Regarding the amount of force required to cut things: they are only cutting snow and small tree branches.
I think you are being overly paranoid here.
Chain saws without blades are around 10 lbs?
Fun video nonetheless! :)
EDIT: Although, at 1:54 the rest of the copter can be seen after the cutting. Strange that they would not include any outside view of the cutting or even the chainsaw in a sideways position though.
(Of course the ground would still have to be cleared of people, as a branch would be falling down and in case the chainsaw/drone combo malfunctions.)
Its got to be the coolest job ever - helicopter chainsaw operator. I put it above even wrecking ball operator.
https://www.blackhat.com/docs/asia-16/materials/asia-16-Rodd...
He was unable to get it to work effectively or safely, though his drone was not as heavy-duty as the one from this thread.
I don't think I've ever had one actually work.
What's to localise though? We speak English!
dang... if you're reading this, anything you can do? Very frustrating for the many Australians who read articles on HN.
(a side note: when are U.S. sites going to stop treating Australians as second class citizens? We are a pretty wealthy nation filled with people willing to participate in the online world in a meaningful way, and yet we are constantly screwed over either in terms of pricing or just plain being blocked from stuff we are willing to actually pay good money for).
Silly and pointless? Yes. Reckless and stupid? Perhaps not. Fun to watch? Hell yes.
Such a weapon would cause great economic damage if used in an urban area, as the city would have to be evacuated until a thorough and expensive clean up was completed by thousands of workers in bunny hazmat suits.
