by David Hambling | Sep 2, 2016 | Latest Posts
PIBOT2 is a robot pilot: not just an autopilot, but a human-sized android who can sit in the pilot’s seat and fly an aircraft, operating the stick and the throttle, reading the instruments and looking through the window. PIBOT2 was created by researchers at the...
by David Hambling | Jul 22, 2016 | Latest Posts
New software allows small drones to create precise 3D maps of the world in real time from a normal video camera, thanks to the power of graphics processors. The software, developed by Lockheed Martin, uses a standard laptop with a Nvdia processor, take advantage of...
by David Hambling | Jun 12, 2016 | Latest Posts
I have a piece in Popular Mechanics giving more details of the Air Force’s Perching Micro Air Weapon program: small drones with a lethal payload that can extend their mission time to days or weeks by perching. These drones are designed to operate in urban...
by David Hambling | May 30, 2016 | Latest Posts
There are plenty of devices to stop drones out there. The problem is that, in the US at least, using them is highly illegal. As the number of domestic drones reachers over two million and instances of misuse multiple, the administration still treats them like aircraft...
by David Hambling | May 30, 2016 | Latest Posts
In this piece in New Scientist magazine I explore the idea that perching drones, which can occupy ground for an extended period of time, change the political calculus when it comes to taking military action. Historically, when faced with a situation like Syria of...
by David Hambling | May 15, 2016 | Latest Posts
A quadrotor developed by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln is can start fires by dropping incendiary “dragon balls” the size of Ping-Pong balls. The aim is to makes it easier to carry out “prescribed burns”, fires which are started...
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