Lifeboat Foundation

WASHINGTON (AP) — Holy drone, Batman! Mechanical masterminds have spawned the Bat Bot, a soaring, sweeping and diving robot that may eventually fly circles around other drones.

Because it mimics the unique and more flexible way bats fly, this 3-ounce prototype could do a better and safer job getting into disaster sites and scoping out construction zones than bulky drones with spinning rotors, said the three authors of a study released Wednesday in the journal Science Robotics. For example, it would have been ideal for going inside the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan, said study co-author Seth Hutchinson, an engineering professor at the University of Illinois.

The bat robot flaps its wings for better aerial maneuvers, glides to save energy and dive bombs when needed. Eventually, the researchers hope to have it perch upside down like the real thing, but that will have to wait for the robot’s sequel.

Overcoming the biggest obstacle for small drones.

Hmmm; Have a feeling the over crowed satellite junk problem in the upper atmosphere is nothing compared to what we see with this in the next 5 years as we look at Amazon, UPS, FedEx, USPS, PizzaHut, Dominos, Local delivery services via drone, EMS drone responders, comcast troubleshoot & repair drones, etc.

Description: Collision ‘only narrowly avoided’, Author: Linsey McNeill — TravelMole Media Group LLC, Publish Date: 27 January 2017, Image:, Category: Travel News.

And, the laws are slowly try to catch up to tech.

SANTA FE, N.M. (Jan. 27, 2017) – A bill introduced in the New Mexico Senate would limit the warrantless use of surveillance drones. The legislation would not only establish important privacy protections at the state level, it would also help thwart the federal surveillance state.

Sen. Gerald Ortiz y Pino (D-Albuquerque) introduced Senate Bill 167 (SB167) on Jan. 19. Titled The Freedom from Unwanted Surveillance Act, the legislation would prohibit federal, state and local law enforcement from using a drone with the intent to gather evidence on private property without a warrant in most cases.

Continue reading “New Mexico Bill Would Place Limits on Drones; Hinder Federal Surveillance Program” »

They could be used for guided pollination… or for surveillance.

Chinese EHANG 184 EHang Air Taxi. Watch the flight test of Ehang’s latest innovation.

Bullfights arouse strong feelings on both sides. Their aficionados see them as a place of near reverence, where animal and man engage in an athletic dance summoning the shadows of mankind’s struggles for both dominance over and stewardship of his natural counterparts. Opponents of the sport decry its violence and bloodshed, the unnecessary cruelty of what they see as a prolonged infliction of torture upon one of our planet’s fellow creatures. In 2012, Catalonia, the region of Spain that contains Barcelona, agreed more with the latter characterization than the former and banned the sport.

Draper combines navigation and neuromodulation to guide insects

CAMBRIDGE, MA – The smallest aerial drones mimic insects in many ways, but none can match the efficiency and maneuverability of the dragonfly. Now, engineers at Draper are creating a new kind of hybrid drone by combining miniaturized navigation, synthetic biology and neurotechnology to guide dragonfly insects. The system looks like a backpack for a dragonfly.

DragonflEye, an internal research and development project at Draper, is already showing promise as a way to guide the flightpath of dragonflies. Potential applications of the technologies underpinning DragonflEye include guided pollination, payload delivery, reconnaissance and even precision medicine and diagnostics.

Never ceases to amaze me what DARPA is up to these days.

Drones are everywhere these days – from using them to take elaborate selfies to launching missiles at military targets, delivering aid to war torn areas to imaging the deadly environment around lava lakes, they appear to be the multipurpose tool of the moment. Perhaps slightly strangely, then, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) wants drones to vanish into thin air. Specifically, they want drones that are biodegradable, able to fade away after completing their mission.