Technabob » drone

X-47B UAV: Can Skynet Be Far Behind?

Shane McGlaun — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 16:00:47 +0000

Yep, the US military is set to put the first part of Skynet into motion. The first part of the system that John Connor will need to fight is already in development. The craft is called the X-47B and it has been designed to require no human interaction to carry out its military mission.

Most drones in the military arsenal have a pilot, even if that pilot is half a world away. The X-47B will be able to take off, find its target, attack, and return home and land all on its own using internal systems. While it’s still years away from being used in the field, the X-47B would be the first fully-unmanned aircraft system in the military.

Humans would still program flight plans and targets, but Northrop program manger Carl Johnson said, “It will do its own math and decide what it should do next.” Let’s hope the math is does comes up with an answer other than humans are a risk to its survival. While it is currently illegal for a machine to make its own military decisions, I don’t think Skynet really cares about such rules.

[via TheAtlanticWire]

Fly Your AR.Drone with a Game Controller and Spy on Neighbors More Precisely

Range — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 19:00:53 +0000

When the Parrot AR.Drone was released, it was supposed to be piloted from an iPhone or Android smartphone. However, that didn’t gel with some users since it’s not as precise as they’d like. Serious AR.Drone geeks have thought about using a game controller from their favorite video game, or even better, a flight-simulator joystick, and have put together various hacks to make this happen.

Logic Consulting has released a simple way for non-hackers to try this thanks to their Drone Station app for Mac. Simply install the app, connect a joystick, and you can control your AR.Drone from your laptop or desktop Mac. It works with a wide variety of game controllers including those from the PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii too.

The higher signal strength of the Wi-Fi from a computer versus the one from an iPhone allows the pilot to control the drone over greater distances. There’s app also provides supplemental info on screen, such as altitude, attitude, direction, and battery gauges.

If you have a Parrot AR.drone, you can get the Drone Station app here for $9.99(USD). I guess if you already spent $300 on the drone, this app will be worth it.

[via Ubergizmo]

NATO Drone Captured by Iran Using GPS Hack?

Shane McGlaun — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 01:47:27 +0000

If you follow the news, you probably have heard or read about the NATO RQ-170 drone that was captured by Iran. When I saw the captured drone photos that were floating around and noted the drone was in one piece I wondered what happened. The Iranian scientist that helped capture the drone is apparently now bragging.

According to the scientist, the RQ-170 Sentinel drone was forced to land where the Iranians wanted it to using a GPS hack. First, they blocked the GPS signals to the drone placing it into autopilot. Then the GPS hack fooled the drone into thinking it was somewhere it wasn’t.

The drone then landed of its own accord when the Iranians told it to and they had the complete and working drone in their possession. The crazy part is that apparently the military knew that this exact hack could compromise the drone all the way back in 2003.

[via C|Net via Gizmodo]

This Insect Spies All: Miniature Surveillance Drones

Hazel Chua — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 12:30:34 +0000

Ah, insect drones. They’ve been used so much in movies and televisions shows that it was bound to become a reality someday. I remember this particular scene in that old Richie Rich movie (the one where Macaulay Culkin played Richie), when Professor Kean Bean was showing off his latest invention to Richie: a gold flying bug that was equipped with a camera.

So remember when I said that such inventions would soon make their way in real life? Well, ladies and gentlemen, that time is now. The researchers at the Micro-Aviary at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base have been hard at work at fitting walls with super-sensitive motion capture sensors that will be able to track the position of a helicopter or small plane “within about a tenth of an inch.” Talk about precise.

The information from the sensors are then used to create ”very, very small flapping-wing vehicles,” says Greg Parker, who’s a part of the research team.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

There have been no officially released images or photos of the insect drones, although I doubt the military will be making them available anytime soon as they’re bound to be classified stuff.

[via Oh Gizmo!]

Giant US Defense Spy Blimps to Roam Afghan Skies

Range — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 15:00:55 +0000

While this massive blimp looks pretty awesome, I’m just sad that it’s a spy drone and not a passenger airship, allowing people to take leisurely trips around the world (à la Fringe). The awkwardly-named Blue Devil Block 2 dwarfs a nearby 18-wheeler, allowing you to fathom its gigantic size.

It’s 370 feet long and by next year, it will house a supercomputer and surveillance equipment to allow it to look over the Afghan battlefield, 36 square miles at time – from a height of 20,000 feet+. Since it moves slowly, and doesn’t just fly over quickly in a pass, it’s going to be quite useful. It will probably help the US military achieve something called air supremacy.

This is one of two mega-airships that the military is funding thanks to a $211 million dollar investment. How long before Big Brother decides to park a few of these over your city to act as the eye-in-the-sky?

