It’s like something out of a sci fi movie–a drone summoning lightning.
Earlier this month, the Japanese telecommunications company Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT) successfully used a drone equipped with a lightning-proof cage to essentially summon lightning in an effort to mitigate damage from an incoming thunderstorm. According to NTT, lightning causes up to 200 billion yen ($1.4 billion) damage a year, so using these lightning drones could go a long way towards protecting sensitive equipment and population centers during severe weather events.