drones
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NASA explains why you won't get a drone delivery anytime soon
Delivery drones are great at exactly one job right now: generating buzz. However, NASA has told the New York Times that actual widget-shipping drones from Amazon or Google are still far in the future. And the space agency should know: it has taken on the task of developing an "air traffic control" (ATC) system for drones flying below 400 feet. Such a system would be run by computers without human aid, and take into account weather, air traffic, geographic obstacles and other factors. The space agency is quite familiar with existing air traffic issues, as it has been advising the FAA on the NextGen system for "real" planes. Armed with that know-how, it sees a number of problems for UAV couriers.
Militants use off-the-shelf drones for surveillance and propaganda
Video footage has emerged showing that ISIS militants deployed a $500 consumer drone to spy on a crucial Syrian airfield, which they eventually seized. Taken by a DJI Phantom FC40 drone, the video was spotted on YouTube (and pulled, since it also contained graphic scenes of execution). It shows images of the base from what looks like a lofty altitude, along with insurgents discussing how to use the info. They later sent in suicide bombers to attack the important northern airfield, but it's unclear if the information from the drone was of much strategic use. However, the footage has further value for the group as propaganda. It formed part of a disturbing video meant to show that the group is high-tech (and extremely violent) which helps it attract and radicalize new recruits.
Disney's drone research eyes better parades and floating screens
We've seen drones used for all sorts of things from film production to package delivery. Now, it seems Disney may be looking to leverage the aerial vehicles for its theme parks. The company has applied for three patents that employ the remote-controlled gadgets for floating projection displays and airborne marionettes. That latter option is meant to boost hovering parade characters that have been limited to gas-filled balloons with little mobility, while the former uses UAVs to float a screen over park visitors. The third scenario is one where the individual drones each carry a lighting rig to achieve the desired effect. Something like fireflies after dark, we'd surmise. All three projects would be commanded from a "ground control station" to coordinate flight paths. Of course, with this being an application, there's no guarantee that you'll encounter the compact flying vehicles at Disneyland anytime soon, but the outfit's R&D department has a knack for coming up with awesome ideas.
Manipulating moths in the name of search, rescue and science
In case you needed any more proof that we live in the future, just know that we're slowly inching toward the advent of remote-controlled, sensor-laden moths. (Moths, for the record, are constantly being tinkered with.) As it turns out, the rationale for creating a widespread network of connected, flying insects is more nuanced than just "Because we can." North Carolina State University's Dr. Alper Bozkurt says his team wants to know if they can steer moths through the air to help with search and rescue and post-disaster operations, and the first step toward getting there is sticking electrodes into moth pupae before they fully metamorphose. Alas, the team's still a ways off from achieving their dream - at this point, those electrodes are used to wireless collect information about how moths uses their muscles to flutter through the air. Still, Bozkurt is hopeful that by gaining a better understand of how moths fly, the team will eventually be able to learn how to manipulate those muscles and convert a moth into a tiny living drone.
Watch these guys try driving a car from a drone's point of view
It's a pretty well-known fact that if you're looking for a proper sense of speed in a racing game, you play from either the cockpit or bumper viewpoint. Using the chase cam isn't exactly natural, and really, how is it even realistic? Well, thanks to the future we now live in, that question's been answered: drones. To see just what it'd be like to drive a car from that omniscient point of view, YouTuber Tom Scott played emergency spotter as pals tooled around a closed course wearing a pair of video goggles receiving real-time footage from the trailing hexacopter.
US to write privacy rulebook for commercial and civilian drones
You may not be able to fly your drone wherever you want, but there's no rules on what you can actually do with it. That's likely to change, with Politico reporting that President Obama will tell the NTIA to draw up privacy guidelines for unmanned aerial vehicles. The rulebook will only cover commercial and hobbyist activities, but should stop nefarious eyes from straying too close to your bathroom window when you're not looking. Military and law-enforcement hardware, meanwhile, will require separate rules, which is likely to come from individual states. When asked, the White House gave issued a standard no comment, but let slip that an "inter-agency process" was underway to co-ordinate America's stance on drone use. Of course, since commercial drone use is still banned in the US -- with some exceptions -- there's at least time for the government to thrash out a cohesive policy on the matter.
Engadget Daily: the Oppo Find 7, shoes that vibrate in the right direction and more!
Today, we review the Oppo Find 7, learn where not to fly drones, contemplate Apple's rumored 12-inch Retina Display MacBook and take a look at smart shoes that vibrate in the right direction. Read on for Engadget's news highlights from the last 24 hours.
