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Drones dream of becoming satellites

It is an exclusive airspace where spy planes roam, beyond the reach of weather and commercial passenger jets.

Now, the stratosphere is a frontier for competition between aviation and technology giants that say high flying, solar-powered drones could offer advantages over conventional satellites, including lower costs, easier maneuverability and quicker deployments.

Subsidiaries of Airbus SE, Boeing Co. BA -1.10% and Japanese tech conglomerate SoftBank Group Corp. are developing stratospheric drones, which could fly unaided for months and take pictures or beam down internet services some 60,000 feet or more to the ground. They are betting the technology could create markets with military or commercial customers.

WSJ

 

Drone killing Laser

The U.S. Marine Corps is testing a prototype laser weapon that could be used by war fighters on the ground to counter enemy drones, according to a Wednesday news release.

The prototype Compact Laser Weapons System — or CLaWS — is the first ground-based laser approved by the Defense Department for use by ground troops, the Marine Corps explained.

Defense News

High-altitude cleaning drones

Aerones is building heavy-lift drones for operations that can get dangerous when performed by humans. The company has recently unveiled footage of a drone solution for high-altitude window cleaning. In the future, similar drones could be used for firefighting, and the company is already testing this kind of applications as well. 

Mashable

Here is another application - cleaning blades of tall wind turbines

 

The Mavic 2 drone

The original Mavic could see in front and beneath itself, but the new Mavic 2 can now sense possible catastrophe-causing objects from any direction.

Now that it’s adept at sensing things that are behind it, the Mavic 2 Zoom also adds a new automated flight mode called Dolly Zoom, which involves zooming in while flying backward to create a unique effect like you see in the movies without worrying about smashing it into your garage, which may or may not be what happened with a previous drone during its review.

Popular Science

Pushing UX, drone and other frontiers

Samsung’s latest patent is for a drone with an integrated display that’s able to detect the face and pupils of a person as well as their hand gestures and position. The patent shows a unit that features a display at the center with four propellers on each corner.

The patent describes a drone that can include a camera and observation system to transmit information to the main control unit. The system can track the users’ eyes, head, hands, or fingers in real time. The drone’s flight speed and direction can be controlled by moving your head, eyes, or hands, and the unit can also automatically track users without any additional gestures.

The Verge

Photo Credit

 

Lifeguard drones

Thanks to Erik Dorr for pointer

“A beach goer spotted the two teenagers struggling off the coast of Lennox Head beach, in New South Wales state north of Sydney on Thursday and reported them to the lifeguards.

According to the Reuters news agency, the guards quickly deployed their Westpac Little Ripper Lifesaver drone, which carries an inflatable float that can be dropped into the water.

Within minutes the lifeguards receiving the report, the flotation device was dropped and the two boys, 16 and 17 years old, were able to use it to swim back to shore, exhausted but otherwise unscathed.”

CBS News

As the video below shows the drone is also used for shark spotting

 

The incredibly digitized roofing industry

Three years ago, I wrote about how the roofing industry has evolved with technology and material science. 

My colleague Brian Sommer told me he was impressed quotes he got for repairing roof damage precisely estimated the area of his roof using EagleView technology.

Jeff Frick of SiliconAngle talks about how drones are changing the industry. He interviews David Lyman, CEO of  BetterView

“Before incorporating drone technology, BetterView sent inspectors out with ladders to assess roofs for risk potential — a process that presented its own set of hazards. Safety risks and expenses aside, these inspections still proved ineffective in their ability to deliver quality information.”

 

Flying Vehicles in Abu Dhabi

Late last week, it was revealed that the Abu Dhabi government is in talks to incorporate flying motorcycles into their fleet of police vehicles. The bikes, developed by Russian tech incubator Skolkovo, are still in preliminary testing stages — but this development is yet another sign that the United Arab Emirates is positioning itself as a global leader in personal air vehicles.

A few weeks ago, the emirate of Dubai began testing flying drone taxis — also known by the not-at-all-menacing-sounding brand name Volocopter—in the hopes of getting a full system off the ground in five years. Earlier this year, the same emirate conducted trial runs of a different model of “autonomous aerial vehicle” in partnership with the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority. 

Travel and Leisure

 

DJI’s bounty program

DJI now says it will introduce a bug bounty program—meaning it will pay independent hackers who find flaws in its systems—and has announced updates aimed at securing its software and user data. “We’re rapidly retooling our software development process to address our needs,” says spokesman Adam Lisberg. “It’s an increasing concern of ours.” The bug bounty rewards will range from $100 to $30,000, he says.

What changed so quickly? DJI dominates the $6 billion market for nonmilitary drones, accounting for two-thirds of the sub-$4,000 models sold in North America. But the leaked memo undermined DJI’s pitch to its biggest potential growth market: commercial users like Jes Chosid.

BusinessWeek

 

Drones and Houston Recovery

Pilots working for Fort Bend County, to the southwest of Houston, have used drones to assess damage to roads, bridges, and water treatment plants—and posted the footage online. Other local governments and agencies, including fire departments and state environmental quality officials, have worked with drone operators to identify flooding and drainage problems.

Meanwhile, insurance companies are launching their own fleets of drones, in efforts to tally up and verify claims. Allstate will use hundreds of drones in its Harvey-related deployment, its largest since it began experimenting with drone assessments a few years ago, says Justin Herndon, a spokesperson for the insurance company. “We’re going to be there for a while.”

Wired