Here comes the drone backlash
Mike Elgan for Computer World: Consumer drone technology is barely taking off, and already a harsh public backlash is growing.
Your typical garden variety consumer drone is lightweight, battery operated, has four propellers and is controlled by a smartphone. Most have cameras and beam back live video, which can be recorded for posterity. Some have high-quality HD cameras on them, and from that high vantage point can take stunning photos and videos.
Drones are fun. They're exciting. They're accessible. But increasingly, they're becoming unacceptable.
I'm sensing a growing backlash, a kind of social media pitchfork mob against drones and drone fans. It's only a matter of time, and not much time, before it will be politically incorrect to express any kind of enthusiasm for drones in polite company. I fear that many are about to embark on an "everybody knows drones are bad" mentality that will suppress the nascent industry and spoil this innovative and exhilarating technology.
Here's what's driving the coming backlash: Cont'd...
Autonomous Drifting
From AMREL:
You know how the stuntmen make fast cars drift in action movies? Have you ever wanted to make a remote-controlled toy car drift like that? Of course you have. If there ever were awards for endeavors that sound silly, but is actually technically interesting, then the folks at MIT’s Aerospace Controls Lab would surely be nominated.
Unmanned systems are rarely fully autonomous. Instead, researchers are pursuing “sliding” autonomy, i.e. an operator retains control, while some behaviors are made autonomous. Aerospace Controls Lab decided to teach a remote-control toy car how to autonomously drift.
They started by running their learning algorithm through simulations. Information from these simulations was transferred to performance modifiers. When the car was run through its drifting actions in reality, the algorithm was constantly modified. The result is a car that can maintain drifting in a full circle even when salt is added to the floor, or another vehicle interferes with it.
NASA to Discuss First Drone Delivery at Logistics Summit
Emerging technologies will take center stage when speakers from NASA and Indiana State University address logistics leaders at the 13th annual Indiana Logistics Summit on Tuesday, Sept. 22, at the Indiana Convention Center. Unmanned systems, which include drones and robots, will be a primary theme for presentations by Frank Jones, Associate Director for Research Services Directorate at the NASA Langley Research Center and Dr. Richard Baker, director of Indiana State Universitys new Center for Unmanned Systems.
TRINAMIC Enters EtherCAT Market with World's First Slave Controller IC offering Latency-Free advanced peripherals
Component is First IC in New Interface Device Family
Pack Expo - ErgoPakPal Introduced at Pack Expo Vegas
Combi Packaging Systems and Motion Controls Robotics, Inc (MCRI) will be introducing a new robotic end of line case packing and palletizing solution at PACK EXPO Las Vegas, September 28-30, 2015 in the Las Vegas Convention Center.
Next Generation Drone Solutions: The Internet of Flying Things™
A key problem preventing the development of the drone industry at the moment is that most drones cannot currently detect each other or obstacles they may face during flight.
MICROMO's New FAULHABER 2057…BHS Brushless DC Servo Motor Robust, High Speed Motors for Medical and Dental Handpieces
The new FAULHABER 2057…BHS Brushless DC Servo Motors are designed to address the specific requirements of the medical and dental hand piece markets.
Sinclair, AFIT Partnership Expands Capabilities in UAS and Cyber Technologies
A new partnership between Sinclair College and the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) will create new opportunities in unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and cyber security training and education and additionally support expanded research and development activities for related technologies.
ATI INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION OPENS NEW OFFICE IN QUERETARO, MEXICO
Our mission is to provide customers with high-quality robotic peripheral devices, tooling, and sensors that enhance their profitability by increasing the effectiveness, flexibility, and safety of automation applications.
Inmar-Sponsored Girls on Fire Robotics Team Recruiting New Members
Girls on Fire, the Triads first all-girl robotics team is recruiting new members to join this talented, spirited and driven group of young women.
Researchers use MapleSim to develop musculoskeletal arm and robot models for rehabilitation
In a recent project, the University of Waterloo used MapleSim to develop new model-based controllers for a musculoskeletal model of the human arm for an upper limb rehabilitation robot. This ultimately will help improve the rehabilitation process for post-stroke patients.
A Brushless DC Motor for Demanding Operating Room Applications
A sterilizable EC-4pole 30 from maxon motor
Materials Science: Advancing the Next Revolution of "Stuff"
For millennia, materials have mattered-so much so that entire eras have been named for them.
International Drone Expo and Business Conference Announces IDE 2015 Drone Pitchfest
The second International Drone Expo (IDE) and Drone Business Conference, the largest global commercial drone gathering today announced the IDE 2015 Drone Pitchfest, a once in a lifetime opportunity for drone entrepreneurs to get in front of the most influential venture capitalists dominating the powerful drone community with $150,000 of funding to be won.
Auro Robotics: Driverless Shuttles for In-campus Travel
From Techcrunch:
Y Combinator-backed Auro Robotics is currently testing their driverless shuttle system at several universities, and is actually beginning to deploy shuttles on the campus of Santa Clara University.
The company is also planning to expand to other markets like amusement parks, retirement communities and small islands, with some projects in those spaces already set to take off “in the later part of this year.”
Auro has chosen to focus on these small, contained environments largely because they are controlled by private corporations, and thus are not subject to the heavy government regulation that Google and other companies are stuck behind with their driverless cars... ( full article )
From Auro Robotics:
How does it work
Auro Prime uses latest technology to ensure safe navigation even on busy roads. The vehicle is equipped with Lasers, camera, Radar and GPS providing it complete 360 degree vision under all environment situations.
The shuttles relies on a prior 3D map of the environment, which is created once in the lifetime at the beginning. In all subsequent runs, it uses this 3D map to localise itself and interpret road topography.
Passengers can input their destinations through a simple to use touch screen mounted on the vehicle, or through their mobile app. The underlying software automatically figures out the optimum high-level route to reach safely to the destination... ( more info )
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