Drones - Page 5

The CNN news organization and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have agreed to create a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRDA) to see how drones can be used for news gathering and reporting.

CNN previously had an agreement with the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI), with CNN, GTRI and FAA working together - and could help create a roadmap for wider drone use in news reporting.

"Our aim is to get beyond hobby-grade equipment and to establish what options are available and workable to produce high quality video journalism using various types of UAVs and camera setups," said David Vigilante, CNN Senior Vice President, in a statement. "Our hope is that these efforts contribute to the development of a vibrant ecosystem where operators of various types and sizes can safely operate in the US airspace."

CES 2015 - Hobbico has announced its ORA drone system designed for hobbyist aerial photographers, a camera-equipped drone. The unit is designed for aerial photography and video recording, which has become increasingly popular for live sporting events, weddings, real estate planning, and other outdoors-based tasks.

Operators can capture aerial images and display them on the transceiver's 7" touchscreen, and video footage can be filmed using ORA's 1080p onboard camera. The 7" First Person View (FPV) displays directly what the ORA's camera is viewing in real-time, providing an easier ability to capture pictures and video.

Up to 30-minutes of flight time is available per battery charge, with built-in GPS with up to 32 GPS waypoints, built-in GPS programming, and route flight paths saved.

Marking another step in our new-age of technology, Australia's largest telecom, Telstra, and a government funded news entity, ABC, covered the Sydney, Australia New Year's Eve fireworks with assistance of two purpose-built quadcopters - streaming this footage to mainstream TV.

These quadcopters were built with HD cameras and set to broadcast links 1000 ft above the Sydney Harbour in unison with nine cameras on-ground and a manned helicopter.

These drones were flown by licensed pilots and made to hover within the firework exclusion zone, as according to a spokeswoman. ABC also had to receive approval from the Civil Aviation Security Authority (CASA) to be able to fly these helicopters at such a height. Although they might be just remote-control models to some, we're seeing quadcopters used more and more throughout various sporting and public events. Much cheaper than use of a full-size manned helicopter, quadcopters are able to safely capture the action from up close or at a great distance, giving the pilot the ability to create smooth sweeping camera angles or beautiful fly-throughs (hint: skip to 52 sec in the video below).

A new Associated Press-GfK poll discovered 41 percent Americans opposed drones for commercial use, with just 21 percent favoring commercial drone use, and 35 percent still sitting on the fence. Only three percent of those surveyed have flown small drones, but that number is expected to increase in the coming years.

Congress will likely push the FAA to help move things along faster, as the drone industry is expected to create 100,000 jobs and provide $82 billion for the economy in the first 10 years.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will continue to move forward with private and commercial drone use - and companies continue to push forward with drone use for deliveries, filming in Hollywood, agriculture, engineering, and other verticals.

NASA is developing a new bio-drone that could splash down in a body of water, disintegrating while not hurting the environment. The biodegradable drone's chassis is made of mycelium, which is a fiber found in mushrooms - and can also be found on or in soil located near mushrooms.

"If you have living organisms acting as biosensors and the plane crashes, there certainly could be problems as the plane interacts with the environment," said Lynn Rothschild, NASA developer spearheading the project, in an interview with the team. "Hopefully people could think of this in advance, and design such that this never becomes a problem."

Drones that crash can have a significant impact in the immediate area, such as if it crashed on coral reefs and other sensitive habits that are being studied. Flying this type of custom drone allows researchers to get a closer look at unique locations, and researchers are continually making adjustments to make it as eco-friendly as possible.

Do you want to be a drone pilot? There is increasing need for private drone pilots, with salaries often starting at $100,000 per year - and the demand for these specially-trained workers is only increasing. The market is expected to create around 100,000 new jobs over the first 10 years, with a growing number of drones entering private US airspace.

Even with potential Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) problems, Amazon, Facebook, and other companies are interested in utilizing drones for various reasons. Some companies are already paying $50 per hour, and salaries will only increase even further above $100,000 per year, according to Al Palmer, University of North Dakota Unmanned Aircraft Systems director.

Expect more university programs dedicated to helping groom the next generation of drone pilots.

The US Army Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center (NSRDEC) is working on a pocket-sized drone that can fly for 20 minutes, giving ground troops real-time video of the surrounding area. Soldiers would be able to easily carry the drone as part of the Cargo Pocket Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (CP-ISR) program.

Soldiers in the UK have tested the PD-100 Black Hornet palm-sized helicopter, manufactured by Prox Dynamics, and similar drone technologies would be able to benefit US soldiers. Besides the extremely small size of the drone, being able to transmit footage directly to ground soldiers would be extremely beneficial.

"The Cargo Pocket ISR is a true example of an applied systems approach for developing new Soldier capabilities," said Dr. Laurel Allender, NSRDEC acting technical director recently said. "It provides an integrated capability for the Soldier and small unit for increased situational awareness and understanding with negligible impact on Soldier load and agility."

