multicopter
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Bell’s self-flying cargo drone completes its first flight
Bell's multicopter UAV completed a successful first flight today at its testing site near Fort Worth, Texas. Known as the APT 70, the six by nine-foot vehicle has a range of 19 miles and can transport up to 70 pounds. The fully autonomous drone is designed to handle tasks that range from package delivery to the transport of medical supplies or food during a natural disaster.
MIT is testing drones that can switch between hovering and gliding
There are two types of drones: fixed-wing models that look like airplanes and multicopters that resemble hovering squares. A group of MIT scientists have designed a new platform that lets users combine the best of both worlds and create their own hybrid, fixed-wing drones. The end result is a drone that can both hover like a helicopter and glide like an airplane.
E-volo's electric 'air taxi' picks up passengers next year
The last time we'd heard about E-Volo's 18-rotor electric helicopter was almost a year ago to the day. The latest news out of the company is that at AERO, an aviation trade show in Germany, E-Volo revealed its latest model, the Volocopter 2X. The firm says that the advantages of this version versus previous iterations (namely, the VC200) are that it's a "consequent evolution" geared toward everyday use as an autonomous urban mobility vehicle. Translation: it could be a pilot-free, or remote-flown taxi for two.
Watch an 18-rotor electric helicopter take its first manned flight
E-Volo has been talking about the prospect of using many-rotor electric helicopters (aka multicopters) as semi-affordable personal transport for years, and it now looks like this isn't just a far-fetched dream. The company recently completed the first manned test flight of the first certified multicopter, the Volocopter VC200, and documented the whole affair on camera. It wasn't the most ambitious flight, as you'll see in the clips below, but it shows exactly what the extremely stable, drone-like vehicle can do. You don't need to constantly monitor the controls to keep the VC200 airborne, making it perfect for newcomers.
Five questions about the future of drones with 3D Robotics' Colin Guinn
Everyone, it seems, is talking about drones these days. Whether it's for industry, research or performance art, the skies have never been busier. Thanks, in no small part, to the ever-increasing number of consumer-friendly, ready-to-fly quadcopters. Colin Guinn left DJI to join one of the biggest names in commercial drones -- 3D Robotics -- as SVP of sales and marketing. If anyone knows about the future of our skies, it's him. I'll be speaking with Guinn at Expand on Saturday, November 8th, about the future of commercial, personal and hobby drones -- with maybe a little onstage flying going on, too. Before that though, read on to get a little primer on the buzzing topic from the man himself.
Lady Gaga hits the stage in a multicopter flying dress (video)
Lady Gaga just made a spectacular album debut entrance -- even for her -- in what can only be described as a astronaut dress-cum-hexacopter that she named "Volantis." Though we'd call it a colossal publicity stunt, Gaga said that the suit was symbolic of herself and would allow her to be the voice for the youth of the world.... or something. While skimming across a stage in an oversized flying toy looks pretty bonkers (as you can see in the video after the break), fortunately the whole thing came off without a hitch.
First manned multicopter takes flight, brave human sits amidst blades (video)
What could have ended in human chop suey, instead resulted in victory for German engineers at e-volo as they successfully completed the first manned flight of an electric multicopter. The human death trap multicopter uses multiple mini helicopters to lift the passenger upwards -- who's snuggled in the center of the carnage, firmly strapped to a squishy exercise ball. Like an UAV, the hovering device is controlled via radio control from the ground -- talk about trusting. The passenger was able to hold on for one minute and 30-second of flight victory, causing raucous celebrations from the Wright brothers in aviation heaven. Click past the break for the video.
