#DroneNewz

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Drone racing: First Person View (FPV)

At an abandoned warehouse in Melbourne's west, about 30 drone racers have spent hours custom building their multi-rotor machines and fitting them with onboard cameras. Known as FPV racing - or first person view - the racers use special goggles, some held together with gaffer tape, giving them a drone's-eye view. Read more: http://ab.co/1B3Digm | via Lateline's Jason Om Click to Post

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Its cabbages like this who are going to ruin our hobby

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Let's Make a Micro FrankenQuad - Nano QX FPV into a Parrot Rolling Spider Frame

Hit SUBSCRIBE if you love micro frankendrones. Let's transfer all the electronics, and FPV gear from one micro drone into the frame of another. Click to Post

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India seeks US Predator drones to counter Chinese threat

Hugh Tomlinson, Wajahat S Khan The sale of 22 unarmed drones would be worth about $2 billionU.S. Air Force/Tech. Sgt. Effrain Lopez/Reuters President Trump is expected to authorise the sale of Predator drones to India as the two allies grow increasingly concerned by Chinese military expansion. Mr Trump and Narendra Modi, the Indian prime minister, will meet in person for the first time today and will discuss combating terrorism and closer co-operation in the Asia-Pacific region. Both governments have stressed that Mr Modi’s two-day visit to Washington will have none of the pomp of his visits under President Obama, with whom he shared a strong relationship. The sale of 22 unarmed drones would be worth about $2 billion (£1.6 billion). They are expected to be used for surveillance over the Indian Ocean, particularly for tracking Chinese nuclear submarines, a growing presence in the region. Senior officials in… Want to read more? Register with a few details to continue reading this article. Already a subscriber? Login Click to Post

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Drones to be deployed in offices as night watchmen

TOKYO -- Intruders beware. Three companies are teaming up to launch a nighttime drone patrol service for offices later this year.  T-Frend, a drone-based monitoring service, is the creation of Taisei, a Nagoya-based office building operator, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone East (NTT East), and Tokyo-based drone startup Blue Innovation. Actual in-office operations will be handled by Taisei with NTT East charged with building a fast, high-capacity network. Blue Innovation is providing hardware and automatic flight control systems. Like night watchmen, drones will do the rounds in offices after working hours, flying down halls periodically to keep an eye on things. They will record video that is transmitted to the cloud via NTT East's communication services. Building administrators can monitor drone flights in real time or review recorded video later. Blue Innovation has developed an autonomous flight control system that does not require global positioning technology. Navigation is controlled through infrared sensors that measure the distance from floors and imaging sensors that can detect obstacles. The drones will be designed to stay at a certain height so that documents will not be blown away by wind from propellers. Taisei is an office building operator that provides cleaning, security and maintenance services on a contract basis. In general, night patrols by security guards have been limited to common areas, such as lobbies and elevator halls. However, a growing number of companies demand night patrols of inside offices to prevent former employees from leaking information to rival companies. According to Taisei Director Norihiro Kato, many companies are wary about hiring third-party security guards while employees generally do not like to be the focus of security cameras. The company aims to satisfy both by building a system that employs drones only after working hours. Taisei expects T-Frend to also help reduce long overtime. For example, while doing their rounds, drones can use embedded speakers to urge employees still at the office to go home. "Drone-based monitoring services are more effective than public-address systems," said Kato. "Security guards will no longer need to tell each and every employee to go home." The planned monthly fees of several hundreds of thousand yen "will be cheaper than hiring security guards," according to Kato. Taisei also hopes to provide T-Frend to commercial facilities and distribution warehouses. Click to Post

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Drones Showcased as Part of Changing Face of Agriculture - KLEW

ASOTIN, WA — On Thursday the Asotin County Conservation District hosted a workshop on weeds and different varieties of wheat. The all-day event was put on with help from Washington State University’s Asotin County Extension. Experts discussed toxic and invasive weeds, and how to maintain a healthy crop. Brock Lipple of Click to Post

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More efficient and safer: How drones are changing the workplace - Robohub