[via Wired]

Lockheed’s Samarai Drone Design is Based on a Maple Seed

Shane McGlaun — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 23:41:53 +0000

Each fall I end up spending some time outside with the kids chasing leaves. They think it’s a riot to see if they can catch a leaf before it hits the ground as it falls from the tree. If you live in an area with maple trees, you have seen the little seed pods the tree drops that twirl their way to the ground like a little helicopter.

Lockheed Martin has unveiled a new remote controlled drone based on the design of the maple seed. The Samarai drone is very compact and lightweight. It has two moving parts and camera on it and can fly using a remote control or a tablet app. Test flights for the drone took it up to about 30-feet in elevation, and proved that the concept works.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

The drone can hover like a helicopter and can take off vertically in tight spots. It’s small enough to be deployed from a backpack and the pilot can launch the craft by throwing it like a boomerang. The thought is that the drone could some day be used by military and police to see what is going on over a wall, or in other hard to reach locations.

[via Navy Times]

First 3D Printed Plane: Future of Drones and UAVs?

Range — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 12:30:22 +0000

3D printing has been used in a variety of different ways, but this is the first time that I’ve seen it being used to print out a whole airplane. UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) are pretty important in the military these days, and even on science missions. Now, a team from the University of Southampton has printed out a working UAV, which is kind of amazing.

Their 3D-printed aircraft is named Sulsa, and it runs on an electric motor. It cost just over $8,000 to produce. Its wingspan is 5 feet, can hit a top speed of almost 100mph and its maiden flight lasted for about 10 minutes. All in all, that’s not bad for something that was printed on a 3D printer.

Sulsa was printed on an EOS EOSINT P730 nylon laser sintering machine, which can fabricate either plastic or metal objects, layer by layer. Even the control structures and wings were printed. Of course, the plane’s motor and battery were added separately.

Just imagine what this could mean. In a few years, you might be able to print out your own airplane and start flying it – or better yet, print your own car, get inside, and drive off.

[via NewScientist via DVice]

Shadowhawk: RC Copter from Hell

Range — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 12:00:51 +0000

When you think about RC helicopters, the word lethal isn’t really something that pops into mind, but it might when you see this one. The Shadowhawk helicopter is remote-controlled and can fire stun batons, shotgun shells and grenades at your enemies.

It took Vanguard Defense about three years to come up with this, but it will sure surprise anyone who dismisses the Shadowhawk as a toy. It’s 7 feet long and weighs 49lbs. It can travel at speeds of up to 70mph. It’s got a bunch of sensors so that it can also serve as a drone, as well as laser pointers, range finders, and 37mm or 40mm grenade launchers.

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These video clips show just a little bit of the potential of the Shadowhawk in action.

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Before you start saving up, remember that the most lethal version is unavailable for civilians (you need to be a military or law enforcement customer), but you can get the Mark II without the weapons for an undisclosed amount over at Vanguard Defense.

[via Gizmodo via Ubergizmo]

Robot Jet Ski Patrols Harbors Looking for Baddies

Shane McGlaun — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 18:43:19 +0000

Sometimes it seems like the military wants to shed all the people from many aspects of its operations. We will always need eyes on the ground, but many tasks are now being handed over to robots and drones. The USAF has the most drones, but the Navy is getting some robotic machines too. The Navy is testing a new robot jet ski called the Blackfish.

The Blackfish apparently starts as a normal jet ski, then QinetiQ, the company that makes the Blackfish, hacks the top off and crams a bunch of sensors inside what’s left. Those sensors allow the Blackfish to see under the water and on top of the water to look for attackers that might be swimming up to attack Navy ships.

The Blackfish will be able to be remotely controlled at distances of up to 1KM and can also be autonomous and patrol pre-set GPS waypoints. Care was taken to be sure the jet ski could go slow enough to be useful for surveillance. Bow thrusters were added to allow the Blackfish to move slowly enough in the water. The Blackfish is 10-feet long and can hit 40mph on the water.

[via Discovery News]

SEED Concept: Your Personal Automonous Floating Camera Drone

Range — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 13:04:41 +0000

The SEED is an autonomous, mobile camera balloon created to take photos and video of you while you’re on vacation, but I honestly see a lot of Big Brother implications. It also reminds me of the Kinos in Stargate Universe. This unique spin on the blimp drone was designed by Moonhwan Lee.

I’ve read about robotic blimp drones before, for military usage and in science-fiction, but it’s somewhat odd to see the concept used like this. The blimp also keeps track of the weather and other data so that you can remember everything about the environment when you later view the footage on your favorite social networking site.

