Twitter Granted Patent For Drone Technology

(RTTNews) - Not to be left behind, social media company Twitter Inc. (TWTR) has joined the bandwagon of tech companies to show an interest in drones.

The micro-blogging site has filed a patent for a drone capable of taking photos and videos controlled by tweets and sharing them through users' Twitter accounts.

The patent would allow users to take control of the unmanned aerial vehicle or UAV, by setting its location, orienting its camera and also the subject it plans to capture. The patent became available last week.

According to Twitter, account holders of the messaging platform may control the UAV with commands embedded in messages and directed towards an account associated with the UAV.

The UAV may include a display screen and/or a microphone to provide for telepresence or interview functionality. Twitter says there would be ways to use likes, retweets and replies to control the drone's direction or what it records.

Twitter's patent is titled, "Message-enabled unmanned aerial vehicle." However, the patent application does not necessarily mean Twitter plans to build a drone.

But Twitter could use the patent for Periscope, the smartphone app for live streaming of videos introduced by the company in April this year.

Twitter could use the Periscope app in tandem with drones to capture video and broadcast events, with Periscope users controlling the process remotely.