The Parrot AR.Drone 2.0 has been on the scene essentially dominating the press for its unique segment – smartphone-controlled drones – for some time, but until now only in a couple of color combinations. Here in the Fall of 2013, the Parrot AR.Drone 2.0 suits up for hunting season. Three different color combinations are set […]
The concept of the Phantom 2 Vision is not one of complete novelty. I will admit that. The Phantom 2 Vision by DJI, however, has something that the other quadricopter cameras do not: solid execution. (And great mobile integration.)
This RC copter will allow you to get the perfect bird’s-eye view photos, skyline images, and more! Plus, for those of us who just think that autonomous flying objects are cool, the “Return to Home” feature promises an awesome experience, as well as a safe landing at the takeoff spot.
Stream HD video to your mobile device, which can be mounted on the Phantom 2 Vision’s controller, and use that camera feed to steer the drone and take pictures and video! It comes with its very own 14 megapixel camera, which can record 1080/30p or 1080/60i video.
What’s the range on this baby? Well, you can stream video from up to 980 feet away, which is awesome, and I don’t think you’d want to fly your new $1,200 toy much farther away than that anyway. While it does have the “Return to Home” feature, it does not have the “stop my loser friends from sending my $1,200 flying into a pond” feature.
It’s also got automatic stabilization to help you fly, and the ability to tilt the camera remotely. Battery life is rated at 25 minutes, and you can easily swap batteries too.
Think you’re cool enough to bring the Phantom 2 Vision on the next family vacation? You can get your very own over at Amazon for $1,199(USD). If, like me, this is out of your price range, just do what I do: buy an Otterbox case, press the record button on your phone, and launch it as far as possible. You’ll get the same results give or take the entire thing.
Into photography? Take a look at the Kula Deeper, which lets you take some awesome 3D pictures, or the USB Camera Lens Humidifier, which is a way to take your money disguised as a humidifier disguised as a camera lens.
An interesting flying robot has been created called Gimball that is specifically designed to be able to crash and recover quickly. The creators of the robot designed it to be used in situations that might be hazardous for humans. The flying device has a spherical roll cage mounted on pivots that allows the helicopter to stay upright, as well as to handle cramped spaces where other drones would likely crash.
The flying drone was designed and built by a team in Switzerland from the Ecole Polytechnique Federerale de Lausanne (EPFL). In-flight it resembles a mosquito crashing into things and moving on without missing a beat. Co-creator of the flying robot, Adrien Briod, told the BBC that Gimball was partly inspired by the way insects fly.
The little drone has a gyroscopic system including an accelerometer of the type used in smartphones to allow it to know which way is up and stay in the correct orientation. The drone is 13-inches in diameter and weighs 13 ounces with the capability of lifting 30 g. Currently the robot is remote controlled, but the company hopes to integrate features allowing it to fly autonomously.
The robot is intended to be able to be deployed in disaster situations such as entering buildings that are burning or hazardous materials are leaking.
When Gizmodo last checked in with archaeologist Mark Willis, he was assembling huge 36 GB panoramic photographs of ancient rock art
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James Newhard is Director of Archaeology at the College of Charleston, where he works to bring 3D imaging, mobile technology and geographic information systems to a field more popularly associated with shovels and dusty brushes. Gizmodo got in touch with Dr. Newhard to learn how he uses emerging tech to dig deep into ancient societies.
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If “fighter pilot” was your desired career, you’d better hurry up now that Boeing is looking to replace you with a robot. The company has retrofitted a retired F-16 fighter, which had laid dormant for 15 years, into a drone for combat training missions. Rather than risking life and limb in the cockpit, two test pilots can maneuver the craft, now called QF-16, from Florida’s Tyndall Air Force Base — presenting rookie flyers with a target that can hit 9G and supersonic speeds. There’s an explanatory video below, which explains the benefits of computer controlled planes but… wait a minute, isn’t this the plot of Stealth?
Filed under: Transportation
Via: The Register
Source: Boeing
Nowadays, we often hear about unmanned aerial vehicles aka UAVs or drones in the news as next generation weapons of war. The researchers at MIT’s SENSEable City Lab want to dispel that notion and show people that this new technology can be used in more positive ways. For example, as tour guides.
The SkyCall project uses a Wi-Fi network, a mobile app and quadcopters equipped with GPS, a camera and other onboard sensors to create smart tour guides. A prototype of SkyCall is already being tested at the labyrinthine grounds of MIT. To summon a drone, the user uses the call feature on the SkyCall app. When your friendly guide arrives, the user enters the alphanumeric code for his destination (I don’t know how he gets the code in the first place though). The guide will then start moving at a leisurely pace.
The drone will even talk about landmarks along the way and can be stopped by the user through the app. The drone also uses GPS to detect if the user has fallen behind a certain distance and will wait and then alert him through the app.
The SkyCall: why ask people for directions when you can build a sophisticated network of satellites and robots to guide you through life? As someone who is socially inept, I’m only being half sarcastic. I’d love to have a drone buddy to guide me around and perhaps even protect me.
[MIT SENSEable City Lab via Dezeen]
It’s not often that you hear about a device – what’s essentially a high-powered toy – breaking records flying across international waters. That’s what’s happened this week, though, as Parrot engineers have successfully programmed their AR.Drone 2.0 to fly across the Bosphorus Straight in Turkey – that’s more than a kilometer – with a single […]
There are plenty of drone variants available, but Lockheed Martin is pushing the boundaries of drone warfare thanks to their Transformer TX drones, which will be able to transport cars to and from the battlefield.
The Transformer TX is being developed by Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works division, and the drone will be able to transport cars, storage containers, and even pods filled with soldiers.
It started out in 2010 with a concept that would attach to cars, but evolved into a solution to ferry larger pieces of tech to the battlefield remotely. It will use a pivoting ducted fan propulsion system with no exposed rotor, and this should allow it to take off and land vertically in an area about half of that of a helicopter.
Currently, the team is finalizing its design before building a working prototype. If DARPA accepts the prototype, the drones could be delivered for flight by 2015.
[via IEEE Spectrum via Gizmodo via The Verge]
I am quite sure that you have seen some of those “First World Problems” memes online, but on a more serious note, there are still areas in the undeveloped part of the world where mosquitoes have proven to be quite the bane, and will still carry diseases such as malaria that continue to kill every single year, regardless of your age or gender. The state of Florida is not exempt from mosquitoes either, considering that this state has plenty of marshy wetlands that are proven mosquito breeding grounds, and they intend to take the fight to them by involving aerial drones this time around.
The Florida Keys Mosquito Control District intends to make use of a Maveric drone that is constructed by Condor Aerial which packs a shortwave infrared camera that will allow it to identify the various pools where larvae could be breeding, and after identification, the mop up crew will then move into position to get rid of those larvae. If only the drone itself could be equipped with these destructive tools as well, it would make life a whole lot easier – and more of a video game for those drone controllers. Experiments of the Maveric drone in action will take place later this month.
Maveric Drone To Combat Mosquitoes In Florida original content from Ubergizmo. 
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