The SEED can also act as a personal navigation device, projecting directions to a location of choice, and then guiding you along the route.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

I’m sure that parts of this concept will be made or already exist, albeit for military purposes, in order to create a low-cost flying drone. Actually, you could probably SEED a theater of war with these to get full sensor coverage. It would probably be much cheaper than deploying satellites.

[via Yanko Design]

CrazyFlie: Tiny Barebones Quadrocopter Weighs Less than an Ounce

Range — Mon, 02 May 2011 12:25:40 +0000

While I think that quadrocopters are cool, they tend to be big devices. That’s why I like this tiny quadrocopter, which only weighs 20 grams. It’s basically a PCB with some rotors on it, which is why it is so light. All of the telemetry is being handled on a computer, so it’s essentially a thin-client UAV, which is even more awesome (awesomer?).

It’s called the CrazyFlie and it’s made by Daedalus Projects. Their aim was to make a barebones flying robot, cutting out anything that wasn’t needed. In addition to weighing under an ounce, it measures just under 5″ (12cm) square. The prototype wasn’t cheap or easy to make, but hopefully we’ll be getting a kit of some kind at some point.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Check out how stable and precisely it can fly. That’s due to the four rotors, which help keep it quite centered, without being too much of a hassle to pilot.

[Hack a Day via CrunchGear]

Water-Skier Controlled Tow Boat for Solo Show-Offs

Range — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 12:47:15 +0000

It’s probably every water-skier’s (wet !) dream to have a remotely operated tow-boat. Although water-skiing normally requires at least two people – one to pilot the boat, and one to be pulled behind it, this thing will tow you around without needing anyone else.

The boat is nearly 8 feet long, has a three-cylinder, two-stroke 70 horsepower engine as well as a jet pump that will pull you along the water at up to 40mph.

The boat is unmanned but it’s got a remote with a bunch of buttons that will replace your friends (or servants). I’m guessing this should be quite hard to pilot, as you’ll have to think about the tow boat controls while you’re also trying to maintain your balance. Thanks to the rope, there is a delay before any change of course affects you, so at 40mph, it’s a recipe for disaster.

So what will this luxury cost? $17,000 over at Hammacher Schlemmer! Yep, so this is only for the rich and famous. It’s probably cheaper to rent a proper motorboat and pay for your buddies tow you around instead of spending this much on a tow boat.

[via Ubergizmo]

Quadrocopter Ball Juggling, or Ping Pong Match?

Technabob — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 14:15:23 +0000

Got a couple of fancy quadrocopters floating around? Why not teach them some cheap tricks – like how to juggle balls. The guys from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich are up to their flying quadrocopter shenanigans again.

This time, they’ve trained a pair of their flying machines to bounce ping-pong balls between them. By mounting the head of a tennis racket to each one, and carefully positioning them, they’re able to get the ball to volley between the two. Here’s a video of the exciting ball juggling action.

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I guess it’s more like a round of ping-pong than “juggling” per se, but it’s still pretty impressive. Sure it’s not like watching Nadal and Federer go at it, but they drop the ball fewer times than I usually do. What do you think the Swiss will teach their quadrocopters to do next? I hope they’ll get them to make some watches and chocolate.

[via YouTube]

Merry Quadrocopter Christmas

Technabob — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 16:00:10 +0000

If I had a Quadrocopter remote-controlled flying aircraft floating around my place, I’m not sure this is the first thing I’d do with it. But it is the holidays, and I guess the joyful Christmas spirit is strong with the guys who programmed their Quadrocopter to play a little festive holiday tune.

The researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology took a break from sipping their Swiss Miss hot cocoa (with mini marshmallows) to teach Echo, their flying Quadrocopter drone to play a little Jingle Bells:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Whenever I hear that little ditty, all I think of is “Batman smells, Robin laid an egg…”

Sure, it’s not as impressive as some of the other robotic musicians I’ve featured before, but then again, none of them were trying to hover in mid-air while playing, either.

[via Engadget]

Draganflyer X8 Now for Sale, Definitely Not for Fun and Games

Lambert Varias — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 12:48:14 +0000

We featured this 8-rotor helicopter a few months ago, and even then it was pretty evident that the DraganFlyer X8 is not meant for recreation. Now that it’s been released and we can see it’s specs and configurations, you can definitely cross out this thing on your Christmas wish list. Unless you need to take aerial footage for your job, or you’re Solid Snake’s future enemy, in which case feel free to drool.

The DraganFlyer X8 has 7 configurations, including the base model, which already has the carbon-fiber blades, brushless motor, landing gear, OLED video remote controller, GPS, batteries, case and such. The other configurations are Photography/HD Video, HD Video, IP Video, Low light video w/onboard DVR, Infrared video w/ onboard DVR, and Emergency Services. Check this page for the full list of specs and options.