Photo credit: Pierre-Yves Guernier Technology-driven automation plays a critical role in the global economy, and its visibility in our lives is growing. As technology impacts more and more jobs, individuals and enterprises find themselves wondering what effect the current wave of automation will have on their future economic prospects. Click to Post

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Drones Use Wi-Fi to 3D Map Hidden Objects - PCMag

Drones are already playing a part in helping search and rescue teams assess areas that are dangerous for humans to enter. But researchers at UC Santa Barbara believe they can be made even more useful by allowing them to see through solid walls. You'd expect such a feat to require Click to Post

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This Country Is Using Drones to Save Thousands of Lives—Here's How - Reader's Digest

Dmitry Kalinovsky/ShutterstockThe use of drones tends to be a contentious subject. These miniature unmanned aircrafts often make the news for causing neighborhood spats and even legal drama. But one company saw the major potential that this technology has to do some good. Zipline, a robotics company based in Silicon Valley, California, has created drones that deliver blood to remote medical facilities in Rwanda. In the East African country, many health centers are in very remote locations, and rugged hills and dirt roads make traveling by vehicle difficult and time-consuming. When staffers at Kabgayi District Hospital needed blood for transfusions, it used to take them three to four hours to get to and from the national hospital in the capital, Kigali. Now, thanks to Zipline’s amazing technology, medical personnel can request a unit of blood and have it delivered within 15 minutes. The service is currently delivering blood to seven medical facilities throughout Rwanda, with plans to expand to a total of 21. The drones are designed to resist bad weather, and they are programmed to drop their payloads within five meters of a certain spot to ensure that no supplies are lost on the way. In addition to surgical patients, the blood will also help mothers in childbirth and children suffering from malaria. Learn about another amazing robot that’s changing the medicine world. The idea was the brainchild of William Hetzler and Keenan Wyrobek, the cofounders of Zipline. After Zipline (then called Romotive) became well-known for creating a virtual robotic pet called Romo, its CEO and cofounders began searching for a way to have a greater social impact. In 2014, Hetzler and Wyrobeck traveled to Rwanda’s neighbor, Tanzania, where they were struck by all of the preventable medical tragedies they encountered. “The obvious missing piece was a way to very rapidly respond… and get the product into a place where it isn’t otherwise readily accessible,” said Hetzler. He and Wyrobek decided to set up their first launch site near the Rwandan town of Muhanga. In late 2016, their first drone deliveries were made. Because Rwanda is so densely populated, the drones can reach nearly half of its 11.6 million people from a single launch site. Zipline plans on adding a second site that will allow the drones to cover almost the entire nation. They are also planning to expand to other nations, both near and far. They already have an agreement with Tanzania’s Ministry of Defense. In the future, they hope to operate within in the United States as well. The drones are currently only delivering blood and some of its components such as platelets and plasma. Zipline plans to expand its service and deliver other important items like vaccines and diagnostic test kits. Here are 10 myths about vaccines, debunked. Espoir Kajibwami, a surgeon at Kabgayi Hospital, says that the drone service has already made a noticeable difference. “Before, it was a serious problem to have blood when we needed it,” he says. Reflecting on a specific time when Zipline’s blood helped him save a woman who was having complications with a surgery, he said that “it would have been very difficult to manage it” without the blood’s quick arrival. Here are 12 tips for your next hospital visit. Source: MIT Technology Review Click to Post

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Drone Expert: Drones Will 'Achieve Superiority' over Manned Warplanes - Breitbart News

AP/Kirsty Wigglesworth by Charlie Nash22 Jun 20170 22 Jun, 201722 Jun, 2017

A professor and drone expert has claimed that drones will “eventually achieve superiority” over manned aircraft, as skirmishes between the two continue to increase.

