Northrop Grumman / EADS Euro Hawk
The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International held a three-day-long trade fair in Washington last week. Defense industry specialists got together for the giant drone show which was actually the world’s largest. (Photos)
Continue reading… “World’s largest drone fair”
Futurist Thomas Frey: Consider the following scenario.
In 2035 a heinous criminal escapes in the city of Dallas, Texas and the local police department acquires a court order to conduct a thorough search of the metro area. Within 15 minutes a fleet of twelve surveillance drones is deployed to begin an ultra high-res flyover.
When we think of drones we typically think of military drones or those ubiquitous quadrotors. However, two new mini-drone designs are taking shape: a paper airplane and a maple seed.
Continue reading… “Disposable drones take off”
Philadelphia’s Manayunk Cleaners is trying drones to deliver clothes to it’s customers. The drone is a modified DJI Phantom quadcopter, which is a commercially available drone capable of carrying about 1 or 2 pounds. Clothes on hangers are attached to a hanging clip on the drone’s legs, while the drone buzzes along through the air.
Continue reading… “Dry cleaner uses drones to deliver clothes to customers”
Futurist Thomas Frey: Fifteen years ago I found myself stranded in the small town of Faith, South Dakota. It was 3:00 am in the morning and my car was out of gas. To give you a better idea of my predicament, this tiny town of 400 people was located 100 miles away from any significant cities.
Continue reading… “Introducing the Fully-Automated 24-Hour City”
Flying robots are going to become a lot more common in the U.S.
Investors and entrepreneurs are betting on a future full of flying robots that can be programmed to do anything from survey crops or wildlife to delivering vaccines to remote villages in Africa.
Continue reading… “Entrepreneurs and investors bet on the future of the drone economy”
Chris Anderson of 3D Robotics
Chris Anderson is building drones in an industrial park on the outskirts of Tijuana. The former editor-in-chief of Wired magazine readily acknowledges that just a few years ago, he knew almost nothing about the aerospace industry. But after building a small plane out of Lego parts with his kids, and realizing that even children’s toys now come packed with advanced sensors and controls, Mr. Anderson decided to start a company called 3D Robotics Inc. and manufacture his own aerial vehicles.
Continue reading… “3D printing is creating a ‘new class of entrepreneurs’”
Graffiti is reported to cost Deutsche Bahn about $10m a year.
The Deutsche Bahn, Germany’s national railway company, plans to test small drones to try to reduce the amount of graffiti being sprayed on its property.
Continue reading… “Germany’s national railway to test anti-graffiti drones”
The unmanned aircraft are the next big transformation in the aviation industry.
The phrase “this is your captain speaking” may soon become a thing of the past, thanks to a new generation of robotic, passenger aircraft that will take to the skies by themselves.
Continue reading… “Pilotless passenger planes ready for takeoff”
Urban architecture could take on a much different form as scientists make huge strides in robotics, natural building materials, and new construction methods.
Cities are complex ecosystems and they are confronting tremendous pressures to seek optimum efficiency with minimal impact in a resource-constrained world. While architecture, urban planning, and sustainability attempt to address the massive resource requirements and outflow of cities, there are signs that a deeper current of biology is working its way into the urban framework.
Continue reading… “Drones, bacteria, and 3D printers will build the cities of the future”
The use of drone strikes is a polarizing topic.
Recently, there has been a lot of talk about the new online infographic, “Out of Sight, Out of Mind,” which shows a chilling visualization of all estimated deaths in Pakistan caused by U.S. drone strikes, including children and civilians, based on estimates from the Bureau of Investigative Journalism and New America Foundation. Whether you agree with the numbers, or the politics, behind this particular project (put together by the data visualization firm Pitch Interactive), at least it’s sparking debate. And that’s got to be a good thing — there’s still so much we don’t know about this highly controversial issue.
Continue reading… “Are U.S. drone strikes creating more terrorists than they kill?”
A drone delivering a newspaper.
It looks like news delivery is another job being obviated by robots. In Auvergne, France, residents get their daily news the old-fashioned way: through newspapers. But the delivery of said newspapers, apparently, will soon be executed with the help of high tech — because it’ll be done with the help of drones.
Continue reading… “Drones to deliver newspapers in France”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
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