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Note that the pre-configured models are not fixed; you can add (but not subtract) features as long as you have the funds. So how much funds are we talking about? The base model of the DraganFlyer X8 can be yours for $32,165 (USD). I’m guessing you just thought, “Oh. So it won’t be mine then.”

[DraganFly]

Japanese Flying Surveillance Drone Looks Familiar… !

Lambert Varias — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 12:43:45 +0000

Japan’s Ministry of Defense recently unveiled their flying surveillance drone, meant to be used for short distances. Surveillance drones are not exactly new in this day and age, but as soon as I saw the quadrocopter, one thing came to mind: Metal Gear Solid 2.

It looks a lot like those annoying Cyphers! Each part – the camera, the tripod and the quadrocopter base – may look different, but together the resemblance made me nerdgasm. I wonder if the Ministry of Defense has a Gun Cypher counterpart as well.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Time to stock up on chaff grenades, Japan.

[via Engadget]

Draganflyer X8 has 8 Rotors and Makes the Ar.Drone Look Like the Toy It is

Shane McGlaun — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 18:52:39 +0000

I really thought the Parrot AR.Drone was sweet when I first saw it. The thing is a four-propeller helicopter device with a camera you can control from your iPhone. I know the AR.Drone is really just a toy, and the Draganflyer X8 makes it look just like the toy it is.

The X8 is a massive eight-propeller remote surveillance drone with a big old Nikon camera hanging under its belly in the pics that isn’t included. The thing has eight rotors that each has its own motor with more power than previous offerings for a higher payload capacity.

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The frame of the device is made from carbon fiber and can fold for portability and storage. The controller for the device is computer sized and gives all the control you need. The copter can carry 35 ounces maximum and measures 36.25″ x 26.25″ x 41.8″ and is 12.6″ tall. I don’t even want to know how much it costs; you have to request a quote to find out.

Sweet Arduimu Quadcopter is Smarter Than the Parrot Ardrone

Shane McGlaun — Mon, 24 May 2010 19:27:14 +0000

I have been building model kits since I was a kid and now that my son is old enough we put them together at times. I once built an RC airplane from a kit and it was hard to do even with instructions. I can’t imagine building your own flying RC aircraft from scratch without instructions.

That is exactly what designer Jose Julio did when he created his cool ArduIMU Quadcopter. The thing reminds me a lot of that iPhone controlled Parrot ARDrone quadcopter. Only Julio’s version has ultrasonic and infrared sensors.

Using these sensors the quadcopter can fly around and avoid obstacles as well as hover at a specific height. Check out the video below for action shots of the cool flying machine in action.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

[via Make:]

Parrot Ar Drone Helicopter has Streaming Video and iPhone Controls

Range — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 19:59:18 +0000

This new toy is so cool that I’m almost speechless. It’s a quadricopter and it’s got a camera on board!

The AR.Drone from Parrot is one amazing toy. It can be controlled via iPhone or iPod Touch thanks to WiFi and it will provide a live video stream of what it sees. How cool is that?

There is another camera facing downward to measure speed and to compensate for turbulence. In case the drone looses contact, an autopilot kicks in and lands the thing. This is kind of like having your own little spy plane, only it’s more maneuverable and stable since it’s a quadricopter.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

There’s even going to be an open AR.Drone SDK, which will allow developers to build custom applications for controlling the remote drone. Cool!

Expect the AR.Drone to hit stores sometime later this year. No word on pricing or an exact release date yet.

[via Make:]

http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2010/01/altces_rc_heli_with_streaming_video.html

Harop Loitering Munition: a Spy Drone With Suicidal Tendencies

Lambert Varias — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 12:00:54 +0000

It may not have a classy or intimidating name, but I’m sure that robots speak of the HAROP loitering munition with great respect – or perhaps fear - when they… get together for, um, poker night. Israel Aerospace Industries’ bad boy is a remote-controlled, unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) that can be deployed from a mobile launcher. It can be fitted with steerable color or infrared cameras so that it can provide recon. But the creepiest thing about the HAROP – also called Harpy 2 – is that it can hurl itself at a target, setting off 50 lbs of onboard explosives in the process to make sure that it kills the target dead, while minimizing collateral damage.

The HAROP can stay on air for up to 6 hours, plenty of time to select a target within its 620 mi range. So you can deploy it from another city way ahead of time, and have it wait for a target to come out or pass by, then BOOM. Haropped.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

I do not want to die that way. If you feel the same way, then you’d better not piss off India or Germany in some royal manner, because both countries recently bought a bunch of HAROPs.

[via IAI via BotJunkie]