LINO LAKES, Minn. — Everybody loves their dogs, but there's one thing nobody loves about taking care of them: Scooping poop.
Caleb Olson is reminded of that truth whenever he has to go outside and let out his corgi Twinkie.
"I felt like this is a huge problem," he said. "Why not attempt it with the Poopcopter?"
The Lino Lakes software engineer cites his research and says a drone of this kind has never been created before. The gadget can hover the grass until it detects a "brown parcel." With a descent and a scoop, it takes the crap for you.
"Where do you take the poop aside from spinning [it] really fast and dropping it on your neighbor's house?" Olson said, sarcastically.
Where the waste goes is the biggest question he has nowadays, as he hopes to make this a direct-to-consumer product and possibly a subscription service. Yet to talk with any brands about the business, Olson envisions a phone app in which users can draw an outline of their backyard and hit go.
Olson first has to perfect the prototype, which he does by carving out the time between his full-time job and young kids.
"It took me a year of going down different rabbit holes, trying to keep my eye on the prize of showing it’s possible to pick up poop," Olson said. "The next issue is automating it."
Another priority is to settle on a name. "The Poopcopter," he admits, is childish. "But also that word gets you 80 percent of the way of what it does."
Other contenders? The DooDoo Drone or the Feces Flinger 5000. As for something a little more professional, Olson is trying out the Poo Pilot.
To check out Olson's website, click here.