Borrow a Drone

Students at the University of South Florida, US are now able to borrow quadcopter drones from the school library. The university allows students to check out one of the library's two remote control devices for supervised flights. The small white drones come fitted with a video camera. The university says they will be useful for students studying a range of disciplines. Students need to complete a course in drone operation before checking the devices out, and their use is to be monitored by staff members standing over the students' shoulders.

Drone Delivered Food

It will take all of this year and maybe next, but drone delivered food is coming to your house. Tacocoptor was never meant to be more than a concept, but before the end of 2012, it inspired Leonardo the Pizzacoptor and the Burrito Bomber, as working drones that could do food delivery.

In a video posted on YouTube, an engineer sets a location for the Burrito Bomber to drop its payload and another loads a burrito into a drop canister with a parachute. Within minutes, the bomber flies to the GPS-set location and drops the burrito, where a happy recipient opens the canister and takes a bite.

Drones have been increasingly used by government and military for many uses, like checking on fishing hatcheries, border surveillance, specifically directed bombs, search and rescue, and more. Sizes range from mere inches to larger ones that can fly thousands of miles at heights of 15,000 feet.

Delivering food by drone is still prohibited by the FAA, but the recently signed FAA Modernization and Reform Act requires the FAA to allow drones built by private companies to fly in US airspace, and could open up a pathway for drone delivery of parcels, mail, and food. Gives a whole new meaning to home delivery.