Remember the parachute which delivers gift to Katniss during Hunger Games?

That is something resembled in the OppiKoppi beer drone technology. Beer-thirsties will be able to order beer through their smartphones and have it delivered to them through a drone which will drop the can from a parachute. The beer drone operates through an iOs app that sends GPS location to the ones who are operating the drone.

At present the beer drone can only be manually operated but the people behind the technology are finalizing models that can eventually deliver beer without human intervention through utilizing a pre-programmed GPS grid.

When an order is acknowledged by the person operating the drone, he or she will fasten the beer cans to the drone. The beer cans apiece are all fastened to the parachute. Once the beer cans are off the claw and were released in a spinning motion off the ramp at the back of the drone, the parachute will then be mechanically set off. The drone will then be set to a manual take off and will be flown just above the customer who ordered the beer. The beer cans then land to the ground within hand reach from the customer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=janur7RJwm0

Darkwing Aerials were the ones behind this beer drone technology though it is a customized octocopter developed by SteadiDrone. An octocopter is some sort of a mini helicopter but is consist of eight rotors. This device is commonly used during filming. The most familiar use of an octocopter is during wedding coverage for those dramatic air shots of the whole ceremony and reception. The octocopter is maneuvered by varying the speed of each of the rotor - this changes the propelling motion of the octocopter.

The beer drone is set to be tested at the Oppikoppi Music festival in the Limpopo province of South Africa come August 8, 9, 10 of this year.

Oppikoppi is an acronym of the African Phrase "op die koppie" meaning "on the hill", hence the festival all happens in a bar on top of a hill. There is a bar called the Sipho Gumede Stage where those attending can dance to hip hop and other mainstream music. While the muic festival happens in the main Oppikoppi stage to which people can watch all the fstival's big acts and most of the rock. Participants and attendees of the music festival camp are welcome to camp at the foot of the hill for the duration of their stay. The festival is likened to Belgium's Pukkelpop Festival, Spain's Benicassim and Janpan's Fuji Rocks. Oppikoppi Festival is running in its fifteenth year.

The beer drone arouses interest for those tech geeks who are excited to have their smartphones used in this technologically advanced way of ordering their beers. The level of anticipation is that of last year's famous "Burrito Bomber", introduced by Darwin Aerospace, by which a burrito in a parachute is loaded in a small cargo space at the back of the drone. The burrito is flown right into the location of the customer.