Drone

NASA selects two drone concepts for further study, for a drone mission to launch in 2020 as the fourth part of its  New Frontiers program. The first concept is a sample return spacecraft to a comet. The second one is a drone to fly across a moon of Saturn. Both concepts, that build upon previous European Space Agency mission, were chosen for further study by NASA this week.

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DJI seems to be on a roll this week. Next, to the new DJI Phantom 4 RTK, the Chinese drone manufacturer also launched two new agricultural drones, MG-1S Advanced and the MG-1P. Both drones use advanced technologies that promise to significantly enhance agricultural production efficiency, such as spraying pesticide on crops.

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Today we came across an interesting post on Facebook. Daniel de Ruiter from the Netherlands had posted a photo of his Inspire 2 flying with an Insta360 Pro mounted underneath it. This is a pretty pricey setup to fly. The drone retails for at least $2999, and the 360-degree camera that provides 8K video goes for $3499. To mount the Insta360 Pro camera to the drone, De Ruiter had bought a 3D printed mount from a company in Spain. According to the post on Facebook, the drone and camera were used for an Adidas commercial.  He said:

“Did something new this weekend with the Insta360Pro and Inspire 2. Shooting in 360 in 8K. Inspire 2 handled great 👊”

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A gang in England who used a drone equipped with fishing lines to smuggle £370,000 ($495,000 USD) worth of contraband including drugs, phones, and a Freeview box into prisons are jailed for 28 years. In total, the gang had carried out nearly 50 drone flights and ‘throw-overs’ into British jails. Among the items they delivered was drugs but also tools, phones and a TV box. Their drone deliveries came to an end after prison officers found a package containing cocaine. the eight gang members face prison time of more than 24 years.

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Is Korean-based, LG Electronics going to get involved in the drone industry? That is a question that has been on people’s minds for some time now. LG is a very competitive electronics giant and has been expanding in the automotive and VR space. Recently they partnered with Huawei to deliver 1.5Gbps connectivity to customers from 300 feet altitude using a drone. And now with this new patent, that was made public on December 14, 2017, it seems that LG is getting serious about the drones.

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The first time I got the DJI Spark in my hands was back in June. Since then I have flown the Spark mini-drone on numerous occasions, at many different locations, and in varying conditions. To say that I like the Mavic Pro’s smaller brother is an understatement.

I simply love the Spark. Yes, I wish it had 4K video, a real 3-axis gimbal, and a longer flight time. But the way the Spark flies when you put it in sports mode (fast and agile) and the fun that you can have with it, make up for its shortcomings. As they say, the best drone you have is the one that is with you. The Spark has joined me on many trips, where I simply would not have bothered to take the bigger and heavier Mavic Pro. As you probably can tell, the DJI Spark is one of my favorite drones!

With that out of the way, I owe you a full review of the DJI Spark mini-drone, so here we go.

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About a week ago a drone spots an enormous great white shark in Esperance, Western Australia. This is not the first time we’ve seen this. Drones are being used more and more to keep people safe. Earlier in November, we reported on drones being used to patrol the beaches in Perth Australia.  And in Queensland, Australia the Surf Lifesaving organization is using drones to patrol the beaches after crocodile attacks.

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One of the most popular YouTubers, Casey Neistat, recently flew his drone inside an Emirates airplane on his way to Dubai. It all took place during a flight from Brussels to Dubai. Neistat was invited to try out the new Emirates First Class Suite onboard a new Boeing 777.

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In their December issue, the New York Magazine has published a number of amazing drone photos of iconic buildings and locations in New York City. The aerial photos, taken by Humza Deas, are all captured with the #straightdown perspective that we have come to appreciate so much.

The drone photos show the Statue of Liberty, The Chrysler Building, Grand Central Terminal, the Unisphere, Stuyvesant Town, Columbus Circle, Port Authority Bus Terminal and more all taken by flying the drone straight overhead. The result is amazing and shows the city in ways few of us have ever seen.

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According to a UK Airprox Board report, a “DJI Mavic type” drone was spotted by a London City airliner right after taking off. The drone was spotted at approximately 3,000 feet elevation above Stratford, as the De Havilland Dash-8 turboprop airliner had just taken off from London City Airport.

