GoKawiilThe drone arms race is set to enter U.S. schools with Mithril Defense’s Campus Guardian Angel drones in at least nine schools across three states before the year is out. The Washington Post reports that the pilot program will be tested in Florida, Georgia, and Colorado schools with and without resource officers on campus. Securely siloed drones will be situated in key areas around campus, triggered by teachers via app or panic button, then fly to combat gun-toting attackers with a mix of strobes, sirens, pepper spray, and a 60 mph attacker-ramming capability.
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If this is a successful initiative, it could go some way to lift the terrible specter of gun violence overshadowing U.S. students. The Washington Post notes that since Columbine in 1999, almost 400,000 students have experienced gun violence at school.
The Campus Guardian Angel drone rollout will be quite expensive. For example, the five schools in Georgia set to adopt drone defense will get $500,000 in backing to run the pilot program. However, politicians and legislators in that state appear to have passed the budget with ease.
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This is how the Campus Guardian Angel drone system is designed to work:
Drones are sited at secure locations around the campus,
A teacher will trigger the drone deployment using an app or panic button,
Remote pilots take control and distract, deter, and disable aggressors using a mix of strobes, sirens, pepper gel, and 60‑mph impacts,
Drone system reaction speed is crucial.
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