Want to fly a drone? Don't do it here
It may sound blindingly obvious to avoid flying a UAV around America's foremost military academy. But not all drone no-fly zones are as obvious as West Point, which is why Mapbox has just issued an interactive US map showing where all of them are. Included are things like national defense bases, airports, nuclear power plants and recent additions like national parks. As Wired pointed out, many clearly off-limit zones like Lawrence Livermore's lab still aren't listed, but if you notice one you can add it to an open-source page on GitHub. Meanwhile, all commercial drone flights are still banned, unless noted otherwise by the FAA. For hobbyists, however, they sky's the limit -- just stay out of the red zones.
Engadget Japan's #egfes: drone races, robots, dry ice and a Dyson fan
Just north of Akihabara, Tokyo's tech epicenter, our Japanese colleagues took over an art gallery (and cafe and basement...) for its premier Engadget Fes. As well as the chance to play with Microsoft's newest console and Surface Pro 3 (both still not yet on sale in Japan), there was a surfeit of robots, hobbyist gadgets, toys and 3D printers. Oh and a Google X Lunar Prize-winning drone, which heads to the moon next year. Given the price of flights to Tokyo (and despite the weather: torrential rain), we've pulled together the best bits below.
CNN wants to prove that drones are safe for news reporting
Stunning video footage like that from a recent tornado in Arkansas (see below) shows the potential for drones to radically change journalism. However, it's illegal to operate them in the US, especially near a disaster or accident scene -- which has prompted a new research project from CNN and the Georgia Institute of Technology. The aim is to figure out which type of equipment, personnel and safety measures would be needed to safely operate news-gathering drones in US airspace. While such UAVs would no doubt give media outlets like CNN improved coverage, they'd often end up in close proximity to crowds, emergency personnel and even rescue aircraft. That means US regulators might be reluctant to approve them for reporting -- even though they've already authorized lower-risk activities like pipeline inspection. CNN's group hopes to show the FAA that it can be made safe for journalism, likely so that it won't be frozen out when new drone regulations are finally announced. [Image credit: Brian Emfinger via YouTube]
University library starts 'drone loan' program for students
There's good news if you're a broke University of South Florida student who'd like to take an $1,195 DJI Phantom 2 Vision UAV for a spin: you can now sign one out from the library. Before you start preparing some kind of water balloon-dropping scheme, however, there are a few caveats. First off, all use will be supervised by library staff and you'll have to take a course in drone operation before you can borrow one of the two available. Secondly, you'll need a good reason to use it -- one approved usage cited by a library supervisor was aerial surveying by architecture students to learn about building layouts. Educational projects aside, however, with the Phantom 2 Vision's stabilized footage we imagine there'll also be a lot of sweet aerial mixer videos.
US Navy wants to blast enemy drones with Humvee-mounted laser cannons
Mounting laser weapons on a Humvee to shoot down drones might seem like a military pipe dream, but the US Navy has now awarded contracts for just that. It figures that unfriendly armies will soon be equipped with inexpensive camera- or bomb-equipped UAVs, and wants a highly portable way to counter them. Though its 50kW ADAM HEL laser is powerful enough to down most drones by firing 50 laser bursts in a millisecond, the mounting platform for that weapon is a battleship. The Navy's confident that more efficient 30kW lasers could still do the job, however, and given recent progress, shrunk down enough to fit on a Hummer. It will trial a 10kW system against targets later this year as a step toward the 30kW system, which it hopes will be test-ready by 2016. Meanwhile, watch the ADAM laser destroy hapless drones, missiles and boats in the videos below.
Crowd-control drones reveal the technology's dark side
The treatment of South African miners has been a troublesome issue ever since black laborers were forced into the mines in 1894. It's led to a series of bloody strikes and protests, starting in 1946 and continuing through apartheid right up until today. A new type of crowd suppression drone from a local defense contractor isn't going to help matters, especially given the fact that the country is in the grip of a 21-week miners' strike in which some protestors have already been killed. The Skunk, built by Desert Wolf, is designed to "control unruly crowds without endangering the lives of security staff," and is reportedly already being adopted by mine owners.
Weekends with Engadget: E3 2014, getting sweaty with Sony's Project Morpheus and more!
