Firestarter

As frightening as drone swarms are made out to be by science fiction, they could also prove pivotal in several different fields, chief among them automated firefighting.

Consider the following: tens of thousands of drones, each programmed to pick up a small bucket-full from a nearby river, lake, ocean, or other large body of water. Each then uses an onboard GPS triangulation system to fly over a wildfire, dumping its load of fire retardant atop a pre-programmed area of the flames, before returning to the water source to pick up another bucket, ad infinitum.

The greater the level of automation, the less oversight there needs be, and the more powerful the resultant firefighting abilities are. The drones can theoretically fly night and day, with their onboard Artificial Intelligence knowing where to find the water, where to deploy it, what evasive measures to take to avoid mid-air collisions, and when to head home to recharge their power cells.

The impact of the above system would prove most promising. And it would be a much-needed additional tool in the increasingly desperate battles against drought-induced fires.