Someone made a drone that shoots fire balls

Drones are a very controversial topic that continuously makes the headlines. From quadcopters equipped with a hand guns to drones that can shoot paintballs, these devices are in a continuous legal battle between the private and commercial fronts. As if the environment wasn't tense enough, the latest creation brings us a drone that drops fire balls, but this time it is for a good cause.

The new drone was developed by a group of engineers from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and it carries a silo of balls filled with potassium permanganate powder. Right before they are ejected, the balls are injected with liquid glycol, which sets off a chemical reaction that causes them to generate flames in a matter of seconds. The idea behind this drone, which at first may seem unsettling, is actually to help contain wildfires and get rid of invasive species in nature.

The team has tested the drone indoor as you can see in the video above, and it's now discussing with the Federal Aviation Administration with the hope to get authorization to test it on the field.

%shareLinks-quote="Unmanned aerial devices have the potential to carry out key resource management strategies and could help us deal with something as big as the international increase in severe wildfires" type="quote" author="Sebastian Elbaum" authordesc="Computer science and engineering professor and drone researche" isquoteoftheday="false"%

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