Drone dog walker offers high-tech coronavirus solution during lockdown

The coronavirus pandemic has caused intense life changes for people around the world. Social distancing, self-isolation, and other measures to prevent infection have impacted entire economies, not to mention resonating throughout the entertainment industry. But one man's solution to a common problem — how do you walk your dog when those in the outside world may be highly contagious? — brings one classic movie's prediction to life: an automatic dog walker.

Fans wouldn't be wrong to remember an invention from Back to the Future Part II, which sees a drone-like device hovering behind a dog while attached to its leash -- in the far-off year of 2015. In fact, this distracting device was essential to the plot: Its distraction allowed Biff to steal the DeLorean from Marty. Here's what that looked like in the film:

Source: Universal Pictures

And here's what one man has been doing in 2020:

Social distancing, meet your high-tech king. Vakis Demetriou in Limassol, Cyprus, isn't living in a Black Mirror episode — he's just responsibly walking his fluffy and well-behaved dog, Oliver, while under lockdown. “5th day quarantine,” the caption reads. And as nice as a robotic dog walker is, this video still exists as evidence that the solution isn't perfect ... because who's filming it in the first place? Unless there's a series of robots taking over this human's life and social media channels, there may still be a problem here.

This story presents some humorous responses to coronavirus, but COVID-19 is very real! Please exercise caution out there: Wash those hands, keep them away from your face, and practice social distancing. For extensive information on how to keep you and your loved ones safe, check out the CDC’s coronavirus website.