“UAVs will eventually achieve superiority,” predicted University of Texas at Austin Professor Todd Humphreys. “They’ll pull Gs far beyond what a human can withstand, and they’ll react so quickly and coordinate among themselves so effectively that it’ll be the manned fighter aircraft that become the sitting ducks.” “I suppose the transition to UAVs being superior in dogfights will happen sometime in the next 20 years,” he declared. Though Humphreys is confident that drones will soon takeover their manned counterparts, he added that they are currently inferior. “Current military UAVs, including those in the US arsenal and the Iranian Shahed that was recently shot down, look like sitting ducks to a manned fighter aircraft,” Humphreys claimed. The prediction that drones will overtake manned aircraft within the next twenty years follows a number of recent incidents where military drones were shot out of the sky. “On June 8, a US Air Force F-15E manned fighter jet intercepted and shot down an Iranian-made Shahed-129 armed drone that had just attacked US-allied fighters in southern Syria. It was unclear who — Iran, the Syrian regime, or some pro-regime, Iran-backed militia — was operating the Shahed drone,” reported Motherboard on Wednesday. “Two weeks later, on June 20, an American F-15E destroyed another armed Shahed-129 as it flew toward pro-US fighters in the same area where the previous Shahed had gone down. The very same day, a Pakistani JF-17 manned fighter destroyed an unspecified Iranian drone as it reportedly flew on Pakistan’s side of its border with Iran.” “In the spring of 1999, a Serbian Mi-8 transport helicopter flew alongside a US Air Force Predator drone surveilling Kosovo during the NATO intervention in that country. The door gunner on the Serbian copter opened fire, destroying the American drone,” they continued. “Three years later, in December 2002, an Iraqi MiG-25 fighter intercepted a US Predator drone spying on southern Iraq. The Americans had outfitted the Predator with air-to-air missiles for self-defense, but the MiG-25 was faster and its weapons traveled farther. Both aircraft fired missiles. The MiG dodged but the slow-moving Predator went down in flames.” In March, the Commander of the U.S. Strategic Command warned that drones pose a “growing threat” to nuclear facilities, while this month a North Korean drone allegedly spied on a U.S. missile defense base in South Korea, before crashing nearby. In April, it was reported that the U.S. Army had field-tested vehicle-mounted anti-drone lasers, an effort prompted by ISIS’ use of spying, propaganda, and explosive drones. Charlie Nash is a reporter for Breitbart Tech. You can follow him on Twitter @MrNashington or like his page at Facebook. Click to Post

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Goondu review: DJI Spark punches above its weight

Imaging

DJI Spark drone. PHOTO: Handout There are times when you wish you could really extend out your selfie sticks perhaps a little further to capture more of the background. Perhaps even get a “higher” perspective of things and take a shot from above the trees. A camera-equipped drone has make all this possible but drones that are capable of shooting good quality images are often expensive and usually so difficult to fly. With the recently launched Spark, however, China’s drone maker DJI wants to make flying with your camera easy and affordable enough for even total novices.

DJI Spark drone. PHOTO: Handout I got hold of the the US$539.00 (S$747.00) DJI Spark drone recently. It is touted as a selfie drone that can be controlled by anyone who does not have any experience with a drone. By using simple gestures in Gesture Mode, it provides the best way to help new owners control their drones. To enter into Gesture Mode, switch on the drone, point the camera at your face, double click the on/off button at the back and allow the drone to recognise you. If successful, the drone will automatically power up and hover once it is released. Once it is in the air, just put a hand out with your palm facing the drone and you can drag it in whatever direction you want. Wave your hand and it flies upwards to get a wider frame and then take a shot when you form a square with your fingers in front of your face. The drone returns to your vicinity if you make a “Y” shape gesture with your arms. It lands right on your palm when you place your hand under the drone. I am certainly impressed with this simplicity.

Just a make a simple square shape with your thumbs and index fingers and the drone will snap a selfie for you. Yes, a selfie stick can’t reach that far. PHOTO: Wilson Wong

It was fun trying to do all sorts of thing when the drone is in charge of taking your photo. PHOTO: Wilson Wong To help beginners, the Spark has a sophisticated obstacle avoidance system much like the rear bumper sensors of a car. When the drone senses an obstacle in front of it, it will come to a stop. Very safe, indeed! For more experienced fliers, the Spark is still a fun drone to have. You can fly the Spark using the mobile phone with the on-screen controls but the flying range of the drone largely depends on the relatively short Wi-Fi link between the phone and the drone.

