Canadian companies are placing big bets on a better way of powering drones.
So far these stealthy units — long used by military forces for intelligence-gathering, surveillance and striking targets — have been powered by internal combustion engines or lithium polymer batteries.
Continue reading… “Fuel cells about to power the drone industry”
Last week, the director of the Federal Aviation Administration reported that his department is receiving an average of 2,000 new registration requests for drones every day, and that it has registered up to some half a million drones since new rules went into effect in January. But as sales of drones have increased, so too have other more worrying numbers. The FAA also says it receives more than 100 reports per month of drones flying around airports and other forbidden places, where they could damage infrastructure or accidentally collide with the engine of a landing airplane.
Continue reading… “The Anti-Drone Arms Race”
A brand new sport has been created specifically due to new technology: Dronesurfing.
A professional cinematographic company called Freefly used a drone, the Freefly Alta 8, on a day with minimal waves to help pull their boarder across the water. While the drone does have a 20-pound maximum cargo limit, it is able to pull a person across the water (after getting a running start).
Continue reading… “Donesurfing: A new sport takes flight”
First there was poker. Then there was the spelling bee, Scrabble and the recent emergence of e-sports.
Now ESPN is betting that speeding drones will be the next noncontact “sport” to find a mass audience.
The Drone Racing League announced on Wednesday that it had signed deals to broadcast a 10-episode season on ESPN and ESPN2, along with the European stations Sky Sports Mix and 7Sports. The schedule begins with an introduction to drone racing on Thursday at 11 p.m. on ESPN2.
Continue reading… “Drone Racing: ESPN’s Newest Televised Sport”
The thinking: Spend billions of dollars, save even more.
The $8.5 trillion global construction industry isn’t exactly known for its efficiency. The U.K. Green Building Council estimates that 15% of materials delivered to construction sites end up in landfills, the result of mismanaged scheduling and purchasing.
Continue reading… “The Construction Industry Loves Drones”
When it comes to making the concept of delivery drones a reality, using vans to handle the brunt of the work is an idea that has some merit. We saw some researchers float the idea a couple of years ago and it now appears Mercedes-Benz also sees some potential in the approach. It has teamed up with drone company Matternet to create a concept vehicle dubbed the Vision Van which would deploy drones from its rooftop to carry packages over the final leg of their journey.
Continue reading… “Mercedes-Benz Vision Van concept sends drones to last-mile delivery”
Family snaps have always been a part of the vacation experience, but as technology advances along with consumer expectations, people are looking for new ways to document their travel experiences.
Enter drones.
Continue reading… “Vacationers are now hiring drone photographers to follow them around on vacation”
Domino’s introduced a pizza delivery drone in the summer of 2013, and now it is going to start testing actual pizza-by-drone deliveries soon. The testing will take place in New Zealand, and is being done in partnership with drone company Flirtey. The company isn’t offering too many details about its plan at this time, though it does say it will kick off the testing later this year and that it’ll happen alongside ordinary (read: people-powered) pizza deliveries.
Continue reading… “Domino’s to kick off drone delivery testing in New Zealand”
The Modal is a logistics drone designed to move empty shipping containers by lifting them in the air and carrying them over short distances. It could be used to move containers in ports or position container homes on places that are hard for a truck to reach.
Continue reading… “A drone designed to move shipping containers including homes”
Aptonomy Inc. has developed drone technology that could make prison breaks, robberies or malicious intrusions of any kind impossible for mere mortals.
Dubbing it a kind of “flying security guard,” the company has built its systems on top of a drone often used by movie-makers, the DJI S-1000+, a camera-carrying octocopter.
Continue reading… “Introducing the self-flying security guard”
Police are having to investigate a fourfold rise in the number of crime reports involving shop bought drones – including allegations they are being used by paedophiles over children’s playgrounds, peeping toms spying through bedroom windows, burglars scoping out people’s properties, and even cash point scammers recording PIN numbers.
Continue reading… “Drone reports to UK police soar 352%”
Drone manufacturer DJI is planning to open a 1,395-square-metre arena in Korea later this month to show off its drones, The Next Web reports.
DJI says the arena will be open for people to learn about drones and will offer courses on how to fly them.
Continue reading… “Drone company DJI planning to build a giant arena in Korea”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
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