Personal drones are the next great leap in near-Minority Report technology, endlessly modifiable and exciting in their potential use. However, a drone operated by a teenager? Terrifying. As if such a prospect wasn't tremendously unsettling enough, a teenager from Clinton, Connecticut is now at the center of a federal investigation after he uploaded a video (see above) to YouTube showing off his very own gun-firing drone.
Austin Haughwout, who tells ABC News he's pursuing a career in mechanical engineering, modified a quadrotor drone by adding a semi-automatic handgun mount to the aircraft. Haughwout's original clip, uploaded less than two weeks ago, has already amassed over two million views. Though Haughwout's father recently told reporters that the drone was built alongside a professor from Central Connecticut State University, Edward Moore — an assistant professor who taught Haughwout in his Manufacturing Engineering Processes class — vehemently rebukes that claim. "I discouraged him," says Moore. "I tried to give him the same advice I would give my kids."
On Tuesday, the Federal Aviation Administration revealed it was taking Haughwout's video quite seriously. An investigation is currently underway to determine if the drone "violated its regulations, which prohibit the careless or reckless operation of a model aircraft."
