China is Using Flamethrowing Drones to Fight Off Wasp Invasion

Nope, it’s not a sci-fi film.

It can be pretty crazy how quickly technology evolves. Little did we know that it would be this soon that there would be an era of cars that drive themselves and computers in our pockets that we can talk to for direction. However, it almost seems as if as quickly as the newest thing comes, something else is ready to replace it.

Many times, technology can be fun. Other times, technology is very useful and can help improve our quality of life. This time, we just so happen to stumble upon the use of technology as it applies to both of these benefits.

As it turns out, one of the issues in China right now is that they have tall trees that tend to attract wasp nests. As there have been many reports of stingings, an organization by the name of “Blue Sky Rescue” an NGO that provides free services for locals, got to work with a creative means of getting rid of these pests.

In order to do it, they created a machine that dystopian nightmares are made of. Essentially, what we have here is a flamethrower strapped to a drone. In the wrong hands, something like this could definitely wreak havoc. However, for those who are looking to improve the world, it actually seems to do a pretty good job of exterminating wasps in hard-to-reach areas.

Instead of sending a person up there, this drone that costs about $13,000 is able to remotely and safely get the job done. So far, there have been about 11 cases where dangerous wasp nests have been removed from areas where people regularly travel.

Last but not least, one of the cool things about this creation is that the organization behind it says that it can even be modified to help rescue people at sea.