Lockheed Martin is promoting its helicopter drone, the K-MAX, as a potential asset to help fight wildfires, helping protect firefighters and pilots. The K-MAX can fly in tandem with the four-pound Indago drone that is used as a fire scout, while the firefighting drone dropped 12 tons of water in one hour.

The K-MAX has the ability to lift and transport up to 6,000 lbs. of cargo while at sea level, or more than 4,000 lbs. while flying at 15,000 ft. density altitude. The helicopter has more than 750 hours of autonomous flight since live testing began in 2007, Lockheed Martin reported.

"The FAA would designate the airspace in the vicinity of the fire area as restricted airspace," said Keith Little, Lockheed spokesman. "We would coordinate with the FAA prior to any actual usage regarding obtaining COA (Certificates of Waiver or Authorization) approval for K-MAX that would allow a quick approval for use of K-Max in support of firefighting operations in the designated restricted area."

Australian real estate company Eview Real Estate made a mistake when it posted a listing on a billboard, after being informed they used a picture that included a topless sunbather only wearing a thong. Mandy Lingard discovered the picture of herself after spotting it in the neighborhood, and Eview Real Estate has now removed the listing.

"Images of Miss Lingard were not used intentionally, it was merely an oversight and Eview Group have put into place systems and procedures to ensure that such instances do not occur in the future," said the Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority, the national group responsible for licensing commercial drone flights.

Meanwhile, Lingard said she is embarrassed by the situation, as she explained what happened: "I heard a noise and then I saw this odd thing flying around and thought it was a kid's toy. It hovered around and luckily I was face down at the time."

The Pentagon has tasked the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) with finding new methods for drones to be able to launch from aircraft, including the B-1, B-52, C-130, and other large aircraft. Drones would be able to launch from aircraft, conduct their missions, and return to the aircraft so the host plane can fly away from potentially dangerous airspace.

Here is what the DARPA request says: "The agency envisions a large aircraft that, with minimal modification, could launch and recover multiple small unmanned systems from a standoff distance."

"We want to find ways to make smaller aircraft more effective, and one promising idea is enabling existing large aircraft, with minimal modification, to become 'aircraft carriers in the sky,'" said Dan Patt, DARPA program manager. "We envision innovative launch and recovery concepts for new [unmanned aerial system] designs that would couple with recent advances in small payload design and collaborative technologies."

Engineers in China successfully created a new laser weapon system capable of shooting down low-altitude light drones, able to lock on and engage a target within five seconds. The machine can engage "various small aircraft" and has a two-kilometer range against targets flying up to 112 mph.

The US Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) recently made flying drones near large sports stadiums and race tracks illegal, but trying to enforce the airspace restriction could be problematic. However, this new laser technology will allow the Chinese to better protect large venues.

"Intercepting such drones is usually the work of snipers and helicopters, but their success rate is not as high and mistakes with accuracy can result in unwanted damage," said Yi Jinsong, China Jiuyuan Hi-Tech Equipment manager.

The Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) posted a warning that says drone operators that fly their aircraft near or over sports stadiums and racetracks could be punished by monetary fines and up to one year in jail. The rules will change flight patterns over 150 stadiums and racetracks with 30,000 or more people.

Drones will no longer be able to fly under 3,000 feet within three miles of a NCAA Division I college stadium, Major League Baseball (MLB) stadium, or National Football League (NFL) stadium - and the same rules apply for any Indy Car, NASCAR Sprint Cup or Champ series auto tracks.

The FAA is working to commercialize drone use, and while that has proven to be a drawn out mess, a growing number of private citizens are flying drones.

With Google's recent acquisition of Titan Aerospace, many have wondered what it would do in our skies - well, now we have somewhat of an idea what the Mountain View-based giant will do. Google has asked the Federal Communications Commission for permission to take to the skies with experimental drones that would provide Internet access to remote areas.

Google wrote to the FCC on Friday, asking it to keep most of the testing details under wraps, but it did write: "Google recently acquired Titan Aerospace, a firm that specializes in developing solar and electric unmanned aerial systems ('UAS') for high altitude, long endurance flights. These systems may eventually be used to provide Internet connections in remote areas or help monitor environmental damage, such as oil spills or deforestation. The STA [Special Temporary Authority] is needed for demonstration and testing of [REDACTED] in a carefully controlled environment".

Starting on October 6, 2014, Google wants to start testing out its drones for 180 days. We should see the site of these tests "in a square east of Albuquerque and south of Santa Fe, New Mexico, centered roughly on the unincorporated community of Stanley", according to consulting engineer Steven Crowley. Google will transmit at frequencies between 910MHz and 927MHz, and from 2.4GHz to 2.414GHz. What will Google be transmitting at those frequencies? No one knows, as this information was redacted from the document, with the company refusing to comment on its application.

Heading to Disney in the future? Don't be surprised if you see drones flying overhead, as the company recently filed multiple patents to use drones in its amusement parks. It seems Disney wants to substitute drone-assisted shows for fireworks or large light shows, providing customers with a new experience.

