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2016
User-friendly drone flies like a copter and like a plane
Fixed-wing drones are more energy-efficient than quadcopters, and can cover long distances more quickly. Quadcopters, however, require less space to take off and land. That's why some groups have developed drones that take and land vertically, yet transit
read more20
2016
Cormorant/AirMule UAV completes first autonomous flight
Designed by Israeli firm Tactical Robotics, the Cormorant is designed to deliver troops, civilian passengers or other cargo within tight quarters where helicopters with exposed rotor blades just can't go. With the UAV in its name standing for Unmanned Aer
read more19
2016
Fuel-cell drone is good to go for 10 hours
Hywings' fuel cell is powered by either a hydrogen chemical cartridge or a cylinder of compressed hydrogen gas – the former offers the 10-hour flight endurance figure, while the latter is said to be good for six hours.
read more18
2016
Self-balancing motorbike makes a stand
Like other self-balancing bikes, the GyroCycle stays upright via internal flywheels that create a gyroscopic effect when spinning. This means that not only will it automatically pull itself back up after leaning into turns, but it will even stay up on its
read more17
2016
Metamaterials enable semiconductor-free microelectronics
Using specially-engineered metamaterials, researchers at the University of California San Diego (UC San Diego) have created the world's first microelectronic device that does not use semiconductors, but instead employs low-power laser optical control to i
read more16
2016
Unmanned UH-1H helicopter in the works
In a flight demonstration on Thursday, Aurora used a manned Bell 206 to demonstrate how AACUS can use its sensors to scan an area and plan maneuvers for autonomous takeoff, flight, and landing. The system had been previously tested on an autonomous Boeing
read more15
2016
Echodyne's amazing miniature UAV radar: A huge step towards legal, autonomous drone deliveries
Echodyne has come up with a massively simplified, miniaturized and extremely cheap version of an aerial radar system. The whole thing's not much bigger than an iPhone 6 Plus, and by the start of 2017 it'll go on the market, giving UAVs the ability to see
read more14
2016
DartDrone puts US farmers in its crosshairs
Guns and commercial drones have crossed paths before, ranging from harmless foam-firing toys to more unsettling stories of drones packing semi-automatic handguns. Landing somewhere between those two extremes is the DartDrone, a version of Haevic's SuperDr
read more13
2016
NASA outlines six new storm-chasing CubeSats
NASA has outlined six new small satellite missions to be launched over the next few months that are equipped with new methods of studying the Earth's atmosphere, climate and weather.
read more12
2016
MIT rolls out driverless scooter
The scooter is a demonstrator of a new comprehensive autonomous mobility system and was designed by CSAIL in partnership with the National University of Singapore and the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology, using sensors and software from
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