Open source drones offer many opportunities, using drones to make a quiet place, US Army trials ground-vehicle drone launches, a Canadian drone membership program, New York law enforcement drones, tern tracking with a Phantom, cleaning up dog poop, a flapping wing UAV, some DJI drones are now government approved, air-to-air refueling.
DroneAnalyst David Benowitz says “There are two key elements driving the push for open-source drones…” particularly in America: “geopolitical tensions between the US and China and the search for a true DJI competitor.” According to DroneAnalyst estimates, drones built around open source technologies account for 16% of all commercial drones sold, but more than 60% of all non-DJI drones sold. See also, What Will DoD Do About Open Source Drones?
Under this patent, networked drones with speakers could be used to cancel ambient noise in real-time, creating a “mobile quiet-zone.”
Ground vehicles such as the DAGOR ultra-light tactical vehicle could become a mobile base to launch drones, such as the ALTIUS-600. The Future Vertical Lift Cross-Functional Team’s Twitter account posted a photo stating, “#EDGE21 the ultimate soldier touch point.” Edge 21 is the Experimental Demonstration Gateway Exercise.
COPA, the Canadian Owners and Pilots Association, has a membership option for the remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) community. Benefits include updates on regulations and issues, education and safety programs, insurance coverage for recreational and commercial RPAS pilots, training discounts, and an RPAS scholarship. AOPA also has a drone membership program.
Federal agents flew a UAV into a Poughkeepsie, NY apartment while executing a search warrant. Video from the drone showed the suspect throwing a handgun out of a window. He was arrested and booked on illegal possession of a firearm. NYC lawyer Albert Fox Cahn said, “Flying drones in public air space is invasive enough, but using it inside of a person’s home is completely unconstitutional.”
Foraging habits of seabirds were examined in a new study, A bird’s-eye view on turbulence: seabird foraging associations with evolving surface flow features. Feeding in turbulent water is difficult to study, but a DJI Phantom 3 quadcopter was able to track three species of surface-foraging terns and use particle image velocimetry to map the water vortices and upwellings.
The lockdown gave people an excuse to buy that puppy they always wanted, but owners are hanging the bags of poo in trees and on bushes. Using image recognition, drones might be useful for finding the bags and notifying authorities. (No, we didn’t make this up.)
Uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) can draw their inspiration from the biological world. The GRIFFIN project from the University of Seville is seeking to create prototypes of highly autonomous, ultra-lightweight robot birds. They would minimise energy in flight by soaring and flapping.
The Pentagon released a report that says two “Government Edition” DJI drones are “recommended for use by government entities.” In 2020, the Department of the Interior grounded all its drones. The government has examined some older model drones and didn’t find any malicious code.
A Boeing MQ-25 Stingray carrying 500 pounds of fuel transferred 325 pounds to an F/A-18 Super Hornet in midair, with as little as 20 feet of separation.
FPV racing drone chases kiteboarder in this adrenaline-pumping video from Spain
