Drones

The DJI Phantom 2 Quadcopter Is Now a Real Autonomous Drone

One of the most popular consumer quadcopters on the market is now a true drone. DJI recently pushed an update to the apps that help control its flagship Phantom 2 Vision, and now, the $1000 aircraft can fly missions autonomously. Seriously, you just tell it where to go, and it goes—all by itself. The new…

Drone Month at AudioMo

There’s a month-long audio challenge in June called AudioMo (more at twitter.com/AudioMo and audiomo.net). The intention appears to be to get music-makers making music, along the lines of National Novel Writing Month and February Album Writing Month. Here’s a description of AudioMo from its website: AudioMo is a month long audio challenge, normally held in…

The FAA Will Not Allow Delivery Drones (For Now)

In a document seeking feedback on new drone policies, the FAA indicated that it does not want unmanned aircraft “delivering packages to people for a fee.” Even if a company doesn’t collect a fee—as Amazon has proposed—drone deliveries count as commercial activity, the agency says. And that’s against the rules. (Updated below) The move is…

Our Drones Are Crashing At An Alarming Rate

A yearlong investigation by the Washington Post reveals that more than 400 large U.S. military drones have crashed around the world since 2001, due to mechanical breakdowns, human error and bad weather. The report is certain to raise concerns about allowing drones to fly in U.S. airspace. https://gizmodo.com/the-u-s-has-designated-six-sites-for-testing-commercia-1491722114 The Post’s investigation is based on records…

The Police Surveillance Drone of 1976

1976 Associated Press: Tiny robot helicopter caused a mild sensation at the opening of the Farnborough Air Show in Hampshire, England, Sept. 5, 1976. The remote-controlled Westland Wisp spy-in-the-sky helicopter has been developed for army or police use for aerial surveillance. The plane can be equipped for transmitting television pictures back to base and is…

The Internet’s Eye Candy: Drones Videos Are the New Time Lapse

Remember when the internet was bursting at the seams with splendorous time lapse videos showing off bustling metropolises and exotic corners of the globe? Well, there’s a new visual novelty act in town, and it hovers noisily above your head, peering down at earth with a fisheye lens. Drone footage is rapidly sweeping every video…

Drones Are Now Banned in Every National Park In America

The National Parks Service just announced a sweeping ban on drones. The new policy prohibits “launching, landing, or operating unmanned aircraft on lands and waters administered by the National Park Service.” Why? Because they’re disruptive, that’s why. Drones are already banned in a few national parks, including Yosemite, for the simple fact that they’re a…

NASA wants to send a quadcopter drone to Titan

NASA wants to search Saturn’s moon Titan for life but they’re having trouble coming up with a good way to cover a large territory and obtain samples. Now they think they may have a good solution: A 22-pound quadcopter that will work from a mothership. After reading about it, it’s a really cool idea. Larry…

Why Being a Person Doesn’t Matter If You’re Not a Citizen

Science fiction has often grappled with the question of the rights of non-human intelligences that are indistinguishable from the rights of humans. They’ve often come down to the fact that, no matter their origin, people are people who have certain rights. But they might be focusing on the wrong question. The real issue might be…

Should The U.S. Unleash Killer Robots In Iraq?

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has asked the U.S. to deploy Predator and Reaper drones against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) fighters. And, today, Secretary of State John Kerry has confirmed that drones are definitely an option. But would they really make any difference? Patrick Tucker, the technology editor at Defense One, spoke…

Google’s Flying Internet Balloons May Actually Be Feasible Next Year

The biggest secret on the internet is that most of the world still doesn’t have access to it. But while a year after launch there’s still the possibility Google’s Project Loon balloons may fall on you, it looks like they could actually be the most viable way to enable the 61 percent of humans without…

Fly Around The World With This Map of Drone-Recorded Videos

Ever wish you could pick a place on the planet and instantly have a drone’s-eye view? Well, now you can. Head over to TravelByDrone, a curated index of drone videos on YouTube sorted on a handy world map. Pick a place, click a pin and boom – you’ll be floating over oceans, cities and forests…

The Marines Are Building An Anti-Drone Weapon—And, Yep, It’s A Laser

Now that pretty much everyone has surveillance drones, the U.S. Marines need to develop a weapon to knock them out of the skies—especially during the critical period when reconnaissance forces are landing on a beach. Faced with a shortage of anti-aircraft missiles, the Marines are looking for a few good lasers. Currently, Marines serving in…

The CIA’s drone strike program in Pakistan, once the mainstay of the Obama administration’s counterterrorism effort, is winding down. One reason: the targeted killing operation relies on drones flown from — and intelligence gathered by — bases in Afghanistan, which will be closing down as the U.S. withdraws.

This British Banshee Is Built to Be Blown Up

Missile and anti-aircraft defense crews need live fire practice too. But since they can’t very well be expected to shoot at a piloted target, the UK’s Royal Navy instead takes pot shots at this low-cost screamer. Unmanned systems have long been employed as live-fire targets for militaries around the world. In fact, the very first…

The FAA Just Approved the United States’ First Commercial Drone

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has awarded permission for the first commercial drone over land to BP, of all companies. The oil company’s partner, drone manufacturer AeroVironment, flew its first commercial flight in Alaska on Sunday. And it didn’t just send a dinky quadcopter to do the job either. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the country’s first commercial…

Should We Really Just Call Everything a “Drone” By Default?

There’s a revolution in the skies. Things are flying around up there. Some of them are remote controlled, some of them are autonomous. Some of them shoot at people, some of them don’t. Some of them are in stores, some are military. But should we just call them all “drones”? It might seem like a…

You Won’t Mind This Chocolate Quadcopter Flying Towards Your Face

When you think of what goes into building a flying quadcopter, materials like super-light carbon fiber come to mind—definitely not chocolate. But once again the internet proves anything is possible, since the frame of this delicious drone is actually made from white and dark chocolate. About 1,100 grams of chocolate went into its creation, using…

Inside the Classroom Where the Air Force Teaches Drone Pilots

Flying a drone for the Air Force is like any other skill; you have to learn it. The Atlantic got a rare look inside the classroom where that instruction happens. It’s a lot like most classrooms you’ve probably been in, except the word problems they’re working through involve killing people. The Atlantic’s Corey Mead sat…

Your Reminder That Internet Balloons in the Sky Can Also Fall Down

Filling the sky with a flock of internet balloons sounds like an interesting if also sort of insane idea on paper, but in real life it’s not quite so fancy-free. And Google’s dealing with that first hand now that one of its internet balloons has crashed and caused a power outage. Yup, one of Google’s…