When the Finnish National Bureau of Investigation (KRP) recently encouraged citizens to report drone sightings to the emergency number 112, the advice was meant to promote safety. Instead, it has sparked confusion and criticism from drone experts who say it risks fueling unnecessary fear and false alarms.
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Drones are buzzing over Helsinki’s West Harbor this week, but they’re not there for stunning skyline shots. Instead, they’re keeping a close eye on traffic.
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In a promising development for sea rescue operations, the Port of Helsinki in Finland has conducted a successful test to see if drones could transport rescue buoys to people in distress at sea. The pilot took place in Helsinki’s Eastern Harbour, Vuosaari, where a drone flew a rescue buoy to a fire department staff member acting as a victim in the water.
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Authorities in Finland are holding suspects believed to have exported millions of dollars worth of drones and counter-UAV components to Russia, in violation of sanctions imposed by the European Union and the US over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
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Newspapers worldwide have been decimated to near extinction by various disruptive technologies over the past decade, but a Finnish company is preparing to give local dailies a lift by assuring prompt delivery of papers to subscribers on secluded lake islands south of the city of Tampere.
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Google parent Alphabet Inc’s Wing will launch drone deliveries in Finland in the Spring of 2019, according to a statement. The company announced that it will start to deliver goods and packages up to 3.3 pounds in a range of 6.2 miles in Helsinki. Last July, Wing recently became an independent company as it was spun out of Alphabet’s X research division. The company is led by James Ryan Burgess and has been actively testing with drone deliveries in Australia, delivering burritos among other things.
Nature photographer, Jani Ylinampa captured the beauty of Kotisaari Island during the four seasons with his drone. Until 1980, the island used to be a meeting point for the lumberjacks of Rovaniemi in Lapland, Finland. One of the buildings on the island has since been converted into a tavern and a daily ferry brings tourists to and from the island. As Kotisaari Island is only four miles from the Arctic Circle, flying a drone during the winter months proved to be a real challenge.