Jan 11
Camera-equipped quadcopters are turning out to be a great way to explore places that humans can’t be, like Stanford’s new concert hall, or shouldn’t be, like mere feet from a female moose on her home turf. More »
Jan 07
Parrot’s AR.Drone 2.0 gifted with optional flight recorder module and bigger battery
Posted in: Today's Chili 
Marking the first anniversary of the AR.Drone 2.0 since last CES, Parrot has announced that it’ll be offering an optional GPS flight recorder module as well as a bigger battery at some point this year. The former dongle simply plugs into the flying vehicle via the USB port, and it can record the flying parameters onto its 4GB memory, which can then be reproduced on the 3D AR.Drone Academy map. As for the larger battery, it’ll come with 1,500mAh worth of juice which is 50 percent more than the original one (hence a flight time of up to 18 minutes now), though we’d imagine most hardcore enthusiasts have already modded third-party batteries for the power-hungry copter.
On the software side, the AR.Drone 2.0 will soon be upgraded with a “Director Mode” for programming movements (including traveling, pan, crane and more) for more creative filming. Additionally there will be an “AR.Race 2.0” solo or multiplayer racing game, as well as an “AR.Rescue 2.0” adventure game in augmented reality. Sounds fun, and we’ll be able to see the drone in action during our live CES interview with CEO Henri Seydoux this Thursday, so stay tuned.
Filed under: Robots
Dec 28
Japanese security firm Secom is preparing to launch a new service that will let home and small business owners rent a quadcopter drone that the company claims will launch automatically in the event of a burglary, taking pictures of the burglars and even capturing live video of them as the crime is in progress. Sounds pretty awesome if you want the latest in home security.
When a breach is detected by motion detectors or other security methods, the quadcopter activates and is dispatched to the precise location of the break-in to get a firsthand, eye-in-the-sky look at things.
If it really works like they say it will, this could catch more criminals and keep your home extra safe. The company is also touting the drones as a cost-effective way to monitor large areas like warehouses and industrial parks without having to mount video cameras everywhere. You can check out a video demo of the (incredibly noisy) drone prototype in action here (skip to 1:54, unless you speak Japanese.)
Secom hopes to launch this new rent-a-drone business in Japanese markets in early 2014 for about ¥5000 (~$58 USD).
[via Japan Daily Press via Geekosystem]
Nov 30
Some of you will think this guy is the best dad ever, while others will think he is lazy. Personally I think he’s pretty awesome. Paul Wallich has entrusted a quadcopter to walk his son to the bus stop.
The quadcopter was keyed in to track a GPS beacon in his son’s backpack. This is high-tech parenting at its best. This flying drone can follow his child from a set distance and make sure the kid stays safe and out of trouble, while pop watches the remote video camera from the comfort of his computer screen.
Getting this device to follow his kid was the tricky part. An RFID solution would have required a bulkier antenna than the craft could really carry. So he used a navigation program that keeps the copter a set distance away from the GPS beacon it is following. This kid is hopefully pretty popular right now thanks to his dad’s inventiveness.
Now he just needs to rig it to fire projectiles at any bullies his son encounters on the way to school.
[via iEEE Spectrum via Geekosystem]
Nov 07
Do you love all things remote controlled? If you have answered in the affirmative, then we are pleased to bring you word that QFO Labs, a startup which hails from Minneapolis, has just announced that they will be rolling out a mini quadcopter toy that they have dubbed the NanoQ. It will rely on relatively affordable 3-axis gyros and accelerometers, in order to help it remain nice and stable in mid-flight. Apart from that, it will be accompanied by a one-handed remote which integrates tilt sensors for smooth and natural control. It is different from most of the other quadrotors in the market however, as the NanoQ’s propellers will come in an inverted manner which prevents them from colliding with ceilings. This is a good thing, especially if you have your home’s ceiling fan turned on.
Just what kind of dimensions does the NanoQ come in? Well, for starters, it measures a mere 5.25” across while tipping the scales at a diminutive 35 grams with a maximum payload of 10 grams. Having said that, it is capable of remaining up in the air for up to ten minutes on its rechargeable LiPo (that’s lithium polymer for you) batteries, with a controlling range of up to a hundred feet (30 meters). The company hopes that the future will see multiple NanoQs competing at flying laser tag, since they are capable of “shooting” one another using onboard infrared (IR) sensors.
