More propellers? Parachutes? The answer to safer drones for commercial uses could be in the code. :
There are all kinds of gimmicks to keep drones from crashing, including parachutes and extra propellers. But what if the answer is in the code? Verity Studios, which is behind some of the highest-stakes drone flights in the world, has introduced a software algorithm it says can prevent quadcopters from crashing during unexpected propulsion system failures. "There are already numerous cases of drones crashing to the ground (sometimes injuring people) for no apparent reason," Verity founder Raffaello D'Andrea told me recently.