Drones are not a very independent entity,’ Leigh said, contrary to what some drone fearers might think.

Leigh emphasized that drones are not really autonomous technologies, but rather great tools for remote pilots.

’I think we need to think more about synergistic applications [of drones], not just being scared of some of the possible dangerous features,’ he said.

PUBLISHED OCT. 9, 2015