This week, we stormed the floors of E3 2014, interviewed Shuhei Yoshida and Phil Spencer, took Sony's Project Morpheus for a test-run and watched Amazon launch its Prime Music streaming service. Read on for Engadget's news highlights from the last seven days. Oh, and be sure to subscribe to our Flipboard magazine!
Engadget Daily: surviving Aliens on the Oculus Rift, a guide to drones and more!
Today, we fight off aliens on the Oculus Rift, meet SoftBank's new robot, Pepper-kun, investigate the reality of commercialized drones in the US and go hands-on with Samsung's Galaxy Tab S. Read on for Engadget's news highlights from the last 24 hours.
What you need to know about commercial drones
Wondering why you don't see drones everywhere, despite the intention of Amazon and others to deliver all the things with flying robots? Here's why: It's illegal. The United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) doesn't permit filming, crop-spraying, spying, tour-guiding, pizza delivery or any other commercial drone applications (you can, however, fly one privately). "But that's unjust!" you may rail. "Why should the government stop businesses from plying their trades?" The FAA is charged with keeping the skies safe, and drone operators could pose a danger to commercial aircraft or spy on you illegally. On the other hand, US businesses want the FAA to approve drone use stat, so they can stop operating quasi-illegally and start making money. So, who's right? Who's wrong? Here are the ABCs of commercial drone flight in the US.
Helicopter drones are ready to drop driverless vehicles into danger zones
Helicopter drones and driverless cars have been doing their thing for a while now, but having the two work together in unison is not a simple task. Not to be put off by a challenge, researchers at Carnegie Mellon's National Robotics Engineering Center (NREC) have teamed up with US military aircraft supplier Sikorsky to go much bigger and use the technology to help survey areas that are hazardous to humans. It's part of an 18-month study that will see Sikorsky will supply an auto-piloted Black Hawk helicopter capable of carrying an NREC-supplied unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) to a test site in its sling. Once at the chosen area, it will drop of the UGV and head back to base, while the vehicle uses its on-board sensors to check for potential biological, nuclear or chemical contamination. Not only does it have huge military applications, law enforcement agencies could also utilize the technology, keeping soldiers and officers away from potential danger. It's maybe something you'd expect to see in an real-time strategy war game, but Sikorsky is betting big on automated flight technology. It wants its pilotless aircraft to handle the duty of carrying soldiers to the battlefield and make supply drops during operations.
Commercial drone allowed limited access to fly over US land
A hand-launched UAV called Puma just made history -- it's now known as the first drone to get the Federal Aviation Administration's seal of approval to do commercial flights over land. Puma, which was originally designed for military use by California company AeroVironment, has been doing surveillance work at the Prudhoe Bay oil field in Alaska since June 8th. In particular, it's using its onboard sensors to make 3D models of BP Exploration Inc.'s pipelines, roads and equipment for industrial applications. This isn't the first time Puma got the FAA's permission to fly commercially, though -- last year, the four-and-a-half-foot long drone with a nine-foot wingspan monitored drilling platforms and migrating whales over the Arctic Ocean.
After drones, Google and Facebook eye satellites to expand internet access
Google and Facebook already compete on PCs, mobile devices and recently their rivalry has moved to the skies, but a new report from The Information suggests it could move even further from land. Over the last year or so, both looked at drone maker Titan Aerospace before Google acquired it, adding to a portfolio that includes its Project Loon experiments. Not to be outdone, Facebook is said to have acquired a drone maker from the UK called Ascenta. The only thing left? Space. The Information follows up on claims that Google is looking at a satellite company called Skybox Imaging by noting recent hires and investments in companies that deal with satellite-delivered internet. Craig Barratt is named as leading several teams at Google developing wireless internet technology to connect the rest of the world (white spaces, municipal WiFi, community routers for businesses etc.) while Google X teams work on the drones and balloons. Facebook's interests in (the) space are not as well-documented, but we can only guess that the race will reach low-orbit soon, and collect a few more startups and giants as competitors. Maybe DirecTV made its deal with AT&T too soon?
Modern dance with drones is confusingly beautiful
Dancers with weird costumes? Check. Trippy sci-fi music? Check. Drones with pyramids on top... wait, what? The Eleven Play dance troupe in Japan has integrated quadrotors into its performances, starting with synchronized moves choreographed to the dancers. The flying 'bots soon take over the show, though, chasing the humans off the stage. Then it's all drones, flying in coordination to a Tron-like geometric light show. It's all quite wonderful (see the video below), even if we don't know exactly what it all means -- something something dehumanization of modern technology?
