MiamiAerial
Kickstarter project QFO, Real-Life Aerial Gaming Quadrocopter, Mimix™ Tilt-to-Fly controller and NanoQ™ copter
Another UA Kickstarter project takes off, this one has the potential to change how military multicopters might be flown. An impressive total already, at the time of writing, 303 backers and $36,189 pledged of the $230,000 goal! Read more
Felix Baumgartners 120,000 feet stratosphere jump
Felix Baumgartner – the Austrian daredevil is hoping to make an unprecedented leap from the edge of space Tuesday, setting records as he breaks the speed of sound in freefall in the skies above the US state of New Mexico. Read more
The Largest Synchronized Quadrocopter Drone Swarm
Gizmodo describes the formation of 50 AscTec Hummingbird quadrocopters by Ars Electronica Futurelab and Ascending Technologies GmbH as “unnerving.” Read more
Miami MDPD Drones still grounded - getting rusty
Odds are you’ve seen the first two in Miami airspace. But so far, the only people to have spied the third in action are the folks in Miami-Dade Police Department training sessions.
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Successful test of surveillance technology in Chilean football stadium
The Secure Stadium Program tried out a new and modern technology at Santa Laura Stadium last Saturday, during the soccer game on the eighth date of the Closing Tournament. This is a modern helicopter measuring one meter in diameter Read more
Drones rocketing into new uses, raising questions of privacy, misuse
By Conor Shine Las Vegas Sun
They can fly, swim and even walk, carrying cameras or cargo long distances through often-treacherous terrain.
The military has researched and used unmanned vehicle systems, commonly known as drones, for 40 years in faraway war zones. The vehicles have begun crossing over more and more into the civilian and commercial realms, where proponents say the technology has the potential to save lives and keep workers out of harm’s way. Read more
Inches from victory, UAV team fails to snag prize
By: TJ Jerke, Grand Forks Herald
Last year, when Daniel Ellis’ team of university students tried to send their miniature unmanned aircraft through a simulated military bunker, they had communication problems and he said the machine never made it through the window.
At the same competition held at UND Thursday, the University of Michigan aircraft flew into the four-room bunker undetected and found a small flash drive it was programmed to retrieve.
Then the retrieval magnet got caught on a chair. Read more
Copter Drone for First Response Firefighters
W.S. Darley & Co. announces a new design of their Darley Stinger, weighing just less than 4.4 lbs. Darley continues to expand their line of firefighting equipment, where it has had a presence for over 100 years. In 2012, over 300 new products have been added to their online store, edarley.com.
The Darley Stinger is an unmanned aerial vehicle that can efficiently provide crucial information about an incident scene. In May of this year, the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) passed a law granting first responders clearance to operate an aerial drone under certain conditions.
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AUVSI’s Unmanned Systems North America 2012
Unmanned systems and their supporters will be invading Las Vegas for AUVSI’s Unmanned Systems North America 2012! For four exciting days, the Mandalay Bay Convention Center will become the world’s largest robotics playground!
6-9 August 2012
Mandalay Bay Convention Center
Las Vegas, NV, USA
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Commercial Drone Business got disrupted by Open Source modell
By Dean Takahashi Venture Beat
The do-it-yourself (DIY), open-source drone movement is turning into a real business that could disrupt the commercial and military drone industry. It’s another case of how exploiting the curiosity of hackers can turn into a commercial opportunity.
That’s the view of Chris Anderson (pictured), the editor of Wired magazine and a drone hobbyist and businessman on the side. He spoke about this DIY trend and his own efforts to lead it in a talk at the Defcon hacker conference in Las Vegas today. Read more