Have You Seen This? Skydiving from a drone

(Aerones, YouTube)


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LATVIA — Confession: I have no interest in ever jumping out of a plane, and it is because of this that skydiving has never landed a spot on my bucket list.

I think, however, if I didn't have to actually jump out of a plane — if all I had to do was let go of a drone — I might try it. Which is one of the many reasons why this video showing the world’s first human drone jump is so cool to me.

Aerones, a high power drone development company, is responsible for the exciting video that may turn me into an adventurer after all.

The Latvian company engineered a 28-propeller drone capable of holding an impressive 440 pounds and let experienced skydiver and wind tunnel flyer Ingus Augstkalns complete the jump.

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After climbing to the top of a radio communications tower, Augstkalns grabbed hold of the drone and let it carry him to a height of 330 meters (about 1,082 feet, for us Americans). Augstkalns then let go, activated his parachute and fell back down to Earth.

In a press release from the company, one of the drone's chief engineers pointed out how projects like this show off the exciting and potentially life-saving capabilities of drone technology.

"Already in the near future our technology will save human lives, will help to fight fires and carry out other challenging and significant work," Jānis Putrāms said.

I, for one, am excited to watch as drones and other forms of technology make the world a safer place, especially if that means more of us can go skydiving without having to jump out of a plane. Watch the video and then let us know in the comments below if skydiving — or drone jumping — is on your bucket list.

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Have You Seen This?
Mary Dalrymple

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