Tag Archives: Drone

Amazon's Prime Air drone delivery service is still trying to take off, but it seems that the company might have finally quelled customer fears over the vehicle malfunctioning mid-flight. Addressing the safety concerns, Amazon has now been granted a patent for self-destructing drones. Specifically, the paten regards the “direct fragmentation …

Amazon has been pursuing drone related plans for a while now, building up its patents as it fixes potential bugs and finds new functionality for the devices. Its most recent patent showcases a drone meant to recharge electric cars while on the move. The concept of recently granted patent number …

There are a lot of problems associated with drone delivery, from safe landings and take offs, to the family dog attacking it. But a new patent filed by Amazon suggests that dropping parcels by parachute could be a way to alleviate most of the issues and maybe even ditch the …

The U.S.' Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has created a new carrier-like crane system for catching drones mid-flight. This isn't like the eagles police have been training, but an aircraft carrier-like system of providing a safe ‘landing' point for drones to return to. This could expand the effective range …

The miniature flying camera drone, AirSelfie, is now available for pre-order, following a complete set up of the production line. Kickstarter pledges are set to ship out in March this year, with those pre-ordering the device now, slated to receive their's by May. AirSelfie is a miniature drone equipped with …

It turns out fireworks aren't the only way to light up the sky at night – you can also use drone technology. That's what Disney has been trialling in a new partnership with Intel's new Shooting Star lightweight drones, creating a 300 strong choreographed performance called a Starbright Holidays light …

Action camera manufacturer GoPro, has announced the recall of its Karma quadcopter drones, not because they're exploding like Samsung's ill-fated Note 7s, but because some units have been losing power unexpectedly. This is of course not ideal if the Karmas are in flight at the time, so GoPro is recalling …

Drone delivery is something that many major companies are talking about doing, but nobody is quite there yet. The New Zealand branch of Dominos Pizza though, is looking to be the first, with a completed test delivery earlier this week and the announcement that it plans to roll out that …

One of the big issues facing the natural world is human deforestation on an industrial scale. Illegal logging, land clearance and habitat destruction are causing all sorts of issues that seem near impossible to stop. One solution though, could be utilising drone power to plant trees on a previously unheard …

In an effort to combat the problem of drones flying into airspace that they shouldn't, Metropolitan police may be set to use a tactic from the Netherlands, where eagles have been trained to target the quad-copters. It's thought that such birds could be used to help protect landmarks or major events …

More than five million jobs are thought likely to be replaced by robots in the coming decade according to some analysts, and it may be that window cleaning and painting are part of that number. A new drone design from Apellix is conceptualising the idea of a robotic painting system, …

As advanced as the drones of the future which deliver our online purchases to us sooner than ever before are, there will be some limitations. Despite Amazon's drones being designed to operate efficiently in various environments, chances are they won't be able to travel much more than 10 miles from …

Although drones have promised lots of interesting developments in film making, surveillance and delivery, they are getting powerful enough to transport people, as we saw recently. But forget making travel easy for the rich, transporting injured people between the scene of an accident and a hospital quickly and without disturbance …

As drones become more popular, the conversation has turned to safety. With their multiple rotors, exposed blades and ever increasing weights, there is some danger to them flying around near humans. Not so much with Fleye though. The circular drone was revealed at last week's CES show and using an …

2015 was in many ways, a disappointing year. For all of its technological breakthroughs and attempts at hoverboards, the hard truth is that the year came and went without a viable flying car. Doc Brown would be sorely disappointed. However perhaps there's hope yet, as despite the failings of the …

Although there were a number of reasons for Google to give itself a new parent company – Alphabet – one of the effects of such a move we were told, was that some of the search giant's less profitable, more experimental strategies and developments would receive more focus. That appears …

What Sony would do with its partnership with Japanese automation specialist, ZMP, was pondered over by many in the know when it was announced earlier this year, but now we all know. Aerosene, the joint venture formed by both firms, showed off its new VTOL commercial drone yesterday, as well …

The biggest issue facing those attempting to legislate and/or regulate the use of drones within the UK and around the world, is that they share the same sort of space as other aerial vehicles do, namely airplanes. While drone operators are warned to keep them under a certain height and …

The US military is looking to further develop a hover bike design produced by joint British and American engineers for military and other purposes. It's thought that the piece of futuristic kit will be used in many situations currently occupied by helicopters and could work as a manned alternative to …

Space X's latest launch of a Falcon 9 rocket with the Dragon supply capsule payload went off without a hitch last week. At least, in that it achieved orbit and successfully docked with the international space station to deliver much needed food, science experiments and other important tools for the …

As much as Kerbal Space Program is a fun game and certainly quite realistic in terms of its orbital mechanics, nobody is quite ready to suggest it's an accurate simulator of the real world. Still, that didn't stop the US based, CBC News network from airing footage of the game as …

Even though drones may bring the promise of faster deliveries, wonderfully gimballed footage and the ability to really up the ante on curtain peeping neighbours, they're also seeing a lot of use in military and policing sectors. In India for example, they've been trialling them for use with crowd control …

US regulators finally gave Amazon permission to test its delivery drones last week but it turns out that the approval took too long to come in and now, the model drone that Amazon just got permission to test, isn't even in use anymore. In a statement sent to a Senate …

When the FAA gave permission for different commercial uses of drones in the US earlier this year, it seemed like Amazon was going to be left out in the cold when it came to its plans for drone deliveries. However, that may now have changed, as the same federal organisation …

Last Monday a small civilian drone crashed into the grounds of the White House, causing quite a stir over exactly how secure the White House actually is against drone attacks. It has now been revealed that the drone in question, a DJI Phantom quadrocopter, was actually being flown by an …

Amazon is threatening to move its drone research out of the US unless the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), gives the company permission to do test flights outdoors. The retailer first attempted to get permission for its Prime Air drone tests back in July. The company has now responded to the …

GoPro, the company behind the popular HERO range of small, easily mountable cameras, is currently developing a consumer grade drone with a HD camera attached according to new reports. Sources are currently saying that the company is going to start selling ‘multi-rotor helicopters equipped with cameras', these will cost between …

Remember that video from late last year that seemed to show Amazon's plans to use unmanned drones to deliver packages to customers that live near distribution centres? It was initially thought to be a bit of an attention grabber leading up to Christmas, but apparently there was some truth to …

Ukraine's current relationship with its neighbours in the East hasn't been the most care-free as of late, with tension and hostilities rising from both local and Russian camps. The problem on the Ukrainian side of things though, is that there's no budget to equip its soldiers, leading many to have …

A hexacopter drone's operation during a triathlon in Australia, is being investigated by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) after it fell from the sky whilst filming the race. While the report initially suggested that the drone struck one of the racers and injured her, other evidence now suggests she …