Can A Drone Open A Garage Door?

Drones are a very common sight nowadays and many people own one or are interested in buying a drone for a variety of different uses. Drone sales according to The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of the United States have been going up every year, since 2016 and this trend is similar worldwide.

There have been many different news stories about how garage doors can be hacked so you may be wondering if your door could be hacked by a drone or maybe you are simply wondering if a drone is strong enough to lift a garage door. 

Either way we will try to answer your questions in this article. 

There are many ways to easily hack garage doors but rarely are drones used for that. A garage door that is properly balanced will weigh 10-15lbs which means that most recreational drones can’t lift them up either. 

There are some professional or commercial drones that are designed to lift heavier items but most recreational drones that people buy can only lift around 5lbs so well under the 10-15lbs a normal garage door will need to be lifted. 

If you have a professional drone you could certainly lift a garage door that is balanced properly but there are far better uses for a professional drone than simply opening and closing your garage door! 

Drones can be used for a wide variety of odd things that many people would never think of and what they can do will likely continue to grow in the future as well! 

Some odd things that drones can do are:

Drones playing dodgeball

Researchers at the University of Zurich have developed a special type of drone which can play dodgeball. It is equipped with a new technology, event cameras. Event cameras can detect small movements in their surroundings within a couple of milliseconds. 

This enables this drone to play dodgeball! 

Scanning the terrain

Researchers at the Aarhus University in Denmark have developed a drone which can autonomously scan and measure terrain. If allowed to navigate over an excavation ground then this drone can help students, scientists and researchers alike to study and capture data of an area they want to excavate.

Drones opening doors

Yes! A drone can open doors, just like a human can. This special drone which can open doors and also close them is called the Boomcopter, it was designed and developed by mechanical engineering researchers at Purdue University. 

The Boomcopter is equipped with several on-board sensors, processors and cameras and it can be trained to open and close a door and can also work autonomously without any guidance or interference from humans.

There is another drone which was developed by scientists from Stanford University and EPFL in Switzerland which can also open doors. This drone is a micro-drone and very small in size but big in capability. It can also lift weights that are 40 times more than its own.

To see this drone in action opening doors check out the video below. 

Now you might also be curious to know, what else exactly can a drone do? To answer your question we have provided a list of additional things that a drone can do in the section below.

What else can a drone do? 

Besides simply opening doors, playing dodgeball, or scanning the terrain, drones can be used for a variety of other more common things. We will discuss some of those things below but the uses of drones are really as varied as your imagination can be. 

Drones can capture live events

Drones can hover above audiences and capture live events which can be concerts, live sports events, or addresses from a political figure. Drones are known to capture and take stunning aerial views and also very close shots via photographs or video. 

Drones can be used for surveying

Drones can be used for surveying dangerous areas or areas inaccessible or almost impossible to access physically by humans. For example areas adjacent to an active volcano.

Drones can be used to track wildlife

We all are aware of the fact that much of the wildlife population of the earth are in danger of extinction. Drones can be used to track the number of such wildlife species and to keep an eye on their habitat so they are left undisturbed by humans encroaching their peace or events threatening their lives.

Drones can help in enforcing the law

Drones can help law enforcing agencies to track and apprehend criminals and survey areas where possible terrorists are hiding or take part in aerial surveillance of places where crimes are likely to happen.

Drones can be used for shooting commercials or movies

In the past filmmakers had to shoot film or photographs from helicopters in order to get images from high above. That was not only expensive but also was not very appropriate and had limitations. Whereas a drone can fly to almost any location or spot from a certain distance, this enables drones to take superior photographs or film direct aerial scenes which were not possible before. 

So nowadays it is very common to see drones being used to shoot commercials and movies.

Drones can be used to fight fires

Drones are now available to firefighters in certain countries and cities of the world to help them fight fires. Drones can access rooftops, climb walls, or reach inside burning buildings which would be dangerous for humans to directly enter. In this way drones are also saving lives every day.

Different types of drones and their availability

There are many different types of drones, some are only available to scientists and researchers, others are recreational drones which are available to the general public, and there are some other types of drones known as commercial or industrial drones which are only available for use by government or large enterprises.

All these different types of drones are made to be used for different purposes and have different functionalities. Whichever drone you use, be certain when you fly one that you are not breaking any laws and have taken the proper safety precautions so there are no unwanted or unexpected accidents or incidents harming you or harming other people and their property. 

If you follow the safety guidelines and take proper measures before flying your drones that are given by The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of the United States, then you are most likely going to avoid such accidents and enjoy a safe flight for your drone.