The controller is very similar with the DJI Mavic Pro’s version, save for the Display Panel that shows all the important information during flight. The lack of the display means you have to rely on your smartphone which will be clamped between the two arms just below the controls. PHOTO: Wilson Wong I would highly recommend the use of the controller that comes with the “Fly More” Package at US$749.00 (S$1038.00) so the range could be extended to as far as 2km. Flick the Sports Mode switch on the controller and the speed of the Spark is also bumped up to 50km/h and it becomes more maneuverable as well. The package also comes with extra battery, a multiple battery charger and an extra set of propellers so you can enjoy flying longer.

A bird’s eye view of the world below. This would be perfect when you are standing in the midst of a sea of flowers. PHOTO: Wilson Wong Like with all sophisticated machines, the DJI Spark did take a bit of a time for me to understand and set up. The instructions and safety notifications are in separate booklets so there is a bit of reading to do. For first-time owners, even switching on and off the drone takes some practice, not to mention pairing the drone and the phone to the remote controller. One thing that DJI should make clearer is the fact that a mobile device must be connected to shoot a video. The gesture mode can only help you take still photos and at a distance of about 3 meters away. Anything further and you’d need the smartphone app to control things.

This is a panoramic shot taken by the drone. It is from a number of photos merged together and edited in Adobe Lightroom. All the shots are taken automatically by the drone up in the air. PHOTO: Wilson Wong Speaking of photos and videos, images produced by the 12-megapixel camera are pretty sharp and stable thanks to the 2-axis micro gimbal that the camera is mounted on. Even though the video footage is shot only at a resolution of 1080p at 30 frames per second, it is still great for videos for sharing on social media. It exceeds all expectations that such a small camera can have a capable miniaturised stabilisation system. To make things even easier, the DJI Spark has video capture flying modes much like the Scene Modes on consumer cameras. This means you get great results by selecting the mode that suits the occasion. There are four modes, Rocket that shoots way up, Dronie that pulls away from you and reveals the background, Circle that goes around you and lastly Helix, a complicated move that has the drone flying around you and rising in the air simultaneously . The drone can also follow you through a mode called ActiveTrack and Tapfly. Poke at a location on screen and the drone would follow your instructions. Without these modes, it might take days for a new pilot to hone the skills needed to pull such stunts. Now, you can accomplish them with just a push of a button.

Another panoramic shot of Sungei Punggol at sunset. PHOTO: Wilson Wong DJI has make it a point to force users to register their drones before the limitations placed on the drones are lifted. I have to register the drone and download the latest firmware before I can fly the drone freely (see details here). Without that, live camera streaming will be disabled, and flight will be limited to a 50m radius up to 30m high. This is definitely a move towards the right direction to force users to be more responsible. I have yet to put a lot of serious hours into flying the drone but for someone who is not a frequent flier, the DJI Spark makes it simple for me to pick things up. It may not be as straightforward for a complete beginner but once you get the hang of it, shooting photos and videos will be easy. For the drone to be so small, something has to give and the size of the battery takes a hit. With a maximum capacity of 1,480mAh, the drone has a maximum flight time of only 16 minutes. My actual flight time in a windy coastal area such as Punggol was about 10 minutes. It may seem short but once I have a video footage in mind, I can easily record 4-5 videos once it is up in the air. So, do plan before take-off. There are a lot of comparisons of Spark with its larger sibling, the DJI Mavic Pro. Just by specifications alone, the Mavic Pro with its 3-axis gimbal, 4K video capture and longer flying time will definitely win hands-down. However, it comes at a much higher price of US$1,059.00 (S$1,467.00) and a controller. For what the Spark is designed to do, it is punching way above its weight class. And we must remember too that the Spark comes in a size no larger than a hardcover novel and costs about the same as a high-end compact camera! Click to Post

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Intel is bringing 5G, drones, and VR to the Olympics in 2018 - Mashable

Intel CEO Brian Krzanich showing off one of his Shooting Star drones.Image: lance ulanoff/mashable

By Lance Ulanoff2017-06-21 14:10:41 -0400 The next Olympic Games are gonna be lit... with technology. Intel, which became an official Olympic Partner on Wednesday (and makes most of the CPUs inside today's PCs and all of them on Macs), promises to bring a wide array of cutting-edge technology to the Olympic games, beginning with the upcoming 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said during a press conference that adding Intel to the membership committee is part of the Olympics' new reform program and a way to thrust the games into the digital age.  "People are living digital lives," said Bach. "We have to go where they are in their digital reality, not just watching and following the Olympic games, but being a part of it." The tech giant plans to bathe the Olympic village with 5G connectivity that, according to Intel CEO Brian Krzanich who spoke at the announcement, "will deliver diverse content to broadcasts" and connect those inside the Olympics games with fans around the world. As proof of concept, Intel lit up its own headquarters in Santa Clara, California, with 5G and transmitted sharp, clear video directly from its campus to the launch event.

