Edible drones would be a lifesaver.
Meanwhile, a Japanese team is testing whether drones can protect against lightning. A drone was placed in a Faraday cage with additional lightning conductors.
As thunder clouds gathered, the drone was sent 300m skywards attached to a wire cable, which had a ground connection. The difference in the electric field strength at the bottom and top of the cable caused electricity to flow through it.
The current density was so high at the top that the drone became a target for the lightning. It discharged its electrical energy on the cage alone.
Next step: getting that energy back down to earth, where it could subsequently be stored in sand or carbon blocks.
