UAVs
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Drone camera almost takes out a skier on live TV
Another day, another UAV causing headaches. This time around, a falling drone camera almost crashed into Marcel Hirscher, a four-time World Cup skiing champion and Winter Olympics medalist, during a slalom race on Tuesday in Italy. The drone, which was carrying broadcast equipment, hit the snow at full speed while Hirscher was in the middle of his run and, luckily, missed making contact with him by a mere couple of feet."This is horrible," he said after the fracas, according to the Associated Press. "This can never happen again. This can be a serious injury." And people wonder why the FAA wants to keep a close eye on consumer drones.
3DR's Solo drone can update no-fly zones in real time
Now that drones are everywhere, pilots keep blundering into no-fly zones, threatening people and airliners alike. Most of the time these are simple mistakes, so drone-maker 3DR has launched a new venture with a company called AirMap to help pilots out. AirMap shows not only restricted areas around large and small airports, but also temporary flight restrictions (TFR) areas like wildfires, public events or visits from the President. 3DR incorporated these maps into its Solo UAV (above), so that if you open the app in a restricted area, you'll see a yellow "warning" or red "don't fly" circle.
Researchers turn a swarm of drones into a physical hologram
The augmented reality interface in Minority Report was futuristic, but what it lacked were objects that you could physically touch, according to researchers from Queens University. The problem is that the film's virtual interface floats in mid-air, and physical objects tend to be ground-bound. To get around that, the team developed a system called BitDrones, with flying nano-drones serving several functions. "PixelDrones" have a basic LED display to show information, "ShapeDrones" are cubic objects that form a physical 3D "display," and "DisplayDrones" contain a touchscreen interface. All of them, plus the human operator, are tracked with a 3D motion capture system.
America's drone strike program needs a low-tech fix
Last week, The Intercept released a trove of classified documents (provided by an unnamed source) relating to America's use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) as weapons of assassination. These activities took place between 2011 and 2013, throughout both active combat areas in Iraq and Afghanistan and nations like Yemen and Pakistan. And while plenty of people are discussing the shortcomings of human-controlled UAVs, nobody's talking about how to fix them. Could the answer be more technology like the fully autonomous weapon and surveillance platforms that the Department of Defense (DoD) is developing? Or, when it comes to aerial assassinations, is less more?
Anti-drone rifle shoots down UAVs with radio waves
While the US military continues to develop new and awesome ways of blowing aerial drones to smithereens, not many of these systems can easily be adapted to use in the civilian realm. That's why Battelle has developed the DroneDefender, a shoulder-mounted rifle that knocks UAVs offline with a barrage of radio waves.
California bill allows firefighters to ground pesky drones
As wildfires scorched sections of California Interstate I-15 last week, firefighters found themselves hamstrung and unable to deliver aerial water coverage for nearly 20 minutes because a couple of schmucks were flying their quadcopters directly overhead. In response, Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Glendale) and Senator Ted Gaines (R-El Dorado) have introduced Senate Bill 168. The bill would grant "immunity to any emergency responder who damages an unmanned aircraft in the course of firefighting, air ambulance, or search-and-rescue operations." The bill will also levy stiff fines and potentially even jail time for people whose UAVs inhibit an emergency response.
Rural pop-up hospital gets America's first drone delivery
The first FAA-ok'd parcel delivery by drone took place in rural Virginia on Friday at Wise County, Virginia's annual Remote Area Hospital. The RAH pops up every summer in Wise, which is deep in Appalachia, as a makeshift field hospital that treats hundreds of uninsured area residents for free. This year, the event's organizers, Remote Area Medical, sought to explore the roles of emerging technology in humanitarian crises and, to that end, had Australian startup Flirtey drop off 10 pounds of supplies.
#ICYMI: NFC Cognac Caps, play a Virtual Neymar, and More
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-361023{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-361023, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-361023{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-361023").style.display="none";}catch(e){} Today on In Case You Missed It: Remy Martin installs NFC-enabled caps on its cognac bottles to prevent shady saloons from pulling the old switcheroo, Nike lets Google Cardboard users to play soccer as Neymar Jr., and a London-based artist creates custom Power Gloves that can carve through wood and stone. From the cutting room floor: This Auburn Fire Department quadcopter makes a special delivery of lifejackets and tow lines to a couple of guys stranded in the middle of a river. Let the team at Engadget know about any interesting stories or videos you stumble across by using the #ICYMI hashtag @engadget or @mskerryd.
'Top Gun 2' will pit Tom Cruise against drones
Cinema always reflects our anxieties back onto us, so it's no surprise to see that the Top Gun sequel will involve unmanned aerial vehicles. Producer David Ellison told Collider that Tom Cruise will return to the series that made him famous, with a story where Maverick tries to out-maneuver a fleet of drones. It appears as if the flick will depict "the end of an era of dogfighting and fighter pilots" as the world's powers switch over to remotely-flown, computer-aided flying death machines.
Amazon's delivery drones could be in the air within a year
Commercial drone operations like Amazon's highly-touted delivery service could commence in about a year, according to a senior official from the Federal Aviation Administration. FAA Deputy Administrator Michael Whitaker told a congressional committee on Wednesday the necessary regulations for commercial UAVs to operate in public airspace will "be in place within a year." That's way shorter than the 2017 start date that the FAA originally figured on. And when the rules are finally settled on, Amazon will be ready. "We'd like to begin delivering to our customers as soon as it's approved," Paul Misener, Amazon's VP of global public policy, testified at the hearing. "We will have it (the technology) in place by the time any regulations are ready. We are working very quickly."
