The Machines Are Taking Over! Or Just Dropping Off Some Coffee.
Have you ever thought to yourself that we are living in a real-life sci-fi world? I certainly do, and it is partly because of the internet of things and the ever-increasing automation of life. The internet of things is the revolution we are currently in. It is the connecting of stuff to the internet – and that includes ourselves. Some of us wear Fitbits or other devices that track our movements, anything from walking to sleeping. Combine that with facial recognition and access to your google calendar and you now have a drone that knows when you need a hit of caffeine.
IBM has developed a drone that can identify people through facial-or voice-recognition software, an electronic ID tag or Bluetooth from a person’s smartphone which will deliver the coffee to the right person! So you could be hours deep in traffic and need a little pick-me-up, no need to worry IBM’s coffee drone to the rescue. This may seem crazy, and you would be right in thinking that, but the bigger picture technology here is going to bring forth a new age of micro-deliveries all across the world.
Mind Reading Drones
You don’t have to be a drone with the latest software to know that I want coffee but, that may just be me. Amazingly the IBM drone can tell when you need coffee before you yourself know. How? Well, the Fitbit or apple watch on your wrist is constantly logging and sending data about your physical state. Plus with access to biometrics, blood pressure, pupil dilation, facial expressions and wake-up time the drone would be able to guess your state of sleepiness very accurately.
Maybe last night you did not sleep so well and, your Fitbit logs that. Then it cross-references your sleep with what you have in your online calendar. If you have an early meeting and you did not sleep well, then the drone swoops into your office building delivering you some delicious cold brew to get your ready for the day.
I think this is a bit of a silly application of the technology and I’m sure IBM sees that. However, the implications of this technology could change the world in very fundamental ways. Amazon and other e-commerce companies are already well underway in developing and deploying a fleet of package delivery drones. Imagine personal drones whizzing through the air running errands, making deliveries, following children, following lovers…uh oh, getting into Black Mirror territory here. Anyway, for now, let’s just revel in the fact that a flying robot can “read your mind” and pick you out of a crowd just to bring you coffee.