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CIA Created Dragonfly Drone in the 1970s!

January 6, 2018January 3, 2018 theDroneInfodrones0 comment

Biologically inspired drones may be seen more often in future UAVs, but it’s nothing new. The CIA created a nano-sized drone of their own back in the 1970s. At a time when the government required a miniature listening device, they invented a mechanical bumblebee. Their initial design was too difficult to control, so they ditched the idea and invented the Insectothopter, a mini dragonfly drone. The CIA found some success in their drone design, but it was never operational because of its problem with wind. Regardless, a nature inspired insect…

Commercial Drone Applications Top Drone News Stories

Agricultural Drones : From Detection to Diagnosis with Crop Mapping

January 5, 2018January 3, 2018 theDroneInfoagriculture, agriculture technology, drones0 comment

Data capture is near real-time and on demand with agricultural drones. There is not a remote sensing platform that is innately better at all things: satellites, manned aircraft, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) all fill a unique niche where they excel. Satellite data acquisition is nearly passive and allows for comparison of long-term trends. Manned aircraft are very cost-effective for larger acreages. UAVs (let’s just call them drones, shall we?) have as their key advantages: data capture is near real-time and on demand imagery can be extremely high resolution newest-generation…

Drones In The News Global Drone Regulations Top Drone News Stories

Social Media Used to Crack Down on Illegal Drone Use

January 3, 2018 theDroneInfodrone regulations, drones, Ireland0 comment

Illegal Drone Use Monitored on Social Media People flying drones illegally may be caught via social media. As the number of drones registered in Ireland is set to pass more than 10,000 next year, the public is reporting illegally-captured photos and videos posted on social media to the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA). There are strict rules governing drone use under the Small Unmanned Aircraft (Drones) and Rockets Order, which came into force at the end of 2015. The order requires all drones that weigh over 1kg to be registered with…

Drones In The News Top Drone News Stories

Seeing Government Uses, Pennsylvania County Vies for Federal Drone Project

January 3, 2018December 28, 2017 theDroneInfodrones, government regulation0 comment

(TNS) — With the speed of technology providing challenges to existing laws, the federal government is trying to get a handle on how to regulate the burgeoning billion-dollar drone industry. Berks County Commissioners Chairman Christian Y. Leinbach is pushing for local government entities and businesses in the region to play a part of helping decide how unmanned aircraft systems, known as UAS, will be used and overseen across the country. U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine L. Chao announced in October the details of the federal government’s UAS Integration Pilot Program,…

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Ballard launches next-generation fuel-cell system for drones

January 2, 2018December 28, 2017 theDroneInfoDrone Technology, drones, uav0 comment

Ballard Power Systems announced that the company has developed a next-generation fuel cell propulsion system to power unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or drones. Ballard has also received a follow-on contract from Insitu, a Boeing subsidiary, for extended durability testing of the 1.3-kW system to power test flights of its ScanEagle UAV platform. Ballard and Insitu have partnered over the past two years to integrate Ballard’s prior generation of fuel cell technology – a complete hydrogen power system for an unmanned fixed-wing and Vertical Take Off and Landing (VTOL) platforms –…

Quaternium Claims to Have Set a Drone Endurance Record

January 1, 2018December 28, 2017 theDroneInfodrone record, Drone Technology0 comment

Quaternium, a European company that designs and develops multi rotor drones, claims to have set the world record of endurance with a flight of 4 hours and 40 minutes with its HYBRiX.20 fuel-electric quadcopter. In a release they state that “this flight time beats any former demonstration ever made with an electric, hybrid of hydrogen multicopter.” This flight would be 4 minutes longer than one made by Skyfront. You can view their video demonstrating the flight time here. From the video it appears the drone simply hovered for the time…

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The Air Force Studied Falcons to Develop a Bio-Mimicking Drone Defense

December 30, 2017December 28, 2017 theDroneInfodefense, Drone Technology0 comment

Nature is full of keenly adapted predators, and one of the best animal hunters out there is the falcon. These skilled predators have been able to adapt to nearly every habitat on Earth, and have long been used by humans to hunt game from the sky. Now, the United States military thinks there’s even more to learn from these raptors. The US Air Force recently funded a study by Oxford University zoologists that aimed to understand how peregrine falcons hunt for prey, and to model their predatory behavior into bio-mimicking…

New Drone Technology Top Drone News Stories

China creates artificial rain with drones for first time

December 29, 2017December 28, 2017 theDroneInfoChina, Drone Technology0 comment

China has successfully created artificial rain using drones for the first time. Performed by Shaanxi Zhongtian Rocket Technology Company, the operation aims to perform cloud seeding to trigger precipitation under complex weather conditions. This operation highlights the potential for drone technology to be used in future rain enhancement operations, according to thepaper.cn. It is reported that the drone has an effective flight time of 125 to 250 minutes with a maximum payload of 50 kilograms. The unmanned aerial vehicle can be monitored and controlled in real-time from operators on the…

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Got a Drone for the Holidays? It May Cost You Jail Time.

December 29, 2017 theDroneInfo0 comment

Did you find a drone under your Christmas tree this year? Launch it in certain areas and you could end up paying a fine or even land in jail. Earnest Lovely tried to launch his drone for the first time, but his Christmas gift isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. “I kept trying to get up and unknowingly my drone kept telling me I’m in a no fly zone,” he said. It’s a good thing that his drone stayed on the ground. Otherwise, Lovely would have violated temporary flight restrictions in…

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New Drone Owners Urged to Read Drone Rules before Flying This Christmas

December 13, 2017 theDroneInfodrone regulations, FAA Drone Regulations, FAA Regulations, hobbyist drone rules0 comment

AS drones become increasingly popular and with many of the unmanned aircrafts tipped to land under the Christmas tree this year, authorities are urging those lucky enough to receive one to steer well clear of hospitals. Queensland Health has launched a new digital campaign reminding families that all hospitals are “drone-free zones”. The rules are clear – drones are not to be flown within a five kilometre radius of any hospital. Those who break the rules could be hit with a hefty fine, as high as $10,000 depending on the…