Just when you thought drones couldn't get any more terrifying, here comes a drone helicopter with a friggin' stun gun attached, a flying machine that will chase you down, shock you to the ground, and then hover over your twitching body. [UPDATE: A previous version of this article used the word "taser" to describe the technology used. "Taser" is a trademark of Taser International, and we have replaced all instances of "Taser" and "tase" to reflect the fact that an actual "Taser" was not used. Hackaday has also changed the name of its hack from "TaserDrone" to "ShockerDrone"; all instances of "TaserDrone" have also been changed to "ShockerDrone"]. ...or something like that. The guys at Hackaday, a website that presents "fresh hacks each day, every day from around the web," have frankenstein-ed together a Parrot AR Drone copter with stun gun technology, resulting in a flying, menacing, electrified drone that can deliver a shock to anyone that has the misfortune of being in its path.

And while the ShockerDrone (as Hackaday is calling it) cannot produce a shock strong enough to incapacitate a human (yet!), it can at least break the skin, as this photo shows; could this, perhaps, give a glimpse of future, floating law enforcement? Here's a video put together by Hackaday showing how the ShockerDrone was built, and how it will be used in the future to hunt Man, The Most Dangerous Game: We've seen these small, remote-control drones do some pretty wicked stuff in the past -- here, for example, is one delivering a fresh pizza -- and there is even a Tumblr called Dronehacks that follows the different ways in which the Parrot AR Drone had been configured and changed. This repurposed zap-happy drone, however, seems a tad more sinister than most. "I’d love to have a few of these," a Hackadays commenter named John said. "Camera picks up a neighborhood kid walking around on my lawn… release the drones! :D As an automated swarm it would be the greatest thing ever sirs."

Technically, of course, you could do this without the shocking -- a Parrot AR Drone zipping toward your face is frightening enough to make any neighborhood kid run. Too, the Parrot is likely available at your local Brookstone for $299 (tasing system not included). Whether or not it is wise, safe, or cost-effective to base your home security on constantly airborne drones, meanwhile, is another story. And yet: The ShockerDrone does exist, for whatever purpose you can imagine. You can read more about the construction of the Shockerdrone, and see more photos, at Hackaday.How to Avoid Propeller Injuries When Using Your Drone Propellers are the blades that are attached to the motors of your drone. When power is applied to the motors, the propellers spin at a high rate of speed. The rotation of the propeller forces air down toward the ground. This flow of air changes the relative air pressure above and below the propellers, which in turn creates lift, and your drone becomes airborne.

The size and weight of the drone largely dictate the number and size of propellers needed as well as the speed at which the propellers must spin to achieve flight. Small drones don’t pose a great risk of injury because the propellers are small, soft, and don’t rotate with nearly as much force as their big brothers, but they are still dangerous.parrot ar drone amazon uk Big drones, however, pose a great safety risk because the propellers are larger and typically made out of rigid material, such as hard plastics or carbon fiber. parrot ar drone toys r usComing in contact with a spinning propeller on a drone like a Parrot AR 2.0 or DJI Phantom 2 could result in substantial harm. parrot ar drone charger lights

You are almost guaranteed to be lacerated and depending on the impact this could require stitches or worse. Google drone propeller injuries and take a look at the images that are served up. It goes without saying, don’t stick your hands, feet, or other objects in the path of a moving propeller. parrot ar drone gadgetsPropellers are necessary for flight, and you can’t cover them up completely because you need to be able to move air through the propellers to create lift. parrot ar drone sellersThere are a few safety precautions that are built into most drones, or can be easily added.parrot ar drone 2 spare parts Major drone manufacturers such as DJI and Parrot build several safety mechanisms into their devices. The popular DJI Phantom drones come with propeller guards that are designed to provide a level of protection from propeller injuries that result from side impacts.

In the event that your drone takes off and you or others are standing too close, an unexpected breeze could blow the drone into you, causing serious injury. The propeller guard provides some protection from this sort of scenario. Parrot took safety a step further by creating a protective hull that attaches to the drone and pretty much turns it into an aerial bumper car. The hull is Styrofoam, so it adds negligible weight to the drone. It also provides quite a bit of protection. You should notice and be aware that because the flow of air is top-down through the propellers, the props cannot be completely covered. Common sense tip number one is to not stick your fingers into moving propellers. Every drone has its own set of safety indicators, and you need to know what these are before you operate your drone. To learn how to identify where they are and what they mean, refer to your drone’s user manual. Typically, before you can get airborne, you must arm your drone’s flight controller and motors.