This cool article on personal drones under $100 got my brain to churning about some specific uses for such devices. Most anyone can afford a drone at that cost and with tech prices always going down, they will become even less expensive as the technology advances. Spending $100 to do some awesome new hobbies or maybe even start a unique side business is worth taking a detailed look at. So here are 10 cool things to try with your drone. Feel free to add to the list with your own ideas.
10. Playing catch with your dog may seem like an activity that is in no need of a techy device like a drone. But what if you were disabled and unable to even throw a ball to the family pet? A drone could do the “throwing” for you by flying the ball a few yards away and dropping it. Old Fido would have just as much fun this way as he would with a person throwing the ball back and forth. Having the dog chomp down on the drone could be a problem, so a bit of training would be in order!
9. Bird hunters typically use dogs to pick up the game they take or they have to walk around to get the birds themselves. A drone could be used to locate the birds then pick them up and bring them back to the hunter. I can envision hunters of all types being able to use the camera features of a personal drone for their outdoor hobbies. Scouting land, taking video of inaccessible areas, and finding wounded game would be handy options.
8. I am sure that some folks think those beer commercials are exaggerating the laziness of guys who get their dogs to get them a beer from the fridge. Guys watching football who are in need of a beer truly are at the peak of their laziness though. A drone with the ability to open a cooler or fridge and fly a beer back to the master is an idea whose time has come.
7. Believe it or not, bird watching is not a dead hobby. Many people love to check out the array of birds that inhabit this world. How cool it would be to see birds that might be hidden in remote locations. A drone with a nice video recorder would fit this hobby nicely.
6. This one is a novel idea. Use your drone for pure fun. No goal or reason. These personal drones are fun to just fly around for the heck of it. Twitter has no purpose, nor does ice cream. But they make life enjoyable. Enjoy your drone for what it is.
5. One of the first things I would do with a personal drone would be to take some aerial shots of my property or some local landmarks. Some high def photos would be better than the Google Map images you can get online.
4. I love to hike but there are some areas I can’t get too. I am not crazy so I do not rock climb. A small drone could be used to view a remote part of a mountain top and possibly another way to get to it more easily and safely. And flying a drone on a mountain top would get you some great panoramic video.
3. I don’t want to give football teams any bad ideas but old Bill Belichick did pretty well video taping the opponents’ practices prior to games. Maybe using a drone to video an opposing team’s practice would be a good idea. Don’t be surprised if your drone gets kidnapped eventually though. Football coaches take secrecy pretty seriously!
2. I’m not suggesting you spy on your teenagers….actually I am. As long as they live under your roof……you know the rest.
1. Would it not be fantastic to be able to record some overhead video of local high school football games. These camera angles are nice to view on the big networks like ESPN with their “flying camera” on a cable. Any high school would be grateful to have this footage for film review or just to play on the big screen during replays at live games. And yes, some high schools do have big screens at their fields!
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