University of Maryland Professors S.K. Gupta (ME/ISR) and Hugh Bruck (ME) and their students have developed and demonstrated a new robotic bird, “Robo Raven,” whose wings flap completely independently of each other, and also can be programmed to perform any desired motion, enabling the bird to perform aerobatic maneuvers. This is the first time a robotic bird with these capabilities has been built and successfully flown. Continue reading
FAA Launches B4UFLY App for UAV Operators
The FAA has announced a smartphone application that aims to make it clear to Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) enthusiasts where it’s legal to fly in the National Airspace System (NAS). The B4UFLY app, announced at the 2015 Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) Conference in Atlanta, Ga. will allow hobbyists to determine whether there are any restrictions or requirements in effect at the location where they want to fly a UAV. Continue reading
DJI Valued at $8 Billion After $75 Million Investment
Chinese drone maker SZ DJI Technology Co. secured a this week that values the company at roughly $8 billion, according to people familiar with the situation, propelling the firm into an exclusive club of startups and signalling Silicon Valley’s high hopes for the commercial promise of flying robots.
World’s First Ubuntu-Powered Quadcopter
Erle Robotics, a Spanish company, which has been at the forefront of using Linux in devices and had introduced the Erle-Copter powered by Ubuntu Snappy Core back in February 2015, has launched the world’s first Ubuntu powered Drone. Continue reading
Industrial Inspection of a 104-Year-Old Chimney
SkyDrones Tecnologia Avionica in Brazil was able to inspect and estimate the cost of repairing a 104-year-old chimney by reconstructing it using UAV-acquired images and image processing software.
Jammer Hunting with a UAV
A fully autonomous, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-based system for locating GPS jammers, currently under development, seeks to localize a jammer to within 30 meters in less than 15 minutes in an area comparable to that of an airport.
LiquidPiston Gets $1M DARPA Contract to Develop Heavy-Fueled, Rotary Combustion Engine Technologies
LiquidPiston, Inc., a developer of advanced combustion engine technology, has announced that the company has entered into an agreement with the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to advance the development of its highly efficient, power-dense rotary internal combustion engine for portable and small-engine applications. Continue reading
North American T-6 Texans / Harvards Display
The New Zealand Warbirds Assn ‘Roaring Forties’ Harvard (aka Texan) formation team put on a noisy display at Ardmore Airport, Auckland, New Zealand. Continue reading