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Military drones fly and fire missiles in a war zone, Future war with drone. 3D illustration
As dystopian as this may sound, a new test program from Campus Guardian Angel could save lives. They are testing the use of pepper-spraying drones on school campuses as a means to stop campus shooters before sending in armed officers as a response.
The drones can be deployed within a matter of seconds, greatly reducing the response time, and if executed effectively they would incapacitate a shooter before any needless loss of life. There are, however, reasons to be concerned about this technology being deployed on campuses, of course.
Pepper-Spraying Drones Being Tested At Schools By Mithril Defense
Austin, Texas-based Mithril Defense has been working on Campus Guardian Angel, a school safety system, that would deploy these pepper-spraying drones on school campuses. The non-lethal deterrents are thought of as a way to both save lives by stopping an active shooter from proceeding any further and by protecting the lives of the first responders arriving on the scene.
ABC News recently ran a segment showcasing the Campus Guardian Angel pepper-spraying drones in action:
As of now, there are nine schools across Florida, Georgia, and Colorado where the pepper-spraying drones from Mithril Defense are being tested. On paper, these drones would save lives by protecting first responders and students, but nothing in life is every simply black and white.
Critics of the program point out the easy ways this could backfire. If the Campus Guardian Angel which is said to be ready within a moment’s notice were to ever misidentify a suspect and attack an innocent individual that would be extremely problematic.
There would presumably be a large human element into this with a master ‘kill switch’ of sorts for those situations but the drones are operated remotely from Texas where Mithril Defense is headquartered and any lag in response time could have major consequences. One parent echoed this sentiment, telling ABC News “They are operated remotely from Texas. These are our tender babies, and they are now going to have to be in a place where there are drones flying around.”
I am curious what the parents out there with school-age children think about this. As one myself, I wouldn’t feel completely comfortable with pepper-spraying drones on campus but I do believe this is safer and more effective than the alternative of waiting for first responders. If you have thoughts on the Campus Guardian Angel drones and want to share them then head over to the comments section down below.