Krzanich (left) and IOC president Thomas Bach sign the paperwork to become official partners.Image: lance ulanoff/mashableKrzanich believes the Olympics are a perfect proving ground for 5G.  "The Olympic games are great examples of connecting millions of fans at home with millions of things at the games," he said.   Drones will, naturally, also play a significant role at the games where they'll be used for entertainment and to observe and measure athletic performance. Sports and drones don't always mix. In 2015, a drone almost hit a World Cup Skier. However, Yiannis Exarchos, CEO of Olympic Broadcasting Services, said IOC broadcast partners have been using drones to broadcast the Olympics since Sochi and Rio and that they have plans to do so again in  PyeongChang.

Intel's live 5G demo featuring Olympian Kerri Walsh (center).Image: Lance Ulanoff/Mashable"Safety is the priority," Exarchos, who added that they will use drones to cover sporting events, "as long as athletes are comfortable." Sports fans are already familiar with the Intel drone's entertainment capabilities. The company's lightweight Shooting Star drones, which organized themselves into a floating American Flag during Lady Gaga's Super Bowl halftime performance in Fedruary, almost stole the show. Intel's Krzanich said that a single pilot can control 500 of these drones and that each one can reproduce billions of colors. Expect more eye-popping drone light displays at the upcoming games, as well as drone video and data.

IOC President Thomas Bach (right) samples Intel's immersive 360 VR.Image: lance ulanoff/mashableThe IOC and Intel also plan to transport Olympic spectators to the games and inside the events through virtual reality and 360-degree immersive VR. Krzanich expects the technology to be used in events such as ski jumping and figure skating. It will give spectators "a prime seat without being there," said Krzanich. For now, Intel's Olympic VR aspirations support Samsung's Gear VR and other Android-phone-based VR headsets like Google Daydream. Krzanich said they plan to add at least one tethered VR system (like Oculus and HTC Vive) but "there's a debate about which is the one with the biggest footprint." The IOC's Bach said the mandate for the IOC is to be as open as can be. "I'm pleased that Intel has a very open approach to platforms. It's very inclusive as opposed to exclusive."

Bonus: eSports in Olympic Games?

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GE mixing drones and artificial intelligence in Niskayuna - Albany Times Union

