Watch The Biggest Ever Drone Swarm (100 Drones) Take To The Sky In Style

Endgadget: Watch Intel's record-setting drone light show

The chip giant's robotic performance really did make it into Guinness' books.

Intel talked a big game when it said that it set a Guinness World Record for the most drones controlled by a single person, but it now has the evidence to back up that braggadocio. Guinness has posted a video of the feat, which saw 100 drones perform a light show (coordinated by Intel software, of course) while humans played Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 on the ground. Is it a publicity stunt? Absolutely. But it's still fun to watch, and it's proof that drone swarms are easier to control than ever.

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CSN editor: OK .... I am impressed.

Airplane Manufacturer Airbus Has Revealed A 'Drone Killer' System That Can Disable UAVs

Airbus has revealed a new 'drone killer' system that can automatically monitor an area - and disable the drone by jamming its signals if it spots one.

Daily Mail: Airbus reveals 'drone killer' camera system that can automatically detect and disable UAVs

* Cameras and sensors can scan large areas
* Signals can be 'spoofed' to allow operators to hijack it
* Drone can also be jammed to stop in functioning
* System can work out exactly where it is being controlled from

They have begun a growing threat to airports, power stations and even public events.

Now, Airbus has revealed a new 'drone killer' system that can automatically monitor an area - and disable the drone by jamming its signals if it spots one.

The system can even analyse signals from the drone to work out exactly where it is being controlled from.

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CSN Editor: I suspect that the market for this is going to be huge.

A Super-Fast 50mph Drone For The General Consumer

A series of sensors help keep the Parrot stable while in flight. On the bottom of the drone, a camera and ultrasound help maintain its balance. Pictured is exhibitor Fabien Laxague

Daily Mail: The superfast 50mph flying wing 'stealth drone' you can launch by THROWING it into the air

* Parrot Disco can fly for 45 minutes on a single charge
* Can reach speeds of 50mph and fly automatically
* Pilots can take control from their phone, or even via a VR headset

Parrot has unveiled what could be the fastest drone on the market for home users - capable of reaching 50mph.

Called the Disco, a prototype was unveiled at CES in Las Vegas, and it expected to go on sale before the end of the year - although no price was announced.

It will fly for 45 minutes on a single charge, and can fly itself via an app, with smart software allowing pilots to take control from their phone, or even via a VR headset.

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CSN Editor: When I read stories like this one .... I shudder on what terrorists can do with this type of tech in their hands.

For Drone Owners, Beware Of Drone Jamming Zones

(Click on Image to Enlarge)

CREDIT: Brown Bird Design

Daily Mail: Drone-jamming equipment to be deployed at public events to stop terrorists using cheap unmanned aircraft in killer attacks

* System was installed for the first time on the roof of Scotland Yard
* Specialised equipment can detect, track and even intercept drones
* The £700,000 device could be used to defend critical infrastructure

A device to block drones flown by terrorists will be used at major public and sports events following a successful trial at London’s Remembrance Sunday parade.

The system was installed on the roof of Scotland Yard, close to where the commemoration took place – the first time it has been deployed by police in the UK.

The equipment, designed and built by a British consortium, can detect, track and intercept small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) flown by enemies – potentially saving hundreds of lives.

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CSN Editor: I guess it will only be a matter of time before this tech becomes affordable and widely used.

U.S. Navy Testing Drone Helicopters

U.S. Navy Testing More Sophisticated Pilotless Helicopters -- Reuters

(Reuters) - The helicopter kicked up a cloud of freshly fallen snow that partly obscured the ground below, but despite the poor visibility, it gently touched down in a landing that was unremarkable except for the fact no one was at the controls.

The helicopter, filmed during testing by the Naval Research Laboratory, was piloted by a 100-pound (45-kg) sensor and software package that officials said can turn any rotary-winged aircraft into a virtually autonomous drone able to fly with minimal input from the Marine Corps troops it was designed to serve.

