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Archive for the ‘drones’ category: Page 17

Sep 30, 2023

Autonomous Racing Drones Are Starting To Beat Human Pilots

Posted by in categories: drones, mapping, robotics/AI

Even with all the technological advancements in recent years, autonomous systems have never been able to keep up with top-level human racing drone pilots. However, it looks like that gap has been closed with Swift – an autonomous system developed by the University of Zurich’s Robotics and Perception Group.

Previous research projects have come close, but they relied on optical motion capture settings in a tightly controlled environment. In contrast, Swift is completely independent of remote inputs and utilizes only an onboard computer, IMU, and camera for real-time for navigation and control. It does however require a pretrained machine learning model for the specific track, which maps the drone’s estimated position/velocity/orientation directly to control inputs. The details of how the system works is well explained in the video after the break.

The paper linked above contains a few more interesting details. Swift was able to win 60% of the time, and it’s lap times were significantly more consistent than those of the human pilots. While human pilots were often faster on certain sections of the course, Swift was faster overall. It picked more efficient trajectories over multiple gates, where the human pilots seemed to plan one gate in advance at most. On the other hand human pilots could recover quickly from a minor crash, where Swift did not include crash recovery.

Sep 29, 2023

Autonomous drone could help end high-speed car chases in NY

Posted by in categories: drones, military, robotics/AI

The drone can travel at 45 miles an hour and read license plates from 800 feet away. It can be equipped with a speaker and a spotlight. Who needs a police car for a chase now?

A new high-tech autonomous drone, unveiled by California-based company Skydio, could help New York Police end high-speed car chases. The company which has supplied drones for both military and utility purposes, is working to use drones as first responders (DFR) for the police in the US.

A decade ago, Skydio began its journey as a company that provides athletes with a ‘follow-me-everywhere’ drone that could help shoot videos from the air while on the move. Three years ago, the company made a significant pivot as it looked… More.

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Sep 26, 2023

AtlasNEST plans to deploy drones to enhance airport security

Posted by in categories: drones, security, surveillance

The operations are based on an outdoor docking system that incorporates the firm’s AtlasPRO tricopter drones meant for surveillance.

Providing fool-proof security at airports proves to be challenging due to various logistical limitations, primarily due to its size, even though the airport security system is typically organized clearly and logically.

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Sep 24, 2023

A to-go lid from a cup holds the secret to creating a safer drone wing

Posted by in category: drones

Michelle Lee Photography/iStock.

The domes can be placed upside down, or in different directions. The purpose of these dome shaped designs is to give the drone a way to consider what dangerous conditions are like and react quickly to them.

Sep 23, 2023

Silent lightning: US develops EW drone swarms

Posted by in categories: climatology, drones, government, military, robotics/AI

The US has embarked on a program to develop electronic-warfare drone swarms, the latest in its multiple projects to master what could potentially be war-winning AI and drone technology, though with significant operational and strategic implications and risks.

This month, Breaking Defense reported that the US Navy is seeking industry and government agencies to participate in a July 2024 exercise called Silent Swarm 2024, which aims to demonstrate early-stage unmanned systems’ capabilities to fight on the electromagnetic battlefield.

Breaking Defense notes that the event, hosted by Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane, will showcase “swarming, small, attritable” unmanned systems capable of distributed electromagnetic attack, deception, and digital payload delivery, with the tech must be within readiness levels (TRL) two to five, with higher numbers indicating more advanced systems.

Sep 18, 2023

Autonomous eVTOL air taxi flown over Jerusalem by Israel

Posted by in categories: drones, robotics/AI

The 30-minute flight was operated by Dronery using Ehang’s EH216-S aircraft.

In a first, an eVTOL (Electric Vertical Take-off and Landing) aircraft flew over Jerusalem, which takes Israel to the verge of opening up its airspace to air taxi providers.

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Sep 15, 2023

Drones lead the way in real-time air quality checks

Posted by in categories: chemistry, drones, sustainability

Revolutionary ‘Lab-on-a-drone’ system detects airborne pollutants in real time.

In a significant stride towards better understanding and combating air pollution, researchers have unveiled an innovative “lab-on-a-drone” system. Published in the American Chemical Society’s journal, Analytical Chemistry.


Credit: Naypong/iStock.

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Sep 15, 2023

Meet the British Army’s new jet-propelled Hydra 400 drone

Posted by in categories: drones, security

The British Army has just showcased its next-generation, jet-propelled, heavy-lift Hydra 400 drone at this year’s DSEI conference in London.

The British Ministry of Defense (MoD) officially displayed its latest jet-propelled, heavy-lift drone at the Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI) conference at the ExCeL center in London this September (2023). Called the Hydra 400, the British Army stand also featured the drone’s Aether mothership. A pioneering new generation of heavy-lift drones using hybrid propulsion technology (rotors and jet engines), the Hydra 400 is compact and portable, can be transported on a regular pickup truck, and can be prepared for flight in six minutes. It… More.

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Sep 15, 2023

US state seeks to outlaw the use of armed robots

Posted by in categories: drones, law enforcement, military, robotics/AI

The US military and its contractors would be exempt.

Robots that are autonomous or semi-autonomous and carry weapons or offensive capabilities are often called armed robots. These robots can be employed in a variety of settings, including the military, law enforcement, industry, and security.

Today, many armed robots are controlled remotely by human operators who can keep a safe distance between themselves and the devices. This is particularly prevalent with military drones, as the operators control the aircraft and its weaponry from a distance, making the machines even more dangerous to civilians.

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Sep 13, 2023

Ghost-X drone’s AI capability enhances mission flexibility

Posted by in categories: drones, food, robotics/AI

The new UAV features increased payload capacity, flight time, and a long-range resilient communications kit.

Drones have become an irreplaceable piece of technology to carry out various essential activities in fields like construction, defense, aerial photography, marketing, delivery, agriculture, and rescue, among others.

Firms are making massive strides in improving their versions of drones to cater to more operational requirements. To that extent, US-based Andruil Industries’ popular Ghost drone will get an update that features increased payload and longer flying time. Ghost is classified as a group 2 UAV, as they weigh less than 55 lbs (24 kg) and operate below 3,500 feet.

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