Tag Archives: Drones

Drones at Home

March 26th, 2014 | Robot
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With eight arms spanning less than a yard, a German MikroKopter provides a stable camera platform for under $5,000.

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The images above are from a recent lead story in the National Geographic Magazine titled, Unmanned Flight. Now that the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have more or less come to a close, there is a lot of discussion underway concerning drones’ role in society. Needless to say, they have been used extensively overseas, but whether they can make a smooth transition to civilian life is unknown.

“The U.S. has deployed more than 11,000 military drones… They carry out a wide variety of missions while saving money and American lives. Within a generation they could replace most manned military aircraft, says John Pike, a defense expert at the think tank GlobalSecurity.org. Pike suspects that the F-35 Lightning II, now under development by Lockheed Martin, might be “the last fighter with an ejector seat, and might get converted into a drone itself.”

I think one exciting use for drone technology would be to provide internet to locations in the world without online access. Other possible civilian applications include weather monitoring, traffic control, and package delivery.

“If the FAA relaxes its rules, says Mark Brown, the civilian market for drones—and especially small, low-cost, tactical drones—could soon dwarf military sales, which in 2011 totaled more than three billion dollars.”

Stay tuned, apparently the FAA is expected to integrate drones into American skies by 2015.

Photographer Joe McNally captured the images you see above. You can find more of his work here.

-RSB

Rise of the Drones

January 26th, 2013 | Robot

Rise of the Drones

Missy Cummings recently appeared on The Daily Show with John Stewart to discuss the Rise of the Drones. She is a former fighter pilot and current professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics at MIT and has some of the best insight on Drone technology in the world.
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Drones like the MQ-1 Predator Drone pictured above have been operational for about 10 years and their Hellfire missiles have killed thousands of insurgents in Afghanistan, Libya, Somalia, Pakistan, and Iraq. Obviously, this technology brings fear into the hearts of the general public, and I think Missy Cummings delivers some salient points on the topic. Drones will only become more and more prevalent both at home and abroad.  They’re cheaper and more reliable than any manned aircraft and they don’t risk the pilot’s life to fly.  The U.S. military now trains more remote pilots than fighter and bomber pilots combined.  The training takes about half as much time and anyone who can play video games can control them reliably.

But drones are not perfect, and 23 civilians were mistakenly killed in Afghanistan back in 2010 in one of the biggest military blunders in quite some time.

And this technology is no secret.  If you’re looking to build your own drone, here are the instructions from DIY Drones.  Please don’t arm yours with a hellfire missile.
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“Rise of the Drones” is a NOVA program which aired on January 23rd.  You can watch the whole episode here.

-RSB