Photo: John Carl D'Annibale, Albany Times Union Image 1of/6 Caption Close Image 1 of 6 Director of robotics at GE Global Research looks over his team's Euclid aerial inspection system autonomous drone Tuesday June 20, 2017 in Niskayuna, NY. (John Carl D'Annibale / Times Union) Director of robotics at GE Global Research looks over his team's Euclid aerial inspection system autonomous drone Tuesday June 20, 2017 in Niskayuna, NY. (John Carl D'Annibale / Times Union) Photo: John Carl D'Annibale, Albany Times Union Image 2 of 6 GE Global Research advanced robotics' Euclid aerial inspection system autonomous drone during a test flight Tuesday June 20, 2017 in Niskayuna, NY. (John Carl D'Annibale / Times Union) GE Global Research advanced robotics' Euclid aerial inspection system autonomous drone during a test flight Tuesday June 20, 2017 in Niskayuna, NY. (John Carl D'Annibale / Times Union) Photo: John Carl D'Annibale, Albany Times Union Image 3 of 6 GE Global Research advanced robotics team members Shiraj Sen, left, and Judy Guzzo position their Euclid aerial inspection system autonomous drone for a test flight Tuesday June 20, 2017 in Niskayuna, NY. (John Carl D'Annibale / Times Union) less GE Global Research advanced robotics team members Shiraj Sen, left, and Judy Guzzo position their Euclid aerial inspection system autonomous drone for a test flight Tuesday June 20, 2017 in Niskayuna, NY. ... more Photo: John Carl D'Annibale, Albany Times Union Image 4 of 6 GE Global Research lead research scientist Arpit Jain monitors a test flight of their Euclid aerial inspection system autonomous drone Tuesday June 20, 2017 in Niskayuna, NY. (John Carl D'Annibale / Times Union) less GE Global Research lead research scientist Arpit Jain monitors a test flight of their Euclid aerial inspection system autonomous drone Tuesday June 20, 2017 in Niskayuna, NY. (John Carl D'Annibale / Times ... more Photo: John Carl D'Annibale, Albany Times Union Image 5 of 6 Pilot in command Doug Forman monitors GE Global Research's Euclid aerial inspection system autonomous drone during a test flight Tuesday June 20, 2017 in Niskayuna, NY. (John Carl D'Annibale / Times Union) Pilot in command Doug Forman monitors GE Global Research's Euclid aerial inspection system autonomous drone during a test flight Tuesday June 20, 2017 in Niskayuna, NY. (John Carl D'Annibale / Times Union) Photo: John Carl D'Annibale, Albany Times Union Image 6 of 6 Members of GE Global Research advanced robotics team pose with their Euclid aerial inspection system autonomous drone Tuesday June 20, 2017 in Niskayuna, NY. (John Carl D'Annibale / Times Union) Members of GE Global Research advanced robotics team pose with their Euclid aerial inspection system autonomous drone Tuesday June 20, 2017 in Niskayuna, NY. (John Carl D'Annibale / Times Union) Photo: John Carl D'Annibale, Albany Times Union GE mixing drones and artificial intelligence in Niskayuna Back to Gallery Niskayuna In a picnic area at General Electric Co.'s Global Research Center, a group of scientists and engineers are working on a new industrial revolution that will involve robots, drones and artificial intelligence. GE has been developing robot and artificial intelligence technologies for many years now. But these researchers in Niskayuna are part of GE's latest effort to monetize that technology with the launch of Avitas Systems, a new GE-created company being incubated in Boston with help from scientists here in the Capital Region. Avitas is creating technologies that will be artificial intelligence, or AI, combined with robots and predictive data analytics and software to provide high-tech inspection services to energy and transportation companies. On Tuesday, a team supervised by John Lizzi, director of robotics at GE Global Research, and Judy Guzzo, a project leader, were performing drone testing on a simulated oil rig flare stack. "Really the concept for the business and the technology came out of the Global Research Center here," Lizzi said. "We've been experimenting with drones and other types of robotics for a while. Eventually that gained momentum as a real business opportunity." Currently, oil and gas companies use human workers hooked onto harnesses to inspect flare stacks for wear and damage. The inspections are dangerous and require the drilling companies to temporarily pause their operations, costing them valuable time away from drilling. GE's drone technology being offered by Avitas eliminates all of that human work that is so costly and dangerous. And GE's software creates so-called digital twins of industrial equipment that can predict when the actual equipment will break down or need servicing. The technology is currently being targeted for customers of GE's oil and gas business. Guzzo spent two months in the Gulf of Mexico on an oil rig a year ago testing sensor technology that is also used by Avitas. "Unplanned asset downtime is a top issue for the oil and gas industry, and can cost operators millions of dollars," Kishore Sundararajan, the chief  technology officer of GE Oil & Gas, said. "Avitas Systems will help enhance the efficiency of inspections, and can help our customers and others avoid significant costs by reducing downtime and increasing safety." Click to Post

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The Google-Funded Drones That Hunt Illegal Hunters