Disney recently filed three patents for drone use, including a multi-drone projection screen system, possible overhead light displays, and drones attached to puppets or balloons to give them motion capabilities. The drones would be controllable from the ground, but would be pre-programmed and have synchronization to avoid contact with one another while in the air.

Drone use by militaries and governments seem to get the most attention, but there is a booming market for civilians and private sector companies trying to expand their capabilities. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is currently working on commercial drone laws, as more private sector companies want to use small drones for commercial purposes.

The National Park Service banned drones from flying over national markets because of safety issues and noise problems, and it seems a banned drone was crashed into Yellowstone National Park's Grand Prismatic Spring on August 2.

The drone hasn't been recovered and specific damage to the natural spring remains unknown, but will try to determine where the drone crashed. The spring is 300 feet across and up to 160-feet deep, making it the largest in the United States.

"We don't know what damage may have been caused when it entered the hot spring, but we also don't know what kind of damage could be caused by leaving it there or by taking it out," said Amy Bartlett, a U.S. National Park Service official, in a statement to LiveScience.

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) will no longer be allowed to fly over U.S. national parks, with concerns of safety and noise complaints. The ban covers all 84 million acres of land the National Park Service manages, so visitors won't be able to fly their drones while visiting parks.

A visitor at the Grand Canyon National Park crashed into the canyon and disrupted park visitors observing a sunset. Later in the month, Zion National Park officials noted an unmanned aircraft frightened bighorn sheep at the park.

"We embrace many activities in national parks because they enhance visitor experiences with the iconic natural, historic and cultural landscapes in our care," said Jonathan Jarvis, National Park Service Director, in a press statement. "however, we have serious concerns about the negative impact that flying unmanned aircraft is having in parks, so we are prohibiting their use until we can determine the most appropriate policy that will protect park resources and provide all visitors with a rich experience."

Back in 2011, the Islamic Republic took down one of the United States' Lockheed Martin Sentinel RQ-170 drones, but between that event and now, Iran has been working on making a copy of the US spy drone, something the country just started showing off.

Iran will be doing some test flights soon, according to officials at the IRGC's Aerospace Exhibition. Iran showcased its reverse-engineered drone next to the original US built on, with the exhibition seeing Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Khamenei, state that the Iranian model sports an advanced system of data collection, video and radar telecommunications.

During a broadcast on Iranian TV, an officer said: "Our engineers succeeded in breaking the drone's secrets and copying them. It will soon take a test flight". When Khamenei looked at the drone, he said: "This drone is very important for reconnaissance missions". The United States used its Sentinel RQ-170 UAV during covert operations in Afghanistan from 2005-2007. It was used as it is one UAV that is hard to detect with long range radar thanks to its special stealth coating - making it visible from a distance of around 40km.

A report is making the rounds that the police in Compton, California carried out a secret experiment in 2013 that involved the use of surveillance drones. The drone aircraft was equipped with a HD video camera and allows operators to zoom in on any point within the municipality. Compton spans about 10-square miles.

The demonstration was conducted by a company called Persistence Surveillance Systems and one of its workers named Ross McNutt says, "We literally watched all of Compton during the times that we were flying, so we could zoom in anywhere within the city of Compton and follow cars and see people."

The drone used can stay in the air for six hours. It produces feeds that are similar to Google Earth where the operators can zoom in on specific areas. The cameras are said to not have the resolution to identify faces.

Technology isn't just helping the NSA track every move you do online, but it is also helping criminals, too. In the UK, criminals are using heat-sensing drones to find weed farms, after which they'll go in and take it all in a heist.

Growing weed is obviously illegal, but you're not exactly going to report that your farm of weed is gone. This leads to violence, with a thug talking to Halesowen News, admitting that his crew steals from, and imposes a tax on their targets because "the people growing [weed] are not gangsters". Local members of Parliament are reportedly not in the know, but Tom Watson, who is the Chair of a Parliamentary group on drones had something to say about the weed-heisting using drones.

He said: "This ... story shows the proliferation of drone technology which can be used for both good and bad".

For weeks now it has appeared that Facebook would be swooping in and buying up drone manufacturer, Titan Aerospace, but today Google has apparently beaten Facebook to the punch and picked up the company itself. While no price has been mentioned on how much the deal cost Google, it does mark the third company of this type that the Mountain View-based company has added to its stables.

"Titan Aerospace and Google share a profound optimism about the potential for technology to improve the world. It's still early days, but atmospheric satellites could help bring internet access to millions of people, and help solve other problems, including disaster relief and environmental damage like deforestation," said a Google spokesperson.

Google says that it will utilize technology from Titan Aerospace, its Project Loon, and Makani Airborne, a wind turbine company it acquired last year, to work on a solution that will bring unbiased, and unfiltered internet to developing and war-torn countries around the world. "Titan Aerospace and Google share a profound optimism about the potential for technology to improve the world," Google said. "It's still early days, but atmospheric satellites could help bring internet access to millions of people, and help solve other problems, including disaster relief and environmental damage like deforestation."