VertiGo is a wall-climbing robot that is capable of transitioning from the ground to the wall, created in collaboration between Disney Research Zurich and ETH. The robot has two tiltable propellers that provide thrust onto the wall, and four wheels. One pair of wheels is steerable, and each propeller has two degrees of freedom for adjusting the direction of thrust. Continue reading
Qualcomm Teases Snapdragon Flight Drone Platform
We’ve known about Qualcomm’s drone ambitions for a few months now, but it looks like the company is ready to demo the goods. Ahead of CES next week, the chipmaker teased features of its Snapdragon Flight drone platform. Continue reading
CICADA Micro-UAV Named Popular Science ‘Best of What’s New’
The small glider Close-in Covert Autonomous Disposable Aircraft (CICADA) developed by U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) aerospace engineers, Aaron D. Kahn and Dr. Daniel J. Edwards, has been named ‘2015 Best of What’s New‘ by the distinguished science and technology publication, Popular Science. Continue reading
FAA Shuts Down Drone Clubs within 30 Miles of Washington DC
The Federal Aviation Administration has shut down at least 36 model aircraft clubs in the Washington, DC area, citing a new, extended no-fly zone for drones around the nation’s capital. Continue reading
Russian Air Defence System Shoots on the Move
Air defences are often the only thing standing between enemy aircraft and their targets, but up until now, it’s pretty relatively easy to destroy them. That’s because even mobile air defences typically must stop in order to shoot, making the job easier for aircraft dedicated to knocking them now. Continue reading
Tokyo Police Snatch Illegal Drones Out of the Sky
Tokyo police have adopted a new system for dealing with illegal drones. They now have a fleet of drone catchers, each equipped with a 10-foot net that can capture a drone without letting it fall to the ground.
Source: Tech Insider
DHS: Drug Traffickers are Spoofing Border Drones
The US Department of Homeland Security has turned to using small drones to monitor its borders, but drug traffickers have apparently already found a way to avoid surveillance.
Russian Emergencies Minister Opens Unmanned Aviation Centre
Russia’s emergencies ministry on Sunday opened an unmanned aviation centre at the ministry’s Moscow region department. The ceremony was attended by Minister Vladimir Puchkov.
“The unmanned aviation center will help improve the quality of monitoring and raise the level of crisis response,” he said. The minister said drones would be used for aerial surveying to establish precise coordinated of emergency situation, damaned facilities, epicenters of wildfires and man-caused fires. Apart from that, in his words, drones would be used to monitor the flood situation and ice cloggings. Continue reading