UK insurer develops drones that provide users with mobile street lighting

PETWORTH, UK — UK insurer Direct Line has developed a mobile street lighting system that can be requested by users.

According to the company, the drones — called Fleetlights — are fitted with powerful lighting units that can provide 200W of Tungsten light. User can request the drones through an app.

The request would be processed at a local control center, where an operator would assign and dispatch available drones to the user’s location.

The drones would fly autonomously to the user’s location. A lead drone communicates with the user’s smartphone while the other drones would continually reposition themselves to light up the user’s path, the New Atlas reported.

The user could send the drones back to the control center via the app when they no longer need the lighting.

Fleetlights have trialled in the English town of Petworth, which the company says has the most dangerous roads in the country. The company added that there have already been inquiries as to whether their drones can aid in search-and-rescue operations.