Prologue
Yes, we know its not April fools day, and yes, it probably is a bit close to home for many, but seriously, do you think such a day may come? When powerful, yet affordable drones, will whisk us to the top of the mountain? Although clearly satirical, the article below touches on some of the likely issues and challenges of using human transport drones in the mountains: portability, weight, power, safety, noise and the impact on the skiing industry. Too far fetched or just a matter of time. Leave your comments below.
Scenario
Aussie technology start-up, ‘Drones-4-Drongos’, today predicted that drones powerful enough to carry humans will soon replace traditional ski-lifts.
In an exclusive interview with SRA , Drongos CEO, Dr Ana Gram-Desnor , says “human payload capable drones have been around for a few years, but until now, no-one has produced one that is light enough or inexpensive enough for the average person!”.
“I have a dream, that human-carrying drones will soon be buzzing around the neighborhood, carrying mums to the shops, kids to school and eventually skiers and snowboarders to the tops of mountains“, she added further.
Drongo human carrying drones, which are about the size of a small car, are nonetheless highly portable given their carbon fibre construction and patented folding mechanism, which allows the device to be folded and stored in a backpack. Dr Desnor, who is also a ski enthusiast, will soon begin manufacturing recreational drones capable of whisking skiers to the top of the mountains in minutes. “Forget queuing for first lifts, said Desnor, “just strap on your drone, fly up the hill, ski down, and do it all again – and all for free. “We just need to improve the batteries” she said, “which at the moment last for a total of about 15 minutes“.
The statement has understandably sent shock-waves through the skiing industry. “Yeah, this is obviously an issue” said Ski Area CEO, Sos Nowski, “We’ve dealt with issues far more pressing than this though. The use of snow guns for example has been hugely successful in supplementing our snow cover, and we may use similar means to deal with drones…” he said with a grin.
When approached for comment, EPA spokeswoman, Bambi Greenway, expressed concerns about the potential noise impacts of the drones, stating “the noise from 1’000s of punters strapped to drones would be akin to a bazillion giant mosquitoes“. “We’ll be moving immediately to ban these devices, but wont go as far as using guns”, she said. Were more likely to invest in a battery of heat-seeking missiles“, she joked.
Snowriders Australia 