Research on the impacts of a collision between a drone and a human being are progressing in the United States. Indeed, several american universities and research centres are carrying out tests in order to know in which measure a collision between a person and a drone can cause wounds, or even be lethal.
For example, the researchers of Virginia Tech are using crash test dummies, like those used in car crash tests, towards which they fly their drones at full speed in order to measure impact forces. The conclusions of these tests are not known yet, but this video shows how the drones react when they come into contact with the dummy.
These results will be necessary for regulations developments in order to authorize, or not, several promising uses of drones. Indeed, giants like Amazon and Google will have to wait until the FAA finishes its research on the subject before being able to authorize the use of drones for the delivery of goods across the country with UAVs.
Source: Bloomberg