When the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) wanted to fight animal poachers–illegal hunters of wildlife–they decided to bring in an unorthodox weapon: Drones. But these drones were different from the killer Predators of public imagination. Instead, they were unarmed, superlightweight, and users launch them by throwing them into the air–in fact, they are heavily modified model aircraft. After negotiations, Nepal was chosen as a pilot site for the wildlife drones. First launched in mid-2012, the WWF drones offered a new, experimental method of stopping poachers. advertisement Now, wildlife-protecting drones are coming to the rest of the world. Last week, Google announced they would help the WWF purchase African and Asian poacher-seeking UAVs. As part of Google’s 2012 Global Impact Awards program, the WWF received $5 million to buy similar unarmed drones to watch and track African wildlife poachers. “We want to use integrated technologies to create a protective umbrella around ,” says Crawford Allan of TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network. TRAFFIC is a joint project of the WWF and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature dedicated to monitoring illegal trade in plants and animals. Alongside drones, the WWF is experimenting with using a number of other high-tech tools such as night-vision cameras, heat imagery systems, and GPS tagging of animals in poacher-infested zones. In a conversation with Fast Company, Allan noted the importance of poachers feeling that they are “watched and monitored.” More importantly, later versions of anti-poacher drones can integrate GPS-tagged animals and ground-based analytical databases and algorithms to generate predictive analytics of where poachers will operate. Although these capabilities are not currently available–both the African and Nepalese drones are relatively simple, early-generation affairs–they are within easy technological reach over the next few years. Another future technology being considered by the WWF are portable cell phone towers for use in national parks participating in UAV programs. These would benefit nearby residents while offering easy triangulation of both animals and poachers for the unarmed aircraft. One thing that isn’t known is where the new African and Asian anti-poacher UAVs will be deployed. In conversation with the WWF, the organization noted that logistical and legal issues such as U.S. export laws would affect where the UAVs are placed. The WWF also wants to find optimal environments and ecosystems for the unarmed drones to operate in. In Nepal, the country’s military and park rangers operate their test drone fleet, which uses GPS-enabled FPVRaptors equipped with cameras. Each drone is equipped with still and video capabilities, can fly a pre-programmed route of approximately 16 miles, and can fly for up to 50 minutes. The UAVs are launched by hand; apart from animal poachers, the aircraft are also used to scout out illegal loggers. Each UAV costs approximately $2,500 and the drones operate in Chitwan National Park, which is home to a large Bengal Tiger, leopard, and rhinoceros population. advertisement “Nepal is committed to stopping wildlife crime, which is robbing Nepal of its natural resources, putting the lives of rangers and local communities at risk, and feeding into global criminal networks Technologies like these non-lethal UAVs could give our park rangers a vital advantage against dangerously armed poachers,” said Gen. Krishna Acharya of Nepal’s Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation in a press release. The small size and quiet motor of the drones is beneficial from the point of view of Nepalese authorities. Unlike helicopters, small UAVs are inconspicuous and blend into the landscape. Poachers are frequently armed, and the relatively cheap cost of UAVs means that rangers can afford to have a few shot out of the air. UAVs can also easily access mountainous or inaccessible areas. Once poachers are spotted, satellite coordinates are sent to on-the-ground law enforcement and military units, who can them intercept the poachers. The WWF notes that safety precautions are taken by the ground operators of the UAV, even though the aircraft itself is unarmed. While Google and the WWF are deploying drones in Nepal and Africa to stop poachers, the idea of using UAVs for wildlife monitoring is nothing new. Here in the United States, researchers have done proof of concept projects in monitoring bird populations with drones. As FAA regulations evolve stateside, scientists and law enforcement alike are interested in the monitoring capabilities offered by lightweight, unarmed drones. In the meantime, we will be hearing more and more about UAVs with novel purposes such as stopping wildlife poachers. Click to Post

