Drone research

China continues its cutting-edge development of drone and robotic technologies with the creation of what researchers say is the first UAV capable of separating into several individual aerial craft that can continue operating with a high degree of efficiency.

Want to pilot swarms of 100 drones or more all at once? Well, you can’t – not yet, at least, but an Oregon State University project has brought that possibility closer to near-term reality.

Researchers at the University of Tokyo are working on ways to boost the task-performing brawn of drones without undermining the accessibility advantages that come with their smaller size, and now say they may have a solution by coupling devices once they’ve reached job sites to combine their power.

ModalAI, a Blue UAS framework manufacturer of autonomous drone technology, has launched the Starling, the company’s smallest, smartest, and safest development drone to date. With the VOXL 2 drone autopilot supercharging its core, the Starling packs in powerful computing and artificial intelligence.

Researchers at the UK’s Imperial College London have created a prototype drone specially designed to withstand intense heat, and which through continued development may be produced as a vital data gathering tool for firefighters to minimize risk factors in various blaze-battling scenarios.

Uncrewed traffic management (UTM) specialist AirMatrix says it has received funding to map cellular signal data up to 1,000 feet. The company’s new research project will eventually help to set up the necessary telecom infrastructure for passenger air taxis and drones carrying heavy payloads above 400 feet.

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) say they’ve created an automated system allowing drones to select safe flight trajectories with what trials indicated was a 100% collision-free success rate.

Drone giant DJI has responded to a study that revealed significant security flaws in the firmware controlling four of its models by offering assurances it had been informed of the gaps and moved to eliminate them before the German researchers behind the discovery released their findings.

German researchers say they’ve found security gaps in four models of DJI drones – albeit not the kind that US politicians have claimed to justify placing the company’s craft on federal blacklists.

A division of the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) specializing in drone development and operation has been given a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) waiver allowing experts to directly assess the air worthiness of craft and oversee their testing in various operational scenarios and certification trial runs.

The UK’s Royal Navy has long pursued a variety of UAVs and related systems to assist and improve operations of its forces around the world, but now its specialized aviation tech unit has taken a step further by finally producing a drone of its very own.

Utility provider Southern Company says it has reached a new milestone on a joint research project with Mississippi State University (MSU). The duo is finding ways for the energy provider to safely expand the use of drones to map critical infrastructure, assess weather-related damage, and conduct routine utility inspections.

Innovative drone, software, and artificial intelligence (AI) developer Draganfly has announced the launch of a research and test center dedicated to perfecting a variety of aerial applications – not the least of which being the company’s ongoing work with Ukraine using UAVs for the detection and clearance of Russian mines.

Innovating botanists in Hawaii are again adapting tech loaded on drones to preserve native plants from extinction in areas too remote or dangerous for humans to access – this time on Hawaii Island to battle Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death (ROD) fungus killing indigenous ʻōhiʻa lehua trees.

It may not be the tastiest meal ever flown, but researchers in Switzerland have developed an edible drone designed to serve as life-sustaining nutrition for people stranded in emergency situations.

A research project experimenting with drones to identify overexerted athletes in states of distress turned into a real-life emergency medical response operation last weekend, when UAVs deployed to monitor the Montréal Marathon spotted an exhausted runner collapsing.

Researchers have announced their proof-of- concept success in testing a system using swarms of drones as flying 3D printers of materials in the construction and repair of buildings, inspired by the way bees and wasps assemble their nests.

Florida startup Undefined Technologies says it has taken a major step in developing a drone it believes could change the entire blossoming UAV service industry by using quieter, powerful ionic propulsions systems rather than rotors to drive UAVs.

Botanical researchers on the island of Kauai have teamed up with engineers in Quebec’s University of Sherbrooke to create a robotic arm flown by drone to collect rare flora in difficult or impossible-to -access spots for humans as part of their efforts to preserve endangered plants for centuries to come.

No matter how advanced its landing system is, most consumer drones today require a flat landing site to touch down safely. Small drones, in particular, are not capable of landing in complex situations, such as on steep roofs, in wind gusts, or at high-impact velocities. But now, researchers have taught a DJI F450 drone to land in some of the most difficult scenarios.

Scientific Applications & Research Associates (SARA) has sued drone delivery company Zipline in a California court, claiming that Zipline’s new acoustics-based drone detection and avoidance (DAA) system violates a patent covering SARA’s technology.