Google patents videoconferencing drone
Google may develop a drone small yet strong enough to offer videoconferencing services to businesses, according to a patent application filed by the company. The papers describe an agile, H-shaped quadcopter drone that is equipped with an audio communications system, is able to carry a rotating screen and possibly a projection system. There would also be a smartphone dock for processing and controlling the device. Google also said in the filing that the drone could be used in an educational or medical context.

Google is hoping to patent a small videoconferencing "telepresence" drone for collaborating with colleagues from remote locations, according to an application that was made public today.

The drone is designed to fly indoors and move from room to room. A typical telepresence robot, which often amounts to an iPad mounted to a roving stand, can't go up stairs and is difficult to navigate in the unpredictable floor plans that are typical of large tech companies, the application says.

Google suggests a telepresence system on a quadcopter drone could be much more agile for moving around the room, take up less space, consume less energy and provide an experience that's more engaging overall than a ground-based robot.

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