Rear Admiral Matthew Klunder, chief of Naval Research, said the sensor and software pack is "truly leap-ahead technology" that will let a Marine with no flight experience issue landing instructions to a cargo helicopter via tablet computer after just a few minutes of training.

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More News On The U.S. Navy Testing Drone Helicopters

Navy to fly full sized drone helicopters by tablet APP to deliver food, water and weapons to troops -- Daily Mail
Navy unveils new program to create drone-like autonomous aircraft -- FOX News
Navy Drones With a Mind of Their Own -- WSJ
Navy’s Future on Video: Fly Choppers With Tablets, Blast Enemies With Rail Guns -- ABC news
Navy unveils ‘leap-ahead technology’ that turns choppers into drones -- Washington Times
U.S. Navy Funds Development of Next-Level Helicopter Drones -- Aviation Today

My Comment: The above video is a must see on how far they have advanced in this technology.

A Mechanical FISH that Perfectly Mimics The Movement Of Marine Creatures

The Robot Set To Make A Splash! Mechanical FISH Perfectly Mimics The Movement Of Marine Creatures -- Daily Mail

* Robotic fish made of rubber changes direction in a fraction of a second
* Movements are controlled by carbon dioxide from a built-in canister
* Once released, gas passes through a channel, causing the tail to bend
* The fish performs up to 30 manoeuvres before the carbon dioxide runs out
* Its inventor hopes to use it to learn more about the behaviour of fish

Forget clunking, giant humanoid robots, an inventor in the U.S has created a soft machine that is not only waterproof, it perfectly mimics the rapid, elegant movement of a fish.

Andrew Marchese, a graduate student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), created the soft exterior robot to learn more about how fish behave.

MIT said the robotic fish is ‘the first self-contained autonomous soft robot capable of rapid body motion’ and will be featured in their new Soft Robotics journal.

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My Comment: Impressive video.

Making Drones To Follow You Around All Day

The tiny little MeCam. Photo: Always Innovating 

Tiny Robot Helicopter Will Follow You Around, Filming Everything You Do -- Smithsonian 

Do you want to obsessively share every detail of your life with everyone you know? Maybe you spend so much time playing video games that you would really just feel more comfortable having a third-person perspective on your own life?

Maybe, you’re really short and just want to know what’s going on around you. Whatever the case may be, advances in technology have now brought our society to the point where you will soon be able to buy a tiny little camera-equipped robot helicopter that will automatically follow you around and film every single thing you do.

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My Comment: This technology is getting smaller and smaller with each passing day.

Darpa`s Drone Project Is Going Under The Sea

The U.S. military aims to hide drones deep beneath the ocean waves. CREDIT: DARPA.

U.S. Military Wants To Hide Drones Under The Sea -- CBS

Hollywood films often show alien ships or giant monsters rising from the ocean depths to threaten humanity's existence.

The U.S. military envisions a more realistic scenario of hiding robotic drones, sensors or decoys on the ocean floor so that they can rise to the occasion when needed.

The idea of hiding sneaky spy technologies beneath the waves comes from the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

The agency described its Upward Falling Payloads program as an effort to hide underwater capsules that could be triggered remotely to activate, float to the surface and release their payloads of sensor buoys or even flying drones.  

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More News On Darpa`s "Under The Sea" Drone Program

The Pentagon Wants To Scatter Weapons Under The World's Oceans To Activate On Demand -- Business Insider
US Military Wants to Hide Drones Under the Sea -- Live Science
DARPA Considers Deploying Technology On Ocean Floor -- Information Week
DARPA’s New Program: Robots From The Deep Blue Sea -- Red Orbit
DARPA wants to stash drones on the bottom of the ocean -- Slash Gear

Drones Are Now Going Mainstream

Drones Go Mainstream -- CNN

They're coming. And they're not just for the military anymore. Dozens of companies have sprung up in the last few years making remote controlled, mini-aircraft mounted with cameras, that are increasingly being used for commercial and even entertainment purposes. But these aren't the remote controlled helicopters you remember flying as a kid. Today's drones are lighter, have better software, longer lasting batteries and vastly improved camera technology. Read more .... My Comment: Drones are not only becoming mainstream .... but they are also getting cheaper.

