Florida schools introducing armed drones that respond to shootings within seconds

[midian182]

A hot potato: In another sign of society moving ever closer to a Cyberpunk 2077-like dystopia, schools in Florida are testing armed drones as a defense against school shooting incidents. The drones sit in wait on charging pads at a school's campus and can confront an armed shooter within 15 seconds, according to their maker.

Three Florida school districts are trialing the weaponized drone system after it was approved by Governor Ron DeSantis.

The drones provide a constant live video feed to first responders. They cruise at 30mph to 50mph inside buildings and can reach 100mph outdoors, allowing them to cross a large campus in eight seconds.

Created by a company called Campus Guardian Angel, the drones remain on their charging pads in secure, multiple boxes – each containing six drones – at school locations until a shooting incident is detected. They are flown remotely by operators at the firm's Austin headquarters.

The drones are primarily there to aid law enforcement by clearing corners and rooms like a police dog. The live feeds can also help confirm a shooter's identity and location, aiding with situation awareness and threat assessment.

According to Newsweek, the Austin teams running the drones include a pilot, tactical specialists who coordinate movements and decide when to engage, and liaisons who relay real-time information to law enforcement.

While the drones are armed, they use non-lethal or less-lethal weaponry, allowing them to distract, disorient, confront, degrade, and incapacitate shooters, according to the company. They carry pepper rounds and a glass breaker for quickly entering classrooms.

Despite not carrying lethal firepower, having 30 to 90 of these drones in schools has raised concerns. Beyond any potential technical issues, there's always the possibility they could make a shooting situation even worse or more complicated. There are question marks over the kind of training the operators receive, too. Then there's the storage safety aspect, as well as the potential of a drone colliding with a student or law enforcement as it zooms through corridors at 50mph.

We'll find out how successful the system is soon enough. Campus Guardian Angel aims to install the drones in the schools permanently in September and October, ahead of the fully operational live service starting in January.

There's no arguing that more needs to be done to prevent these shootings. There have been roughly 1,000 incidents of gun violence in US schools in the past three years, about ten times the figure from a decade ago.

The danger of a potential shooting incident is one of the main reasons why so many parents oppose phone bans in schools. Florida was the first to introduce a statewide mandate banning handsets in classrooms, and it has since expanded to 35 other states.

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Florida schools introducing armed drones that respond to shootings within seconds

 

[GodisanAtheist]

Good I guess. It's a band-aid solution, but that's still better than the whole "oh well, people die" attitude that seems to have settled on this issue.

Do something, literally anything, to curb or stop school shootings.

 

[Megalomaniac]

If IRAN can convince a US Drone to land - effectively stealing it, what could a hacker do to an armed drone?

No: we already have armed drones to respond to active shooters: they're called police.

 

[opckieran]

we already have armed drones to respond to active shooters: they're called police.

The families of Uvalde would disagree.

 

[GeoffreyA]

Good I guess. It's a band-aid solution, but that's still better than the whole "oh well, people die" attitude that seems to have settled on this issue.

Do something, literally anything, to curb or stop school shootings.

Better than nothing, leaving aside safety issues, but something has to be done to get to the root of these shootings. Generally, we don't have this tragedy in the rest of the world. Why is America plagued by it? Can it be a culture of violence, mockery, and bullying?

 

[axiomatic13]

This sounds more like a jail than a learning environment?

 

[oasked]

The USA will do literally anything to avoid gun control.

 

[pietklerckx]

Better than nothing, leaving aside safety issues, but something has to be done to get to the root of these shootings. Generally, we don't have this tragedy in the rest of the world. Why is America plagued by it? Can it be a culture of violence, mockery, and bullying?

No, it's guns. And Americans do anything's, but forbidding guns (this article of the proof of that).

 

[Puiu]

Good I guess. It's a band-aid solution, but that's still better than the whole "oh well, people die" attitude that seems to have settled on this issue.

Do something, literally anything, to curb or stop school shootings.

Do anything except proper gun regulations.

 

[Axeia]

Better than nothing, leaving aside safety issues, but something has to be done to get to the root of these shootings. Generally, we don't have this tragedy in the rest of the world. Why is America plagued by it? Can it be a culture of violence, mockery, and bullying?

It's the result of having millions and millions of guns. In the rest of the world we mostly just stab each other, much less likely for the typical pale frail bullied tormented soul to take down dozens of typically more fit students that way.

The US has more firearms than people (Ratio of about 1 to 1.2). Why is there school shootings, why is there extremely high numbers of gun related deaths and casualties? The answer is clear but apparently unacceptable.
Think I'd rather just have a high fence and body scanners at the entrance and prevent problems then having armed drones zipping about the place though.

 

[noel24]

I got deja vu.

 

[umeng2002]

Shame not armed with a gun. This is Florida after all.

 

[BuckarooBonzaii]

Any type of regulation or control of weapons will not stop anyone who wants to kill as they will be creative in what they want to do. Regulations/Control only makes it not convenient.

 

[toooooot]

Good measure. In times when we employe people who simply should not work in police, you probably saw videos like the one where a female cop hides behind cover while some dude shoots a terrorist, this really helps. A lot more people would be much more comfortable risking a drone's life rather than theirs.

