Drones have a lot of uses, but spreading peace and distributing drugs are typically not among them. Imagine then, if all of a sudden an unmanned flying vehicle appeared above your head, its goofy clown face smiling down at you as it unloads a cloud of Oxycontin. You'd feel pretty confused, right? You’d also probably feel very very good, which is the whole point behind Axel Brechensbuaer’s Peace Drone, a conceptual machine that the industrial designer created as an anti-violence alternative to predator drones. “This is an art object that strives to underline the insanity of killing,” Brechensbuaer explains, “and to raise questions about the morality of using deadly force without trial.”

Eventually, Brechensbuaer would like to exhibit the Peace Drone in air. Image: Axel Brechensbuaer

Brechensbuaer envisions the Peace Drone flying over rural areas, honing in on enemies so it can administer a dose of calming, violence-abating Oxycontin. “Imagine how highly addicted enemy combatants will gather around it, like kids around the ice cream truck,” he says. “The peace drone will hover above them, nice and evil at the same time. Playing music and smiling.” The Peace Drone’s weapon is the opposite of bullets, but that doesn’t make it any less creepy thanks to Brechensbuaer’s uncanny valley clown-face design.“Clowns are a two-sided symbol, for both fear and joy,” he explains. “In general I think adding human features (like a face) to objects is a easy and good way to add emotions to a design.”

The designer is already working on the next Peace Drone model, which takes inspiration from heavy duty drones. Brechensbuaer's version needs to be capable of carrying precious cargo (i.e. Oxycontin), and a set of quality speakers that will lure in enemies with a twinkling, hypnotizing tune. “The idea is that the new version will be exhibited flying live,” he says. “I hope it will make the point and be annoying even without the drugs.” Of course, if the Peace Drone has to use "force," at least it's not in the form of missiles. “Happy people are better than dead people,” Brechensbuaer notes. He does have a point.