The Future For Drones Is 'Small'

iRobot Founder Now Building Tiny Hovering Drone Spies -- Danger Room

Four years ago, iRobot co-founder Helen Greiner stepped down from the company she helped turn into an all-important supplier of the military’s growing arsenal of ground robots. Now today, she’s unveiled the first ‘bots to roll off her new company’s assembly line. What are they? Teeny tiny hovering drones, designed to fly through your window and spy on you. That’s just one of two robots revealed so far from Massachusetts company CyPhy Works, founded by Greiner after leaving iRobot. We’ve also now got a sense of what Greiner’s been developing for the past couple of years.  

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My Comment: I concur .... I can easily foresee the day when these drones are being used by soldiers to scout ahead, check buildings/rooms, and monitor threats.

Mini-Drone Can Watch Neighbors From Above

Domestic Spying: Mini-Drone Can Watch Neighbors From Above -- CBS News

WASHINGTON (CBS) – Your neighbors’ fences are no longer tall enough.

While President Obama takes flak for the US’s use of unmanned drone attacks abroad, there is a smaller, smartphone-controlled drone hovering above urban rooftops and suburban backyards: The Parrot AR Drone 2.0.

The Parrot AR Drone 2.0, listed on Amazon just below $300, is the best way to live out one’s fantasy of being a spy. The miniature drone is controlled through your iPhone or iPad and features multiple sensors, including a hi-definition front-facing 720-pixel camera and a vertical camera looking straight down from the bottom of the miniature quadricopter (four propellers).

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My Comment: I can see these drones being used FOBs in Afghanistan and elsewhere.

The X-47B Stealth Drone Up Close And Personal

Exclusive Pics: The Navy’s Unmanned, Autonomous ‘UFO’ -- Danger Room

NAVAL AIR STATION PATUXENT RIVER, Maryland — If you saw it in person, you’d probably think it was a UFO, too.

That’s what happened when the Navy trucked its batwing-shaped drone of the future from California to its new testing bed here in Maryland. Across the country, 911 switchboards lit up with reports that mysterious trucks were hauling a spaceship. In truth, it was a demonstration model for something the Navy desperately wants: to launch an armed, spying, stealthy drone from an aircraft carrier, one of the hardest maneuvers in aviation, conducted with the click of a mouse. But up close, you can see why people freaked out.

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More News On The X-47B

U.S. Navy reveals deadly stealth plane mistaken for UFO on Washington D.C. highway -- Daily Mail
The X-47B Stealth Drone Will Now Be Flying Over The East Coast -- Business Insider
X-47B unmanned aircraft gets its Pax River wings -- Gizmag
Navy's X-47B UCAV in Debut Flight at Pax -- Ares/Aviation Week

Drones Of The Future

Maple Seed Drones Will Swarm The Future -- TPM

Imagine a cheap, tiny, hovering aerial drone capable of being launched with the flick of a person’s wrist and able to provide manipulable 360-degree surveillance views.

It’s real, it’s inspired by maple seeds, and the company behind it, Lockheed Martin, envisions a future in which swarms of the new drones can be deployed at a fraction of the cost and with greater capabilities than drones being used today by the military and other agencies.

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My Comment: Impressive.

Are U.S. Drones Vulnerable To Terrorist Hijacking?

EXCLUSIVE: Drones Vulnerable To Terrorist Hijacking, Researchers Say -- FOX News

A small surveillance drone flies over an Austin stadium, diligently following a series of GPS waypoints that have been programmed into its flight computer. By all appearances, the mission is routine.