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DRL's

11:05 AM ET Jawz is coming to a TV screen near you. This isn't a shark we're talking about here, folks. This is a professional drone racer. Yes, you can now make a living by flying drones. And it looks pretty darn fun, too. You'll meet Jawz and his 15 fellow pilots in the first episode of Season 2 of the Drone Racing League, airing at 8 p.m. ET on Tuesday (on ESPN2). But Jawz will probably be the fan favorite. That's because he won a video game contest to earn his spot in DRL, something we all can relate to. "Everybody wants to be on DRL, it looks amazing," he said. "So as soon as I heard that they were doing the Bud Light tryout competition, before it had even started with the simulator I was like, 'That's my way in.' I wasn't really a big name or anything, I don't do too much social media. This was my way to get on the show." Anyone could download DRL's racing simulator onto their computer and enter the competition - according to DRL, 100,000 people downloaded it in the first three months it was available. The top 24 finishers advanced to the Bud Light 2017 Tryouts in New York City, where Jawz -- aka Jacob Schneider, 30, of Zionsville, Indiana -- eventually rose above the rest of the field, earning a $75,000 professional contract from DRL in addition to a berth in this year's main event. "He basically went from a gamer to a pilot in just a couple of weeks," said DRL founder and CEO Nick Horbaczewski. "And it's one of the fun things about this sport, it sort of crosses this blurry line between the digital and the real. We've got this guy playing a video game, he wins a video game tournament, and now he's traveling around the world flying real drones." This season consists of four preliminary races scattered across the United States, starting with "Miami Lights." Each episode/course has a theme. The top 12 pilots advance to a semifinal round in Munich, Germany, and the best eight move on to the Allianz World Championship in London. Season 2 also features a new, higher-powered version of the DRL drone, the Racer3, plus 10 rookie pilots who'll be going up against six veterans from Season 1, including last year's champ, Jet. Jacob "Jawz" Schneider maneuvers his drone in DRL competition. Pilots view and react to a real-time video feed from a drone-mounted camera through their racing goggles. Drone Racing League"We find the pilots through a variety of means," Horbaczewski said. "The majority of the pilots, we basically scout them. We go out and we scour the world for incredibly talented pilots, and we hear about them through other pilots, we see them fly at other events, we check out their YouTube pages where they're posting videos of them flying. So we'll identify people we think are exceptionally talented and we'll recruit them into the league." And it's a pretty interesting collection of people, too. "In 2016 we had pilots from eight countries," Horbaczewski said. "We have people from all different backgrounds. There's software engineers at Google, there's people who come from the world of motorcycle racing, or car racing, downhill ski racing. "It's an incredibly diverse group that came from all over the world, they're all different ages. We've had pilots in their 40s in the league, we have pilots who are still in college. I think it's one of the fun things about this sport -- that people of different ages, different physical ability levels, can compete side by side, and are incredibly passionate about it." Jawz's passion developed from watching other pilots' videos on YouTube, which led him to buy a drone and fly it himself. But then he gave that up for a while. "For like three months coming into the Bud Light tryout competition, I actually stopped flying my real drone and was just playing the simulator all the time," he said. "It felt really good, but every drone is different, so in the simulator the drone feels different than other drones. So I just wanted to be tuned into that drone." The practice clearly paid off. But Jawz has a lot to prove. After all, there's a difference between playing a video game and flying a real FPV (first-person view) quadcopter drone. He was a freelance data harvester/extractor before winning the tryout competition. And his nickname doesn't stem from being shark-like, let's put it that way. "Back in the '90s when my mom was making my AOL account, she took my initials which are JAS, and she just threw in the 'w,'" he said. "And I haven't thought of anything else since then. Eventually I changed to a 'z,' I thought it sounded a little bit cooler." Jawz has already proven that he is cool under fire, though, winning in New York, which bodes well for him going forward. "What we've discovered is, there's a difference between being a really talented pilot, and being a really talented pilot when the bright lights are on you and the pressure is on, and you have to win in that moment," Horbaczewski said. "We've discovered that the champions -- the people who are winning in our league -- are people who are not only great pilots, but they're performance athletes. They're people who can operate under pressure every time, and that's the class of pilots that's emerging now that's really changing the sport." Click to Post

[dronenewz-blog]

Students learn how to program and fly drones

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (WEAU)-- Each summer the Eau Claire Area School District provides opportunities for students to participate in unique discovery summer school classes. One of the newest and most popular classes offered this year teaches students how to program and fly drones. On Monday, middle school students got some hands-on experience flying drones high above Northstar Middle School. "We come out, they do a little flight simulation inside first so they can get used to the controller, and the drones we have, the DGI Phantoms, they're really good about that. We talk about some of the legalities, being neighbor friendly with drones, some of those things are our biggest perception," said Tim Camlek, Art GIS Mapping and Drones teacher The drone class started Monday morning and will run from 9 to 11:45 a.m. through Thursday. Click to Post