Drones in the City by Thomas Barnwell

One of my favorite lines comes from an Errol Morris documentary in which a roboticist from MIT imagines a possible solution for exploring the surface of Mars using a series of tiny spider like robots that would scurry across the surface of the planet. In the line that is also the title to the film, the roboticist describes these insectoid robots as "fast, cheap, and out of control." They work through ant colony-like numbers and speed rather than laser precision. Currently in the unapproachable world of military technology, solutions such as this are being actively developed. While these solutions are typically employed in combat situations in order to spare military lives (drones crawling over a minefield, for instance), one has to wonder what this technology might look like crawling over familiar surroundings of our own backyards. While currently unobtainable to the masses, how might this technology be used within the cities in which we live?

Inspiration

Four years ago, I thought I had found a deal. I had to move out of my apartment quickly and managed to find a comfortable two bedroom bungalow in southwest Atlanta for what seemed like unbelievably low rent. I paid my deposit, signed the lease, and settled in. Things seemed good.

Then about 4 weeks later, the phone rings, and of course, it was my new landlord who was just calling to mention something he 'forgot' to tell me when I had signed the lease.

Long story short, my backyard was full of lead. Lots of it. So much in fact that the EPA was going to have to send out a construction crew to remove all the contaminated dirt. In other words, they were going to have to remove and replace my entire yard.

And so the construction began, and for weeks, dump trucks took loads of dirt out of my and my neighbors' backyards. And then one morning, we awoke to a freshly sodded, amazing looking new backyard. And after a while the weeks of annoyance and memories of lead contamination faded.

Flash forward two years, and I've found another deal--this time a foreclosure and chance to become a homeowner just two doors down from my rented home for what seemed like a steal. But then, always the cautious optimist, I remembered the lead contamination, so I hopped on the internet and scoured for information, thinking (in my cautiously optimistic way) that I would find the information in no time.

Nothing. So I attempt to make several calls to the EPA, where I hit unyielding brick walls. Finally, a neighbor offered up some genuine knowledge about the situation. It turns out that an old abandonned battery factory which sat for decades directly behind my rented house was the source of the problem. For 35 years the factory had run as a polluting machine completely unchecked, and while the damage to the neighborhood was more or less correctable, the land that the factory had sat on was a different story. The land was defined as a "brownfield," which meant the area would need major work if it was to be legally used for any purpose.

A quick drive around the neighborhood a short time later revealed multiple buildings in a similar decrepit state. Tall fences and private propety signs blocked the paths to these building, and information regarding the environmental states of these building was difficult or impossible to find.

This was my inspiration for the Envirodrone.

The Envirodrone is a semi-autonomous enviromental sensor robot designed to map traditionally untrackable information about our surroundings. Its design inspiration comes from military drones which are currently being used for reconnaissance and surveillance in combat situations. This project explores alternative scenarios, such as this one, in which military-esque technology can be used for purposes other than combat. How can this technology be used for the democratization of information?