By RACHAEL KING Farmers are starting to investigate the use of drones for a decidedly nonmilitary purpose: monitoring crops and spraying pesticides. As the spring growing season unfolds, universities already are working with agricultural groups to experiment with different types of unmanned aircraft outfitted with sensors and other technologies to measure and protect crop health. Oregon State University plans to...
Martin Kaste Americans are suspicious of drones. Reports of the unmanned aerial vehicles’ use in war zones have raised concerns about what they might do here at home. For instance, in Seattle earlier this year, a public outcry forced the police department to abandon plans for eye-in-the-sky UAV helicopters. The backlash worries Paul Applewhite, an aerospace engineer with 10 years of...
MARION, Ohio - A 7-pound remote control helicopter got stuck in the arms of a statue atop of the Marion County Courthouse. The Marion Star reported that Terry Cline, an independent visual communications producer, director and writer, was flying the camera-equipped drone to take pictures of the Marion County Courthouse for a special project. He told the paper that the drone...
Scout Exploration Inc. (OTCBB:SCXN) officials recommend the company’s air-deployed spill response system for responsible offshore development, operation, and advancing environmental protection, especially in the wake of a recent ban on offshore drilling licenses in Arctic waters. The Scout airborne system deploys from standard military, civilian, and coast guard aircraft to reach remote offshore spills hours or days before...
Last month, at a Congressional hearing, Sentator Patrick Leahy quoted an FAA prediction that there would be “as many as 30,000 small, lightweight unmanned vehicles operating in the national airspace by the end of this decade”. That was considered a lot. And he was talking about seven years from now. Guess what. There are more than 30,000 such small, lightweight drones...
Jens Manuel Krogstad AMES, IA. — Drones will one day dot Iowa’s skies, saving lives and improving the environment one unmanned flight at a time, dreamers at Iowa State University say. ISU students who showed off their creations last week on campus have good reason to believe this day will come sooner rather than later. The passion projects, created by...
New York, NY — Today Falkor Systems, Inc. announced the release of the “Pet Drone Pas de Deux,” a short collaborative dance piece produced in collaboration with Barkin/Selissen Project. The dance piece demonstrates Falkor’s autonomous flying robot technology, while also exploring our relationship with robots. In the future, humanity will develop strong relationships with their robots, relationships that could expand...
Josh Solomon | Medill News Service WASHINGTON — Thousands of unmanned aircraft systems – commonly known as drones – could be buzzing around in U.S. airspace by 2015 because of a law passed last year, aiding in police investigations, scientific research and border control, but also raising safety and privacy concerns among some lawmakers and advocacy groups. Already, drones are...
LaserMotive, an independent company specializing in delivering electric power via lasers, today unveiled InvisiTower, the world’s first tethered vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft system powered by laser over optical fiber. The new, portable system can power any multi-rotor helicopter indefinitely using laser power sent via fiber optic cable, enabling aircraft to stay in the air as long as...
By Jack Barnwell Even as one final deadline required by the Federal Aviation Administration to submit a final volume approaches to be considered a test and research site for unmanned aircraft systems, Cal UAS Portal’s project manager is keeping busy. Eileen Shibley, the Inyokern-based team’s leader, is finding doors open to her for a variety of meetings to explain...