I predict that the next step could be AI drones that are stationed in every school. They would identify when a shooting happens and neutralizes shooter under one minute.

This is what we need. I am very tired explaining while banning guns won't help. For those who missed the news, we have a border with one of the largest cartels in the world. We need alternative solutions rather than idiocy states like WA are doing.

 

[RudyBob]

Locked doors, fewer and well secured entrances. Sure do drones too

 

[toooooot]

If IRAN can convince a US Drone to land - effectively stealing it, what could a hacker do to an armed drone?

No: we already have armed drones to respond to active shooters: they're called police.

Judging by the dawned f 117 in Yugoslavia, I am guessing negligence was the main reason. there is no security good enough to cover mistakes of those using it.

 

[ScottSoapbox]

So allowing teachers to carry guns is bad but armed drones is good? Very confused by people right now.

 

[Puiu]

Any type of regulation or control of weapons will not stop anyone who wants to kill as they will be creative in what they want to do. Regulations/Control only makes it not convenient.

Yes they will. This is a proven fact that nobody can deny. It has been done MANY times across the globe and the numbers are overwhelmingly against what you said.

And you gun lovers always think in the short term. Can't think beyond "they took out guns". Good regulations coupled with a shift in education will resolve this issue even if it takes 10-30 years. This isn't an one year problem, it's multi-generational.

But you are afraid of taking the first step... so afraid...

You just don't seem to understand just how f-ed up it is for teachers to carry guns in schools and to have drones with weapons flying around. Even freaking war torn countries don't do that. It's pathetic.

 

[Megalomaniac]

The USA will do literally anything to avoid gun control.

2nd Amendment is a right in America. Regardless what outsiders say. Regardless what the minority says. Unless it's changed, this is just how it is.

 

[ActualViking]

It's the result of having millions and millions of guns. In the rest of the world we mostly just stab each other, much less likely for the typical pale frail bullied tormented soul to take down dozens of typically more fit students that way.

The US has more firearms than people (Ratio of about 1 to 1.2). Why is there school shootings, why is there extremely high numbers of gun related deaths and casualties? The answer is clear but apparently unacceptable.
Think I'd rather just have a high fence and body scanners at the entrance and prevent problems then having armed drones zipping about the place though.

The availability of guns due to sheer numbers and the cavalier way they are stored is part of the issue, but there is more as there is other countries with lots of guns.

A prime example is Switzerland where all men will have served in the army and many are in a reserve role, which includes them storing military weapons and ammo in their homes. This includes automatic rifles, so there is access to the real thing and not "just" AR-15's.

 

[Megalomaniac]

The availability of guns due to sheer numbers and the cavalier way they are stored is part of the issue, but there is more as there is other countries with lots of guns.

A prime example is Switzerland where all men will have served in the army and many are in a reserve role, which includes them storing military weapons and ammo in their homes. This includes automatic rifles, so there is access to the real thing and not "just" AR-15's.

You're telling me that I can't sleep with my Desert Eagle under my pillow or my Desert Eagle on top of my pillow?

 

[VitalyT]

The USA will do literally anything to avoid gun control.

Because gun lobby has more money than the rest of them combined. It's all about money, making business from gun sale. This evil will never stop, because "profit before conscience" is the USA business moto that's been there forever.

 

[opckieran]

Do anything except proper gun regulations.

The problem is clearly the people though. Even if you could wave your magic wand and get rid of all the guns (which never happens in the way anybody wants it to, it winds up that the weapons all fall in the hands of thugs and our wonderful government which is always good and honest and righteous and would never do anything to hurt us!) you would still incur violence but in a different form. Just look at the UK, they’re dealing with stabbings and r*pe gangs at an alarming and unacceptable rate, but I guess since no guns were involved there is no problem? Get real.

 

[trieste1s]

Better than nothing, leaving aside safety issues, but something has to be done to get to the root of these shootings. Generally, we don't have this tragedy in the rest of the world. Why is America plagued by it? Can it be a culture of violence, mockery, and bullying?

Should bring school prayers back for a start.

Children are being set adrift, taught that the world is godless, nobody is out there who can help them, while fathers (or baby daddies) are absent, abusive, poor role models. Then these children reach teenage years and start absorbing extremist or nihilistic ideologies from the Internet, some of which are promulgated by video game antagonists or even protagonists / antiheroes. And finally, the creme de la creme: easy access to assault weapons.

So, to deal with the root, bring prayers back. Bring godliness back. Revere and worship our good and loving Jesus again. To deal with the symptoms, to apply band aids: ban assault weapons.

 

[BuckarooBonzaii]

Yes they will. This is a proven fact that nobody can deny. It has been done MANY times across the globe and the numbers are overwhelmingly against what you said.

And you gun lovers always think in the short term. Can't think beyond "they took out guns". Good regulations coupled with a shift in education will resolve this issue even if it takes 10-30 years. This isn't an one year problem, it's multi-generational.

But you are afraid of taking the first step... so afraid...

You just don't seem to understand just how f-ed up it is for teachers to carry guns in schools and to have drones with weapons flying around. Even freaking war torn countries don't do that. It's pathetic.

When I said creative ways, it's everything not having to use guns.