New Drone Technology Archives

UW spinout WiBotic unveils its PowerPad wireless charging system for drones

Seattle-based WiBotic today took the wraps off an integrated wireless charging pad for drones, as well as an onboard charger that weighs just 1.6 ounces. The two new products are part of the University of Washington spinout’s strategy to provide a system for charging up robotic aerial vehicles as they go about their business, untouched by human hands. The plug-and-play system is set up to send power wirelessly at short range from the pad’s transmitter to the charger’s receiver. Then the transmission is converted into electricity for a drone’s batteries.…

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DJI’s New AeroScope Helps Track and Identify Drones in the Air

October 18, 2017 theDroneInfodji, dji drones, Drone Technology0 comment

DJI has unveiled AeroScope, a new technology aimed at tracking and identifying DJI drones from afar. The new receiver will be able to identify the registration numbers of drones and plot them on a map using the existing communication links between a drone and its controller. “As drones have become an everyday tool for professional and personal use, authorities want to be sure they can identify who is flying near sensitive locations or in ways that raise serious concerns,” said Brendan Schulman, DJI’s Vice President for Policy and Legal Affairs.…

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Using drones to charge your EV while you’re driving is Amazon’s latest idea

October 18, 2017 theDroneInfocommercial drone use, Drone Technology0 comment

Why it matters to you We’re sure someone will eventually find a solution to banish range anxiety, but we’re not sure this is it. Whether or not Amazon’s R&D team comes up with most of its ideas during Friday night drinks is immaterial. The reality is that, possibly on a Monday morning, it files those ideas with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and, after a period of time, the USPTO grants Amazon the patent. Some of those patents will be forgotten by the Seattle-based company over time…

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Sprint turns drones into cell towers – CNET

September 28, 2017 theDroneInfo0 comment

Sprint tested its cell tower-on-a-drone technology in Texas last week. Sprint is taking cell service airborne by mounting lightweight cellular radios to drones. The wireless carrier said this week it has successfully adapted its Magic Box signal boosting technology to fit on a drone to provide temporary cell coverage up to 10 square miles. The company tested the set-up, which uses a lighter version of the mini cell tower and a drone from CyPhy Works, last week in Texas 30 miles outside of Dallas. Sprint launched the Magic Box earlier…

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Drone detects heartbeat and breathing rates

September 28, 2017 theDroneInfo0 comment

Researchers at the University of South Australia have developed drones that can remotely measure heart and breathing rates. Image-processing systems combined with specially created algorithms allow the drones to detect vital signs in several people at once, while they are moving. The drones could be deployed in nursing homes, on hospital wards and in war zones. One expert said it could be “game-changing”. The system detects movements in human faces and necks in order to accurately source heart and breathing rates. In trials, the drones took measurements from a distance…

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New Laser Defense System That Destroys Drones

September 27, 2017 theDroneInfo0 comment

Think of futuristic or sci-fi warfare and chances are a half-dozen movies featuring laser weapons come to mind. There’s something about bullets that just screams, so last century, right? American defense and aerospace company Lockheed Martin certainly thinks that’s the case, and they’re investing in a new laser defense system dubbed ATHENA or Advanced Test High Energy Asset to prove it. It uses nothing more than a good ol’ high-energy light beam to take down its targets, and in the clip below those targets are ten large unmanned drones. ATHENA’s…

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How drones will change the world in the next 5 years

September 26, 2017 theDroneInfo0 comment

The fast-growing global drone industry has not sat back waiting for government policy to be hammered out before pouring investment and effort into opening up this all-new hardware and computing market. A growing ecosystem of drone software and hardware vendors is already catering to a long list of clients in agriculture, land management, energy, and construction. Many of the vendors are smallish private companies and startups — although large defense-focused companies and industrial conglomerates are beginning to invest in drone technology, too. In a report from BI Intelligence, we take…

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The Marine Corps wants to 3D print cheaper drones

September 25, 2017 theDroneInfo0 comment

In three minutes, the Scout drone is assembled. One minute more, and it’s airborne, tossed by a Marine. The flight is short, maybe 20 minutes at the most, but the information gained is valuable, a real-time video of just who or what, exactly, is behind that building a mile down the road. With the area surveilled, the aptly-named Scout drone flies back, and suffers a rough landing, snapping a wing. No matter. The squad can print another back at company HQ after the mission, and have it ready to go…

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DJI drones are getting an offline mode for secret flights

September 14, 2017 theDroneInfo0 comment

Although the army did not elaborate on its memo, it’s thought the decision may have been spurred by DJI’s data collection. You see, the company’s DJI GO 4 app reportedly uploads details of flight records by default — including telemetry, video and audio — to its servers in the US, China and Hong Kong. It also doesn’t help that hackers have previously shown they can break into the app and fiddle with the drones’ flight elevation restrictions. For its part, DJI told The NY Times it hasn’t been in touch…

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Drones Helping Fight Pollution in a Massive Chinese Factory Town

September 6, 2017 theDroneInfo0 comment

Drones are regularly used in infrastructure inspections, agricultural monitoring, and safety and rescue operations. And not just in America; this is also the case in the Chinese city of Dongguan, revealingly known as the world’s factory for the amount of manufacturing that happens there. According to the Xinhua news agency, the amount of market entities (read: factories) registered in this city surpassed 900,000 earlier this year. Naturally, this makes it extremely difficult for environmental inspectors to observe all the factories in regards to safety standards and unlawful disposing of chemicals.…