A range of systems already exist to prevent drones from flying into restricted airspace, but the U.K.’s Ministry Defence (MoD) has decided to go its own way with the launch of a $ 2.5 million contest aimed at attracting new ideas for such technology. The initiative comes comes in the wake of a costly and […]
As drones explode (not literally) in popularity, it’s not surprising that the high end of the market is seeing a ton of activity. We have ridable drones for billionaires, spy drones for the military, extra-fancy drones for filmmakers and other models that push traditional prices sky high. If you’ve been taken aback at how much […]
Cape Here in 2019, drones are probably most associated with cool photography, drone racing, and the glittering promise of flying Amazon deliveries. But drones could have a role to play in law enforcement, too — and a new report suggests that these aerial robocops have a bright future ahead of them. In a pilot study […]
If you’re trying to get rats off an island without damaging the native animals or plants, what’s the best way to go about it? If you’re anything like the brains behind a recent initiative on two islands in Ecuador’s Galapagos archipelago, the answer is simple: Use drones that dispense rat poison. The North Seymour region […]
The New York Police Department (NYPD) discovered the limitations of current drone technology on New Year’s Eve when rain forced it to cancel plans to use the machine as part of its security operation during the celebrations in Times Square. The NYPD’s Chief Terence Monahan confirmed in a tweet that the police department’s quadcopters wouldn’t […]
From self-guiding bullets to brain-computer interfaces and robot insect spies, there are plenty of military technologies that sound like something straight out of a science fiction movie. Now the U.S. military is apparently looking to add one more technology to the mix: Water-based microorganisms that can be used to detect enemy submarines, underwater drones, or […]
One of the world’s busiest airports was forced to suspend or divert all flights on Wednesday night over safety concerns when two drones were spotted flying close to the airfield. The incident, which occurred at Gatwick Airport in south-east England, started just after 9 p.m. local time following “multiple reports” of two remotely controlled multi-rotor […]
A new drone developed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) could be the key to finding hikers lost in the woods. A challenge with search and rescue operations for people lost in forests is that helicopters and drones which fly above the tree canopy cannot see down to the forest floor to locate them, so autonomous […]
[embedded content] There are plenty of drones designed for flying indoors. You know what those drones can’t do, however? Open doors. At least, that’s true in 99 percent of cases. Fortunately, the diminutive Flycrotug microdrone is the exception to the rule — and all it needs is a partner drone and its trusty lasso. In […]
It’s a capacity crowd at the 2019 Super Bowl, and 80,000 football fans have gathered inside Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium to watch the game. The weather is crystal-clear, so naturally the retractable roof is open. As the halftime show gets underway, a wave of excited chatter rolls through the crowd — a flock of a dozen […]
From self-driving tractors to farming robots, there’s no doubt that agriculture is in the middle of a high tech shakeup. But a new proposal from researchers in Saudi Arabia and the U.S. could take things to the next level — by using drones to carry out a futuristic version of crop dusting; only they’ll be […]
Drones can be used for a wide variety of purposes, but one problem that hinders almost all of them is limited battery life. Consumer-focused drones have a flight time of around 10 to 20 minutes, while even the most serious, record-breaking unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) can stay airborne for only hours, or maybe a few […]
For years, consumer drones were essentially separated into two groups. There are the super-cheap (and also super flimsy) drones that will fly for about five minutes on a full charge, and then the more hardcore-oriented drones that cost upward of $ 1,000, but are fully stocked with all the features you’d want including HD camera, […]
[embedded content] Birds can cause a surprising amount of headaches for airplanes. Perhaps the most famous recent example of this was the 2009 “Miracle on the Hudson” incident, when pilots were forced to land on the Hudson River after U.S. Airways flight 1549 was struck by a flock of geese after takeoff. Engineers at the […]
Remember those old prison movies where contraband got snuck into prison hidden in a birthday cake? It turns out that things have moved on a whole lot since then. Here in 2018, no self-respecting prisoner is worth their ill-advised neck tattoo if they don’t have a drone to smuggle weapons or narcotics into the prison […]