Drone research

Axon, the company that invented Taser stun guns, says it has “formally” begun the development of a Taser drone to address America’s chronic gun violence problem. The concept, which has been voted firmly against by the company’s own Al Ethics Advisory Board, has resulted in immediate backlash and contempt from social media users.

US researchers are building a drone-based communication network that would leverage the laws of quantum physics to make information exchange ultra-secure. While this system can prove beneficial in several scenarios, one prominent use case is warfare wherein quantum drones could provide one-time crypto-keys to relay critical messages that spies and enemies would not be able to intercept.

Ocean acidification is a serious threat to marine ecosystems. When carbon dioxide (CO2) is absorbed by seawater, chemical reactions occur that reduce seawater pH. This affects the ability of marine organisms such as corals and crabs to build and maintain their shells. The Gulf of Alaska’s cold waters naturally hold more carbon dioxide. And in an era of climate change, it’s always at risk of reaching a tipping point. This is why researchers are now hoping that a 7-foot-long, bright pink underwater drone will help them get a deeper understanding of the ocean’s chemistry.

Canadian startup AirMatrix, who’s dedicated to mapping out drone corridors in the sky, is working on a new project that could impact commercial drone deliveries and public safety operations alike. The company is using funding from the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP) to figure out, from a telecommunications standpoint, the connectivity requirements for drones to safely operate in complex urban airspace.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has invested another $4.4 million in drone research through its Alliance for System Safety of UAS through Research Excellence (ASSURE) program. The grants – focusing on the areas of electromagnetic compatibility, UAS detect and avoid classifications, and cybersecurity oversight – have been awarded to seven US universities.

A project in support of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is pairing sensor-equipped drones with machine-learning applications in an effort to automate the identification and mapping of marine waste and create effective methods for its collection and disposal. 

Michigan State University “hackers” say they have discovered a serious security vulnerability in drone camera systems through which an attacker can seize control of an aircraft from its pilot. So, is your DJI drone at risk?

Researchers at UC Berkeley have developed a drone whose hinged arms can fold themselves from horizontal to vertical position in order to pass through tight spaces or carry light objects.

If you’re a drone pilot, you likely know there are certain risks you take on when flying through a fog. In some circumstances, the fog may trigger the drone’s obstacle avoidance sensors or prevent it from descending because the aircraft starts to think of the fog as a landing spot. Then, why on earth are NASA engineers flying drones in fog so thick, you can’t see three feet in front of you?

In Germany, about 75,000 people experience sudden cardiac arrest every year – and only 11% survive. This survival rate is linked directly to an ambulance’s response time and early defibrillation. But with ambulances taking nine to 15 minutes on average to reach a rural area, and more remote areas being completely inaccessible by road, a team of students decided to come up with a means of faster intervention. Enter, a remote-controlled rescue drone with a defibrillator on board.

One of the most burning questions DroneDJ readers have is also one most pilots are eventually confronted with: What’s the best way of flying drones to observe wild elephants without disturbing them? Thanks to researchers, the world now has the answer.

Inspired by the feet and legs of the peregrine falcon, a team of engineers at Stanford University has created robotic talons that when attached to a drone enable the flying machine to perch and carry objects like a bird.

Drones are saving lives and transforming the way we live and work on an almost daily basis. This is why more than two-thirds (68%) of the British public believes drones will have a positive impact on their lives in the future, and almost half (49%) say they’re excited about the potential drone technology holds.

Living as he does near a wastewater treatment plant, Santiago Marco knows all about recurring odors fouling the surrounding air. So the researcher at the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia developed an e-nose that, when paired with a drone, may help managers proactively reduce the stink their facilities emit.

Drones equipped with thermal sensors are being deployed in one of the UK’s largest-ever surveys of Atlantic grey seal pups as a less intrusive, faster, and cheaper alternative to manual counting.

“Do more with less” is a mantra that has allowed Singapore to achieve a higher GDP per capita than the United States, even though Singapore is about 13,673 times smaller than the US. The same concept has now enabled researchers to develop a rotary-wing drone that doesn’t need “extravagant” components like two whole wings or four separate motors. F-SAM is a monocopter drone that weighs only 69 grams, can achieve a maximum lateral speed of 2.37 m/s, and fly for about 16 minutes with its semi-rigid wing.

ModalAI, a California-based drone and robotics company that spun out of Qualcomm in 2018, has launched a research and development drone that has been specifically designed to accelerate indoor autonomous navigation missions. The 550 g Seeker drone is built on the Blue sUAS framework and is powered by the VOXL CAM perception engine, another new ModalAI product.

Researchers in Japan are testing whether the deployment of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV) for research can be significantly enhanced by pairing them with communication-linked UAVs hovering overhead to relay data to human monitors on the ground.

Thanks to artificial intelligence, drones can now fly autonomously at remarkably high speeds, while navigating unpredictable, complex obstacles using only their onboard sensing and computation.

Government administrations and researchers in Australia are teaming to use drones and facial recognition technology in an effort to count, monitor, and protect the nation’s beloved koala bears.

A team of Japanese researchers has come up with a novel solution that enables people with low vision to play badminton. The unique concept replaces the shuttlecock with an encased DJI Tello drone and requires a special set of rackets.