The world’s first waterproof drone capable of submerging under water, floating like a boat and flying through the air at over 40mph (60kmh) has been unveiled by US engineers.
The $765 (£585) gadget, known as Spry, features a built-in 4K camera that can both record video and snap photos on the fly.
Footage is beamed back to a monitor embedded into a waterproof remote control, which the drone’s developers claim is another world first for the drone industry.
Engineers from Caltech and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab built a three-inch drone that could be launched from a barrel. It’s called SQUID, or the Streamlined Quick Unfolding Investigation Drone. And this year, the team has debuted a larger six-inch version of the drone.
Posted in drones, satellites
Scientists analyse images over seven decades.
German and Russian scientists say they have documented the life cycle of a volcano for the first time, revealing that it has a kind of “memory”.
The volcano in question is Bezymianny, an active stratovolcano on the Kamchatka peninsula in eastern Russia which suffered a collapse in its eastern sector back in 1956.
Photographs of helicopter overflights from Soviet times have now been analysed alongside more recent satellite drone data using state-of-the-art methods at the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) in Potsdam.
A Camcopter S-100 drone made the first commercial drone delivery to an offshore oil platform in late August and it might be the beginning of a major industry. The helicopter drone flew a 3D printed part from Norway to a rig located about 60 miles off the coast. The flight was conducted without any special airspace adjustments and the drone was just part of the traffic servicing the oil fields. The drone also did an exterior inspection of the drilling platform and performed a simulated search and rescue drill with the rig’s standby vessel.
Of course, the oil companies are keeping a close eye on the drone developments because hauling freight and supplies to the rigs by drone could not only be a lot cheaper, but also safer. There are also several major helicopter companies that have oilfield supply as their core business watching the new initiatives. Servicing oil platforms is a multibillion-dollar business and also one of the most dangerous forms of commercial flying. Nordic Unmanned, which flew the first drone flight, says drones are a viable alternative to many missions now flown by big, expensive helicopters. “This marks the beginning of a new chapter within unmanned logistics,” spokesman Pål Kristensen said.” The technology is proven and robust enough to implement in large scale and reduces the risk cost and environmental footprint drastically.”
The bags of cannabis were dropped by the “green drone” Telegram group, which advocates for the legalization of cannabis in Israel, with “free love” being the group’s slogan.
Before dropping the cannabis over Tel Aviv, the group published a message on Telegram, hinting at the planned operation.
“It’s time my dear brothers. Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s the green drone, handing out free cannabis from the sky… Enjoy my beloved brothers, this is your pilot brother, making sure we all get some free love,” the message read.
Amazon is still testing the concept in hopes of realizing its goal of unmanned deliveries for Prime members.
NEW YORK (AP) — Getting an Amazon package delivered from the sky is closer to becoming a reality.
The Federal Aviation Administration said Monday it had granted Amazon approval to deliver packages by drones.
Amazon said that the approval is an “important step,” but added that it is still testing and flying the drones. It did not say when it expected drones to make deliveries to shoppers.
Amazon received federal approval to operate its fleet of Prime Air delivery drones, the Federal Aviation Administration said Monday, a milestone that allows the company to expand unmanned package delivery.
The approval will give Amazon broad privileges to “safely and efficiently deliver packages to customers,” the agency said. The certification comes under Part 135 of FAA regulations, which gives Amazon the ability to carry property on small drones “beyond the visual line of sight” of the operator.
Amazon said it will use the FAA’s certification to begin testing customer deliveries. The company said it went through rigorous training and submitted detailed evidence that its drone delivery operations are safe, including demonstrating the technology for FAA inspectors.
Amazon Prime Air has cleared a regulatory hurdle, moving the online retail giant one step closer to dropping packages off at your doorstep with drones. The US Federal Aviation Administration on Saturday issued Amazon Prime Air a “a Part 135 air carrier certificate,” allowing it to begin commercial drone deliveries in the US.
“Amazon Prime Air’s concept uses autonomous [unmanned aircraft systems] to safely and efficiently deliver packages to customers,” said a spokesperson for the FAA on Monday. “The FAA supports innovation that is beneficial to the public, especially during a health or weather-related crisis.”
Amazon and other companies are trying to make drones the future of deliveries.
