---
title: "Researchers Strapped a Nail Gun to an Autonomous Drone"
description: "Researchers created an autonomous roofing drone by strapping a nail gun to an octocopter and using cameras and markers to teach it where to place nails."
date: "2019-09-24"
modified: "2019-09-24"
authors:
  - name: "Kristin Houser"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/kristin"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/autonomous-roofing-drone-nail-gun"
categories:
  - "Drones"
  - "Robotics"
  - "Robots and Machines"
tags:
  - "automation"
  - "drone"
  - "roofing"
  - "the digest"
---

# Researchers Strapped a Nail Gun to an Autonomous Drone

![Researchers created an autonomous roofing drone by strapping a nail gun to an octocopter and using cameras and markers to teach it where to place nails.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/autonomous-roofing-drone-nail-gun.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Michigan Engineering via YouTube\</em\>*

## Danger Zone

Experts predict that autonomous systems will take over three types of jobs first: ones that are [dull, dirty, or dangerous](<https://futurism.com/three-major-reasons-automation-wont-leave-you-unemployed>).

To that end, a team of researchers decided to see if they could [build a robot](<https://gizmodo.com/researchers-found-a-good-reason-to-attach-a-nail-gun-to-1838372155>) that would save humans from the perilous task of climbing on top of houses to install new shingles. And they succeeded — by strapping a nail gun to a drone.

## Nailed It

Once you put aside any thoughts of that horrific [nail-gun death scene](<https://youtu.be/vjt8iqSHPhU>) in "Final Destination 3," the roofing drone — described in a [paper](<https://arxiv.org/pdf/1909.08162.pdf>) published to the pre-print server *arXis* — is pretty clever.

By combining two off-the-shelf devices — a nail gun and a DJI S1000 octocopter — with a series of cameras and markers, the University of Michigan team was able to train the drone to approach a makeshift roof and deploy a nail precisely where one was needed, a skill demonstrated in a video released alongside the paper.

https://youtu.be/GA445Flxkjo

## Need for Speed

Of course, the roofing drone is nowhere near as fast as a professional roofer, meaning those jobs are still safe from an automation takeover — at least for now.

The team is [already working](<https://news.umich.edu/roofing-drone-nails-down-shingles/>) to improve the drone's nailing speed, and if they can to that — and increase the drone's flight time from the current 10 minutes — we could see entire fleets of [nail-gun wielding drones](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/faa-notice-drones-weapons>) flying over homes in the future.

Let's hope all the humans on site remember to wear their hard hats.

**READ MORE:** [Researchers Found a Good Reason to Attach a Nail Gun to a Flying Drone](<https://gizmodo.com/researchers-found-a-good-reason-to-attach-a-nail-gun-to-1838372155>) \[*Gizmodo*\]

**More on drones:** *[FAA Reminder: Don’t Fly a Drone With a Weapon Attached to It](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/faa-notice-drones-weapons>)*

### Author social links  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristinjhouser>)