The NanoQ does seem to carry far more potential than just being a toy, and courtesy of its relatively low planned price of $149 a pop with its PC compatibility, it could double up as a research platform for university labs that are running on a tight budget. Whenever you hook up the controller to a PC via USB or a USB RF dongle, you are able to send it commands while accessing its sensor data and more.
Source
[ NanoQ mini quadcopter takes to the skies copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
Oct 03
Quadrocopters Programmed to Throw and Catch Balls, Still Working on Swinging a Bat
Posted in: Today's ChiliIn the future, when quadcopters develop a hive mind and eventually come after us with their machine guns and tasers, they’ll be able to rub salt in our lethal wounds by playing catch with our heads, thanks to a project by researchers from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology.
As you can see, we can still laugh at the silly robots because it takes three of them plus a net to throw and catch a ball. That said, these playful guys not only believe in teamwork, they’re also smart and quick on their rotors. They use a trajectory algorithm to calculate the path of a ball in real time as it is thrown to them. They can also learn by trial and error and improve their aim and they can quickly stabilize after every maneuver to avoid slicing each other to pieces and ensure that the net is at the right position.
I guess this means that in the future you won’t be able commit suicide by jumping from a high place anymore.
[via Boing Boing]
Sep 02
The newest model of the Parrot AR.Drone can be controlled via the iPad. Fancy eh? Well, researchers at Zhejiang University have come up with a way to control the quadcopter using a person’s brain waves. That’s telekinesis, Kyle.
Or not. Even though the dude above looks like he’s got a Professor X thing going on, the real magic isn’t in his DNA but on a PC. An EEG wired to his head reads his signals, which is processed on his laptop, which in turn wirelessly sends the equivalent command to the drone. The goal is to help disabled people be more independent and to be able to explore their surroundings, but there’s no reason normal people can’t enjoy this technology as well.
Combine the FlyingBuddy 2 with the ShockDrone and you have one hell of a party game.
[via The Verge]
Aug 30
Hey Range, you wished for a taser-equipped quadrotor drone right? Hack a Day has served as your genie. The folks who run the site managed to modify a Parrot AR.Drone to deliver a shock on contact.
Hack a Day ran two strips of aluminum tape along the outline of the indoor variant of the Parrot AR.Drone. The tapes were connected to the capacitor of a disposable camera. When the parallel strips are connected – like when they come into contact with human skin – the circuit completes and electricity flows through the tapes, resulting in this:
That’s right: the current will turn you into a white dude’s forearm. Seriously though this thing can pack a punch, but fortunately not a Fist of the North Star caliber punch. Watch it chase and tase in the video below:
Head to Shock Hack a Day to find out how to build your own TaserDrone.
Aug 10
Drones are a hot piece of tech these days, whether you’re a kid or an armed force. Rich kids and rich armed forces, that is: for instance, the popular Parrot AR.Drones sell for $250 to $300 (USD). Lucky for us, Brando stopped being weird for a second and got a hold of a cheap alternative.
Brando describes the UDIRC remote control multicopter as follows: “The Perfect Flying Object with this New Design Technology, The Most Stable (like the real?) Floating in the AIR. The Special Design of the One Press Button, which can make the UFO to Somersault in the Air. This RC UFO is powered by a Small piece Battery that is fueled with the USB External Dual Charging Box; therefore, UFO can Fly Never Stop with this Unlimited Power Supply!” Yeah. Still weird.
Because it doesn’t have a camera, fancy smartphone controls or good looks, the multicopter’s price is the good kind of weird: Brando is selling it for just $50(USD). That’s a steal for a quadcopter, but for a quadcopter with unlimited power supply? It’s the heist of the century.
[via Boing Boing]
Jul 19
Chiba University demonstrates Quadcoptors flying in formation using motion capture
Posted in: Today's Chili
The Nonami Group at Chiba University is developing drone robots for information gathering, and the group has demonstrated four multi-rotor helicopters, flying in formation using image processing.
“The cameras capture the markers, and send all the images to the host computer, which calculates the position and attitude. Positioning can be done to within 1 mm. The control frequency is 100 Hz, so position and attitude are calculated every 10 ms, to prevent collisions.”
Each helicopter …
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