The UK Airprox Board report is unusual as typically the type of drone is not specified. This time the “DJI Mavic type” drone was seen by the third pilot in the observer’s position. According to the same report, it was ‘endangering other aircraft’.

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Municipal Police of Escazú, Costa Rica and first aid responders rushed to the crash site of what was thought to be a small glider airplane. On closer inspection, the aerial vehicle turned out to be a 10-foot long drone hanging in the crown of a tree.

Nacion reported that the call was received by the 9-1-1 emergency system, which triggered the emergency protocol for the first aid response units. Ambulances and police units were directed to the crash site. The first crew to arrive spotted the plane hanging down from a tree and at a distance it represented an airplane. It wasn’t until the units got closer that they realized that in fact, it was a 10-foot long unmanned aerial vehicle.

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Drone technology aids in the discovery of a mysterious ancient structure at a military training ground in Israel. Archaeologists used a camera-equipped drone to locate a 2,200-year-old structure in the heart of an Israeli military training area. The structure, which could be a temple or a palace from the ancient Idumean culture, dating back to the Hellenistic period, when Greek influences were strong in the region, has been excavated by a team of experts from the Israel Antiquities Authority and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

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Different news sources have reported that South Korea is planning to create an army of armed drones to defend itself against a possible attack from its neighbor North Korea. The South Korean news agency Yonhap reported, “Next year we will launch a combat unit with unmanned aircraft, which will serve to change the rules of the game in the wars,” citing a South Korean military official who requested anonymity.

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During the 2017 Miami’s Art Basel, BMW used 300 drones or unmanned vehicles to showcase their latest project: “Franchise Freedom”, produced in collaboration with Studio Drift. The drones flew outside the Faena hotel complex in Miami Beach, choreographed and were meant to resemble a flock of birds. Lonneke Gordijn and Ralph Nauta from Studio Drift programmed the drones to mimic a swarm of starlings. The drones were outfitted with lights to make them visible at night and create the dramatic visual experience as shown in the videos below.

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Parrot just announced new specials for the upcoming Holiday shopping season.

Most offers come in the form of a discount but this year Parrot also decided to give $50 off of the first 50 orders over $400 with the code: PARROT50400US

Some of the best drone discounts, are on the Parrot Bepop 2 Power Adventurer, Parrot Bebop 2 Power – Pack FPV, Parrot Mambo Mission and Parrot Mambo FPV drones. You will find these and other offers from Parrot here.

Outside of Parrot’s own offering, our team from 9to5Toys has a Parrot Bebop 2 Drone Fly Longer Pack w/ FPV gear + 3 batteries available for: $550 (Reg. $800)

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A Japanese research has developed a rescue drone that detects people who are trapped under the rubble after natural disasters such as earthquakes. The team claims this is world’s first drone that has this ability. It uses a special microphone to detect distress calls from survivors.
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“For the first time ever, we’re going to use our drones,”

said Chief Ralph Terrazas of the Los Angeles Fire Department at a news conference on Thursday as blasting winds turned the Californian landscape into burning hellscape. As of Friday afternoon, more than 500 structures have been destroyed and 200,000 people have been displaced by the raging fires.

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“The Big Ugly” is the Winner of the “News & Documentary” Award on the Los Angeles Drone Film Festival 2017 edition.

In February this dramatic drone video footage of a massive wave at Nazaré, Portugal was captured by Daniel Neves and Pedro Miranda of Maquina Voadora and has been viewed more than 20 million times, making it the most famous footage of big wave surfing atNazaré.

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Bell Helicopter showcases a delivery drone that one day may well bring you your Amazon orders. The Fort Worth-based aviation company is aggressively moving into the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) space and introduced this week the all-electric APT, short for Automatic Pod Transport. A drone that could be used for military purposes or retailers like Amazon.

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The “Go home”, “T-Frend” drone flies along office buildings late at night in Tokyo, Japan, blasting “Auld Lang Syne”, a Scottish tune typically played in a store right before closing. The drone is the government latest effort to reduce the notoriously long working hours that Japanese workers put in.

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Drone taxi EHang 184 was introduced at the World Internet Conference in Wuzhen, Zhejiang Province in China on December 4, 2017. The drone taxi has automatic navigation and can take off and land vertically. No runway needed.

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