We’ve all looked up at some point in our lives (probably during a baseball game) and seen that familiar, friendly speck of a Goodyear Blimp floating overhead. But far fewer of us have actually had the opportunity to ride in one of these things—and that’s a damn shame. Because as photographer Dan Maker-Moore’s newest photos show, the view is spectacular.
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Yes, there’s a fleet of camera-equipped, remote-controlled blimps live-streaming a bird’s-eye view of Google I/O on YouTube, right now. It’s called Google AirShow and it’s taken over the airspace within Moscone Center. We briefly chatted with Chris Miller, a software engineer with AKQA (the company that put the dirigibles together for Google), about the technology used in each aircraft. It all begins with an off-the-shelf model airship that’s flown manually via standard a 2.4GHz radio. Each blimp is outfitted with a servo-controlled USB camera and 5GHz USB WiFi dongle which are both connected to a Raspberry Pi board running Debian, VLC and Python. A custom-designed Li-polymer battery system powers the on-board electronics. The webcam encodes video as motion-JPEG (720p, 30fps) and VLC generates a YouTube-compatible RTSP stream that’s broadcast over WiFi. Python’s used to pan the servo-controlled camera via the Raspberry Pi’s PWM output. The result is pretty awesome. But don’t just take our word for it — check out the gallery and source link below, then watch our hands-on video after the break.
Gallery: Google AirShow at I/O 2013
Filed under: Cameras, Misc, Transportation, Internet, Alt, Google
Source: I/O AirShow 2013
Many scientists have theorized that the reason the Hindenburg went down in flames was because of the combination of flammable hydrogen gas and paints on the surface of the blimp’s skin. Well you won’t have to worry about either of those with this little R/C toy that’s designed to look like an airship.
Created by China’s AMAX Toys, the Airship is a remote-controlled flyer that uses a pair of horizontal propellers to lift it into the air. Of course, the only reason this design works is that the Airship itself has no skin. Instead, you see the skeleton of the dirigible – and that’s pretty cool.
The Airship measures about 11-inches-long, and can fly for about 5 to 6 minutes on a 60 minute charge. I comes with a 3-channel infrared remote – which limits running distance to about 30 feet, and has gyroscopes to help keep it balanced while flying.
The Airship is available in wholesale quantities from AMAX Toys, but they’re not selling them retail at this point.
Most Lego Mindstorms constructions have never slipped the surly bonds of Earth. The Flying Fortress Lego Blimp from Tyler Westmoreland and Chris Shepard won’t be similarly held down, however. Courtesy of two NXTBee wireless adapters, Tyler and Chris can fly the Mindstorms NXT-driven airship using a remote control and adjustable propellers. There’s no secret tricks involved, as everything is an off-the-shelf part that anyone can find, including the 55-inch helium balloons. We have proof: Tyler has shared the source code for both the blimp and the controller, so anyone with the resources can recreate the Flying Fortress for themselves. While the thought of homemade drone blimps looming overhead is slightly disconcerting, we’ll steel our resolve when it means that most any enterprising builder can take Lego airborne.
[Thanks, @frankiebit]
Source: Dexter Industries
I don’t know whether or not Bigfoot really exists. What I do know is that we find new species no one has ever seen with remarkable regularity. I’m not ready to rule out the existence of Bigfoot, but I’m also not ready to go running around the woods at night hunting for a hairy, smelly, primate.
A researcher from Idaho State University, Jeffrey Meldrum, is set to use a scientific approach to trying to determine once and for all if Bigfoot is real. Meldrum, a professor of anatomy and anthropology at the university, is trying to raise $300,000 to build a remote-control blimp that will carry a thermal imaging system. The idea is the blimp will float above forests searching for evidence of Bigfoot.
If the dirigible finds evidence of the beast, the location would be sent to people on the ground who would follow-up and try to catch an in-person glimpse of the fabled Sasquatch. Either that or the blimp could route them to their demise at the hands of a hungry and angry primate.
[Yahoo News via The Register]
Remember the giant spy blimp that we wrote to you about in early April this year? Well, unfortunately the Blue Devil Block 2 didn’t really make it to the final phase, and Mav6 – it’s creators – was forced to cancel the already ballooning $211 million project. Thankfully, Northrop Grumman’s Long-Endurance Multi-Intelligence Vehicle (LEMV) made it through and took off to take its first ever flight test on Tuesday this week. The giant airship was spotted at a military base in Lakehurst where it successfully achieved its first 90-minute flight. But this is just the beginning for the LEMV.
Before it heads to the warzone next year, probably in Afghanistan, Northrop Grumman’s giant blimp will have to undergo more months of testing. Its developers said that apart from its spying capabilities, the LEMV is also capable of hauling seven tons of cargo 2,400 miles at 30 miles per hour. “The first flight primary objective was to perform a safe launch and recovery with a secondary objective to verify the flight control system operation,” Army spokesman John Cummings said in a statement. “Additional first flight objectives included airworthiness testing and demonstration, and system level performance verification. All objectives were met during the first flight.”
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Giant spy blimp sounds like an oxymoron, Airships to cater for the North,
The US Army’s not-so-secret Long Endurance Multi-Intelligence Vehicle (LEMV) spy blimp is better at staying hidden than we thought… if unintentionally. Although it was due to fly the friendly skies of Lakehurst, New Jersey in mid-June, Northrop Grumman’s usually unmanned surveillance was only just caught floating over the Jersey Shore as part of a maiden flight on August 8th. The conspicuous, delayed test run proved that the LEMV could take off, steer and land smoothly, and started a series of exercises that should culminate in combat trials over Afghanistan at the start of 2013. Northrop’s KC Brown Jr. tells Wired that there’s a possible (if purely coincidental) consolation for missing another deadline — the airship could be used in a pinch for carrying as much as seven tons of supplies without getting into harm’s way, albeit at a fairly glacial 30MPH. The successful first flight won’t be much consolation to Mav6, whose Blue Devil 2 was scuttled at the last minute after technical issues; it’s nonetheless a relief for US troops, who may get weeks at a time of constant intelligence on enemy movements. Catch a short snippet of the early LEMV journey after the break.
Filed under: Robots, Transportation
US Army’s LEMV spy blimp spotted hovering over New Jersey, may take up cargo duties (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Aug 2012 06:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Alt-week peels back the covers on some of the more curious sci-tech stories from the last seven days.
Whether you’ve got your head in the clouds, or your feet firmly locked on terra firma (or is that terrorist firma?) the last seven days in Alt have something for you. We look at a massive aircraft, that could revolutionize air travel as we know it, as well as look back at a real-world project that heralded a significant shift even further up in the sky. There’s the NASA logo that never came to be, and lastly, for those less fond of heights, we hear how a US government department is heading in the other direction — albeit culturally — all in the fight against terror. This is alt-week.
Continue reading Alt-week 7.21.12: Outer space, flying hotels and federal trolls
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Science, Internet
Alt-week 7.21.12: Outer space, flying hotels and federal trolls originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 21 Jul 2012 14:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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