Some time ago Skip Parish saw a story on the news about 17 people that were murdered in a school shooting. Sickened, Parish decided to devote his time to finding a better way to protect people in such horrific situations. Parish, an inventor himself, joined forces with the Bradenton School, a Manatee Technical College known for it’s technologically innovative thinking. Their goal was to come up with a way for staff and students to quickly detect, identify, and disarm a shooter. The technology they have come up with is a small drone that can fly into a building equipped with a special software to carry out a life saving mission.

This advanced software is equipped with artificial intelligence that can identify objects such as a gun. It also as facial recognition capabilities to identify the correct target. Another safety measure of the drone is that it has speakers mounted on it to not only distract a potential shooter, but to be able to communicate with the shooter and or victims. The drone is then stationed in a strategic location to be employed instantly if an emergency should arise.

This project is currently in its first stages. The objective now for them is to plan, design, create and finally come up with a product that can be commercially manufactured. The drone company DJI is working with them along with video piloting company Lumenier.

Not only is this a project filled with exciting technological and educational possibilities, but it is a project that can ultimately save lives. It is something that can help restore a feeling of security for parents, staff, and students in any school environment. These artificially intelligent drones can give us hope that our schools may be a little safer.