Suddenly, the drone veers dramatically off course, careering eastward from its intended flight path. A few moments later, it is clear something is seriously wrong as the drone makes a hard right turn, streaking toward the south. Then, as if some phantom has given the drone a self-destruct order, it hurtles toward the ground. Just a few feet from certain catastrophe, a safety pilot with a radio control saves the drone from crashing into the field.

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My Comment: It looks like the Iranians figured out this trick when they brought down this top secret U.S. drone last year.

Why Drones Will Not Be Taking Over Our Wars (For Now)

Live Fighters Aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge, pilots play a key role in shows of force and complex missions. Even as drones become integrated into the fleet, pilots will lead. U.S. Navy/Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Tommy Lamkin

The Human Element -- Popular Science

Why drones won't be taking over our wars anytime soon.

Early in 2008 on the Black Sea coast, a Georgian drone flying over the separatist enclave of Abkhazia transmitted an instantaneous artifact from the age of human flight—the video record of its own destruction by an attacking fighter jet. What happened that day was born of incendiary post-Soviet politics. The Kremlin backed Abkhazia and was furious that Georgia had bought surveillance drones to watch over the disputed ground. Georgia’s young government flaunted its new fleet, bullhorning to diplomats and to journalists like me what the drones were documenting of Russia’s buildup to war. I remember the Georgian bravado. We have drones. Ha! We have arrived. Tensions led to action. Action came to this: A Russian MiG-29 intercepted one of Georgia’s unmanned aircraft, an Israeli-made Hermes 450, which streamed live video of the fighter swinging into position. The jet pilot fired a heat-seeking missile. Viewed on the drone operator’s screen down below, the missile grew larger and its exhaust plume grew longer as it rushed near. Then the screen went fuzzy. Georgia’s drone was dead.

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My Comment: Drones may not be taking over our wars now .... but the trend is shifting to that goal.

Rise Of The Drones: Photos Of Unmanned Aircraft

Amazing Unmanned Aircraft
Credit: NASADrones are unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that are used by the military in a number of ways, including missile testing, air strikes, aerial refueling, surveillance, transporting cargo, live-fire exercises and even long-range bombing. The U.S. military began experimenting with unmanned aircrafts as early as World War I, but they were called remotely piloted vehicles (RPVs) at the time. Today, UAVs are used by various organizations, including the U.S. Air Force, Navy and the U.S. Geological Survey.

WNU Editor: The photo gallery starts here.

Nuclear Powered Drones On The Horizon?

Reuters

US Draws Up Plans For Nuclear Drones -- The Guardian

Technology is designed to increase flying time 'from days to months', along with power available for weapons systems.

American scientists have drawn up plans for a new generation of nuclear-powered drones capable of flying over remote regions of the world for months on end without refuelling.

The blueprints for the new drones, which have been developed by Sandia National Laboratories – the US government's principal nuclear research and development agency – and defence contractor Northrop Grumman, were designed to increase flying time "from days to months" while making more power available for operating equipment, according to a project summary published by Sandia.

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My Comment: While the idea of having drones fly for days on end is appealing .... the fact that it would be a nuclear power source that will be used will .... to put it bluntly .... be enough to kill the program .... regardless of the merits.

China Will Use Drones To Hunt Submarines

The U.S. Navy's Fire Scout Ship-Launched UAV China plans to hunt submarines using its own sea-launched UAVs running genetic algorithms. U.S. Navy

Chinese Drones Will Use Genetic Algorithms to Learn to Hunt For Submarines -- Popular Science

China usually holds its military hand very close to the vest--that, or things “mysteriously” leak that it doesn’t (does) want the world to know about--so we’re left to wonder why the People’s Republic has decided to publish this in the journal Advanced Materials Research. Nonetheless, it’s pretty interesting. Chinese navy researchers have plans for a new submarine hunting scheme that uses ship-launched UAVs running genetic algorithms.

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My Comment: The Chinese are making their intentions very clear .... they are going to focus on drone development.

A Swarm of Nano Quadrotors