With the goal of achieving autonomous flight of these aerial vehicles, the researcher José Martínez Carranza from the National Institute of Astrophysics, Optics and Electronics (INAOE) in Mexico, developed a vision and learning system to control and navigate them without relying on a GPS signal or trained personnel.
Enrique Iglesias Slices Finger Reaching for Drone
Latin pop singer Enrique Iglesias learned the hard way that one shouldn’t just reach and grab drones, even when they’re flying around you.
French Air Force Adds Third Reaper to Fleet
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. has announced that it has delivered a third Predator B/MQ-9 Reaper RPA to the French Ministry of Defence. Delivered less than two months after contract award, the aircraft joins two other French Reapers in service, which together have accumulated over 4,000 flight hours since operations began in January 2014.
Airware Launches Drone Investment Fund
Airware is announcing the Commercial Drone Fund, which will invest $250,000 to $1 million in dozens of early stage startups that are building out other components of the enterprise drone ecosystem. The fund’s first two investments are in RedBird, a Paris-based drone data processing startup, and Sky-Futures, a London company that builds drone sensors for monitoring oil and gas infrastructure. Continue reading
DJI and Accel Announce SkyFund
Accel invested $75 million into DJI this month, sparking this new partnership. Skyfund will make $250,000-plus investments in early stage drone startups through convertible notes or traditional seed and Series A rounds. DJI and Accel will have the option to make follow-on investments. Continue reading
US Drone Down in Iraq
A U.S. military drone crashed in southern Iraq on Wednesday while it was conducting a surveillance mission against Islamic State fighters, military officials have confirmed. Continue reading
Google’s Solar-Fueled UAV Crashes in New Mexico Test
A prototype of the massive solar-powered drone Google Inc. plans to build as a platform for delivering Internet service from the sky was destroyed in a crash at a New Mexico test site. Continue reading
New York-Bound Passenger Jet Reports Near-Miss
A commercial airliner narrowly missed colliding midair with a drone at 2,700 feet as it neared New York’s LaGuardia Airport Friday morning, just hours after a string of incidents involving lasers pointed at planes, according to federal officials. Continue reading