China Clears Trash From Power Lines Using Drone Equipped With Flamethrower

A drone that spits fire like a dragon might seem like something from a nightmare, but China sees it as a utility. In a recently posted video, a drone equipped with a flamethrower could be seen clearing out power lines of trash that have been known to cause power outages. This is a practice that borders on insane, and yet it works.

The video was first posted by The People’s Daily of China, which showcased the drone in action in Xiangyang, Hubei province, The New York Post reports. Strapped with a military-grade flamethrower, the drone clears the region’s power lines with rubbish like discarded kites, lanterns, and plastic bags.

The drones can be particularly helpful when the workers can’t reach the parts of the lines where the trash are using their insulated limbs. What’s more, the drone can even get rid of the trash without harming the lines themselves. This is surprising, particularly because the drone is using fire to get the job done.

It’s also worth noting that drone use in China has been growing at an exponential rate, with 100,000 of the little buggers flying in the sky. Since then, that number has increased even more.

More than the cool factor of using flamethrower-equipped drones to get rid of trash, there’s also the matter of safety that makes it such an attractive prospect, Futurism reports. While it may seem counterintuitive to say that burning the trash is safer than just picking them up and throwing them away, the power lines do pose a considerable threat to human employees.

If the workers try to overreach and slip, they could get electrocuted and receive fatal injuries. In comparison, the drones can clear out the rubbish with minimal risk to people and property. There is still some chance of getting burned, of course, but a lot less than one would think.