Big news outlets are researching drones at Virginia Tech
CNN already announced its intent to make drones part of news coverage. It's not the only media outlet looking to leverage the UAVs, though, as a group of 15 other companies are partnering with Virginia Tech to conduct trials of their own. The university's facility in Bealeton, Virginia is one of the FAA's approved test sites outside of Washington, DC. The group of media companies includes the Associated Press, Getty Images, Reuters, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Gannett (USA Today) NBCUniversal, Univision and others. The group worked with the National Press Photographers Association to create guidelines for the trials. "The research testing we are initiating will provide the news media coalition a safe and innovative way to gather and disseminate information and keep journalists out of harm's way," said Rose Mooney, executive director of the Virginia Tech Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership. The testing began today and will examine the use of drones for various settings, including both remote and urban locations. [Image credit: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images]
NASA explains how cell networks can restrict drone flights
NASA has taken on the job of preventing drones from crashing into things, and it's now revealed more info about how it plans to do that. It wants to link up drones up to a control system when they're flying, then "geo-fence" them off from trouble, according to its latest missive. And as the space agency mentioned earlier, one way it could communicate with them is via cellphone networks like Verizon's. A central system would use them to transmit information to drones, helping them steer away from restricted areas and other aircraft. Creating such a network, which NASA calls the UAS traffic management system (UTM) would be a challenge, however.
Parrot unveils 13 new minidrones to tackle air, sea and land
Well, here's a fun surprise! Parrot has just revealed a pile of inexpensive new minidrones, 13 in all, including one that tackles a new medium: water. That hybrid UAV/Boat is called the Hydrofoil Drone, and is joined by a couple of new 'Jumping' drones and a new flying model, the 'Airborne.' Parrot chose to reveal all these new models, which cost a maximum of €200, on its French site and nowhere else, though it recently scheduled a UK event to launch them on July 2nd. We have all the details (and videos) for the new products now, however, so let's, um, dive in!
DJI's experimental drone will help prevent collisions
DJI has just made its UAV platform a lot more developer-friendly with a new test drone and collision avoidance system, along with an SDK for its current DJI Inspire 1 and Phantom 3 models. The Matrice 100 (M100) is a new quadcopter made specifically for developers to help them test new sensors, processors and other tech. The bare-bones looking craft will fly for 20 minutes with a 2.2 pound payload or longer using an extra battery. The company said it "includes everything needed to fly with minimal assembly and no need for tuning or programming."
Drones hunt illegal logging in Amazon rain forests
Drones have seen a lot of bad press and idiotic hype that has slowed their acceptance by regulators and the public. But let's not forget that they perform valuable services like search and rescue and inspection that can't be done any other way. A great example of that is work being done by the Amazon Basin Conservation Association in Peru, as detailed by NPR. Using a custom UAV, the group is scanning large sections of the rain forest in search of illegal logging and mining that has reduced thousands of acres to bare soil.
Tiny palm-top UAV folds itself up like an origami quadcopter
Tiny quadcopters that fit in the palm of your hand have been around for a few years now, but very few of those drones can also fit in your pocket; what with their easily snapped rotor spars. However, a pair of researchers from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology recently unveiled a clever and unique mini-UAV design that keeps the rotors safely tucked away until it's ready to fly.
Tokyo bans UAVs from its public parks
Citing concerns over visitor safety, officials in Tokyo have temporarily banned the use of UAVs in 81 public parks throughout the city. An announcement released Tuesday explains that violators could face fines up to ¥50,000 ($8,000) for violating the ordinance. This policy change follows a recent incident wherein a man protesting the country's nuclear police successfully landed a quadcopter carrying a cup of mildly irradiated water on the roof of Prime Minister Abe's office. According the The Japan Times, officials stated that the the metropolitan government doesn't plan to impose the stiff penalty but is asking that residents comply with the ban nonetheless. [Image Credit: AFP/Getty Images]
FAA gets help from CNN for its new commercial drone-testing program
As part of its effort to work with companies on advancing drone use here in the States, the Federal Aviation Administration announced two initiatives today that'll do just that. First, a testing program called Pathfinder will encompass CNN's existing exploration of the UAVs for news coverage with the expertise of two other companies. Rounding out the trio, PrecisionHawk will focus on surveying rural areas and BNSF Railway will use drones to inspect its tracks. As it turns out, those companies contacted the FAA directly, and Pathfinder will continue so long as the partners are willing. The FAA already gave Amazon the OK to conduct tests for its delivery drones and gave AIG permission to use UAVs for insurance inspection purposes. It also approved a commercial crop-dusting drone for agricultural use. Even though those companies have to submit reports to the FAA, the aforementioned threesome is working directly with the government as part of the newly announced project.
Creator of the Roomba robotic cleaner is making a drone
Over the next few years, the market for consumer-facing drones is going to continue growing. And, as they say, the more the merrier. Enter CyPhy LVL 1, a sleek drone brought to you by the co-designer of the Roomba, iRobot's renowned robotic vacuum cleaner, Helen Greiner. She's now the CEO of CyPhy Works, which is a company that focuses on creating aerial robots -- albeit not for hobbyists. But that's about to change soon with its CyPhy LVL 1. Launched via Kickstarter, it is said to be the first drone for everyone, from young kids to old people, featuring a smartphone-based, swipe-to-fly remote interface, instant sharing of captured footage to social networks and geo-fencing.
The Navy sees its future in unmanned fighters
The US Navy is creating an office to oversee drones and may never order another manned fighter jet. Navy secretary Ray Mabus told a conference that "the F-35 should be, and almost certainly will be, the last manned strike fighter aircraft the Department of the Navy will ever buy or fly." His reasoning was simple -- a person in a fighter cockpit is a fiscal and logistical liability. "With unmanned technology, removing a human from the machine can open up room to experiment with more risk, improve systems faster and get them to the fleet quicker."
