Drones will start protecting schoolchildren in the US

Schools in the US city of Deltona (Florida) may soon have special drones designed to counter armed attackers. The Black Arrow drones from the Mithril Defense startup are mounted under the ceiling and can move through school corridors at speeds of up to 160 km/h. In addition to rapid flight, they are equipped with a siren, light alarm, and a system for spraying caustic pepper gel.

The states of Florida and Georgia are currently implementing this security system with financial support of more than half a million dollars. The main advantage of the solution is the speed of response: operators from Austin, Texas, can get to the offender faster than security guards present on site.

The concept of the Campus Guardian Angel platform emerged in 2023. The development team includes veterans and eSports players who use Fortnite software to build three-dimensional maps of school facilities. Unlike police drones, Mithril devices are charged in special ceiling boxes. In the event of an alarm, they take off in groups of three and stream video to an app used by law enforcement. The battery lasts for 10−15 minutes of active work.

The cost of the technology is about $ 8 per student per month. In Texas, parents have already raised more than $ 200,000 for its deployment. However, the project has been criticized by experts. Professor Barry Friedman believes that the funds should be better spent on solving mental health problems among schoolchildren. Jay Stanley of the ACLU warns of the risks of excessive use of force. Project leaders insist that the drones are activated only when a shooter appears in the school, but admit that it is impossible to completely exclude accidental incidents.