Drones – Lifeboat News: The Blog

Dec 25
2017

Nuclear drones are not technically challenging and could fly for years

From 2008–2011, Sandia National Labs and Northrop Grumman designed nuclear drones that would be able to fly for many months.

China has put $3.3 billion into making new highly compact nuclear reactors which would also use for nuclear powered drones.

The potential impact of nuclear-powered drones can be seen by comparing them with existing aircraft such as the MQ-9 Reaper, which is used extensively in Afghanistan and Pakistan in operations against insurgents. The Reaper presently carries nearly two tonnes of fuel in addition a similar weight of munitions and other equipment and can stay airborne for around 42 hours, or just 14 hours when fully loaded with munitions.

Dec 20
2017

World’s First Flying Car Race Could Predict The Future of Sports

after two years of development in a secret location in sydney, australian start-up alauda reveals the airspeeder mark 1, a new class of airborne racing vehicle – a flying car that could predict the future of sports. the company’s turning to kickstarter to not only help build the final product but the beginnings of a community that could usher in a new age of sport.

future of sports flying car alauda the body is modelled after a 1960’s Formula V images courtesy of alauda.

coining it ‘airspeeder sport’, the alauda is hoping to push the technology to the mainstream whilst looking ahead to their first official test race which will see two of their vehicles racing against one another next year. in the lead-up alauda has test raced with drones, developing a flight-control system before creating their much larger ‘speeders’.

Dec 8
2017

Here’s What A Cyborg Dragonfly Looks Like

This cyborg dragonfly is half insect half drone.

Nov 22
2017

Today, as part of my #libertarian California Governor campaign, I toured some of the areas in Northern California destroyed by the recent wildfires

I saw hundreds of homes in one subdivision destroyed (8900 homes were destroyed in total in the fires). We must seek out better technological solutions to stop wildfires in California. Lives are at risk and hundreds of billions of dollars are at stake. The state is getting drier, and innovative technologies—especially drone surveillance—can help spot fires before they get too large to easily contain. AI can also tell us, based on weather conditions, where fire protection resources and first responders should be stationed. Quickly putting out fires that do occur is the key to protecting the state.

Nov 17
2017

FAA Approves Drone As ‘Cell Phone Tower In The Sky’ For Puerto Rico

Good idea, they could use the help!!

Updated at 5 p.m. ET

The FAA announced it has approved a drone that can function as a flying cell phone tower to help restore cellular service in Puerto Rico.

The aircraft is called the Flying COW, for Cell on Wings. Developed by AT&T, it flies up to 200 feet above the ground, and can provide voice, data and Internet service for 40 square miles.

Nov 13
2017

Seven minutes of terror: AI activists turn concerns about killer robots into a movie

As if the mere phrase “killer robots” weren’t scary enough, AI researchers and policy advocates have put together a video that combines present-tense AI and drone technologies with future-tense nightmares.

The disturbing seven-minute movie is being released to coincide with a pitch being made on Monday in Geneva during talks relating to the U.N. Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, or CCW.

Nov 11
2017

Alibaba lets AI, robots and drones do the heavy lifting on Singles’ Day

And it is on Singles’ Day, automation, robots, AI and machine learning will be widely applied to all aspects of the annual shopping ritual, right from product selection to delivery.

This year’s November 11 shopping ritual will engage a recommendation algorithm, robots, and chatbots capable of understanding human emotion.

Nov 3
2017

China’s AT200 cargo drone makes maiden flight

China’s heaviest cargo unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) AT200 prepares for its maiden flight in Neifu Airport in Pucheng, northwest China’s Shaanxi Province, Oct. 26, 2017. China’s heaviest cargo unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) completed its maiden flight in northwest China’s Shaanxi Province Thursday. With a maximum take-off weight of around 3.4 tonnes and a payload of 1.5 tonnes, the AT200 could be one of the world’s most powerful civilian UAVs. (Xinhua)

BEIJING, Oct. 27 (Xinhua) — China’s heaviest cargo unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) completed its maiden flight in northwest China’s Shaanxi Province Thursday.

The AT200 drone, jointly developed by several research institutes and companies, made a successful 26-minute maiden flight, according the Institute of Engineering Thermophysics.

Oct 29
2017

Armies Race to Deploy Drone, Self-Driving Tech on the Battlefield

Foot soldiers for years have watched as wars in the air have been transformed by the introduction of drones. Now ground troops are starting to enjoy some of the same benefits.

Oct 28
2017

Could drone that can deliver cargo to islets in South China Sea secure presence in disputed waters?

China has carried out a test flight of an unmanned aerial vehicle, or drone, that could provide rapid cargo delivery to remote islets in the South China Sea without airstrips, in Beijing’s latest move to secure its presence in the disputed waters.

The drone – built from a modified low-cost fixed-wing plane – can carry 1.5 tonnes of cargo and land on a runway of just 200 metres, according to the Institute of Engineering Thermophysics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, which led the project.

It can also use a dirt track or grass field for take off and landing at military facilities that do not have an airfield, the institute said on its website on Friday.