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Every weekday morning, Paul Wallich would accompany his young son some 400 meters from their home to the bus stop to make sure he was sent off to school safely. It’s not a terribly long distance to travel on foot but when it’s cold outside during the winter, it can certainly be an inconvenience.
It was for this very reason that Wallich decided to come up with a better solution to escort his kid to the bus stop – right from the comfort of his home. He decided to build a quadrocopter equipped with a camera that would stream live video directly to his computer.
The idea sounds easy enough in theory as you can readily buy a quadrocopter kit at virtually any hobby or electronics specialty shop. Supplying a live view of the drone’s flight was also pretty easy as Wallich simply attached a smartphone to the copter and used a video chatting app to stream live images to his PC.
As he described on IEEE, the easy part was getting the copter into the air with the video surveillance system installed. The tricky part, however, was figuring out how to get the drone to track his son’s movement during the 400 meter trek.
After looking into several long-distance RFID options, he decided that a GPS beacon would work best for his application. He ultimately installed a small transmitter beacon that fits discretely in his sons backpack. It’s powered by coin-cell battery that can typically last up to a week.
Overall, the copter is able to perform the task it was intended to do but it’s not without some issues. Flight can be difficult if it’s windy outside and the GPS tracking is reportedly only good up to a distance of about 10 meters. Another concern is the copter’s battery life. The inventor says it has just enough power to fly to the bus stop, wait for the bus then make it back home before dying.
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1 person liked this |
The "Jury has Spoken" and the trial has not started yet!!
I'm getting out of this thread, there is too many AS-SH-OLES here judging something they know nothing about.
- I'm not gonna call the man lazy because I don't know if he is. Everyone is lazy, the question is just how much so are they.
- I'm not gonna say the man should have bought a pre-built if his hobby is to build. (geez, I didn't buy a pre-built PC)
- I'm not gonna call the kid incompetent because I don't know the kid. Apparently the father has a little faith in the kid why don't you?
- There are 5 year olds that are brighter than some adults, is this one of those kids?
- If a kidnapper gets it in their head they want your kid, they will get your kid with or without you walking them. In a day and age where cameras are everywhere, a kidnapper would be stupid to leave trace clues behind on ground zero.
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The "Jury has Spoken" and the trial has not started yet!!So, this means you're not going to hang out here with me, and help satirize the whole "non-issue"?
I'm getting out of this thread, there is too many AS-SH-OLES here judging something they know nothing about.
- I'm not gonna call the man lazy because I don't know if he is. Everyone is lazy, the question is just how much so are they.
- I'm not gonna say the man should have bought a pre-built if his hobby is to build. (geez, I didn't buy a pre-built PC)
- I'm not gonna call the kid incompetent because I don't know the kid. Apparently the father has a little faith in the kid why don't you?
- There are 5 year olds that are brighter than some adults, is this one of those kids?
- If a kidnapper gets it in their head they want your kid, they will get your kid with or without you walking them. In a day and age where cameras are everywhere, a kidnapper would be stupid to leave trace clues behind on ground zero.
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So, this means you're not going to hang out here with me, and satirize the whole "non-issue"?
Don't worry, there's plenty of other imbeciles cynics here to carry on the bad work....
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Don't worry, there's plenty of other imbeciles cynics here to carry on the bad work....Thanks for ringing in........
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there's plenty of other imbeciles cynicsI see that was directed at me. You know what I don't care, I'm not even gonna report it.
imbecile
NOUN1.
offensive term: an offensive term that deliberately insults somebody's intellect ( insult )
2.
somebody with low IQ: in a former classification system, somebody with an IQ between 25 and 50 and a mental age of between three and seven years ( dated ) ( now considered offensive )
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1 person liked this |
No, I promise it was a joke on myself (or anyone else) bothering to continue such a pointless chat - if offence was caused, please accept my genuine apology, I was ONLY trying to be amusing (sorry, failed!) :oops:
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No, I promise it was a joke on myself (or anyone else) bothering to continue such a pointless chat - if offence was caused, please accept my genuine apology, I was ONLY trying to be amusing (sorry, failed!) :oops:
Well now, I don't really think this is pointless! Lindsay Lohan could benefit greatly from advances in this technology. Or, the prosecution will have video evidence of her transgressions. I suppose it could go either way.
In either case, that would place this story where it belongs, on "Access Hollywood"!
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Sorry for the misinterpretation, so the joke continues.
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misor said:
The funny thing about that statement is no one in this thread has supported the claim that the child absolutely needed the parent to walk with. You know why, no one knows but yet members here don't hesitate to call the parent lazy and pathetic.there are times when you have to let go... like training your kid to walk on his own...
but the statement in the article says:
"when it's cold outside during the winter, it can certainly be an inconvenience."
" to escort his kid to the bus stop ? right from the comfort of his home."
is walking your kid during a cold weather an inconvenience?
I am not a suspicious person but perhaps the dad in the article is here.
(peace!)
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