The Thomas Moore College in Belgium is experimenting with using remote controlled UAS to catch students cheating on their tests.A DJI Phantom equipped with a GoPro camera flies around the exam room, looking down on students as they work.
The technology has a way to go before being used for real, though as the aircraft only have a flight time of around 15 minutes – less than even the shortest exam.
There’s also the problem of the wind pushed out by the propellers – which could make a mess of exam papers.
Source: Mirror
Just mount some cameras in the ceiling. Is this for real?
I will start by making the assumption that UASVision (as an organization) has a vested interest in seeing the UAV/UAS industry flourish. With that said, it seems irresponsible to feature a story of a UAV hovering over an occupied classroom. Aside from the safety concern, it does nothing but solidify peoples fears about surveillance and begs the question “wouldn’t a stationary overhead camera accomplish the same goal and do so in a safer manner”? This is thoughtless reporting and as an industry – we need to make better choices when it comes to showcasing the potential of this technology.
Jason,
Interesting point. You will have noticed that we don’t publish any of the myriad of “killer drones” stories, the anti-drone protests, or even the details of the shenanigans in the US about the choice of test sites. But we can’t completely ignore the safety or privacy concerns either. If anything, this story illustrates how daft people can be and I was really expecting our Belgian readers to denounce it as a hoax, as indeed did one reader by twitter…