Thursday, November 26, 2020

drone finds dog missing for 10 days

 https://abcnews.go.com/US/man-drone-rescue-dog-lost-10-days-woods/story?id=74390049

 

James traveled a few miles away to Andes, New York, where he used the drone to canvass the trees around where Meadow was last spotted. He soon came upon a patch of white.

 

“I was able to get a visual on Meadow from the air,” said James.

He said he quickly rushed to the spot where he found the pup, which was uninjured. She was reunited with her family soon afterward.

 

* * * * *

 

Pretty cool.  Quadcopters are great tools for good!  Keep using them that way!

 

Sunday, October 18, 2020

drone halts firefighting flights

 https://lostcoastoutpost.com/2020/oct/18/intrusive-drone-pilot-causes-firefighters-temporar/

 

"Yesterday, there was an intrusion into the restricted airspace over the fire by a drone. Temporary Flight Restrictions remain over the entire Red Salmon fire area until further notice. This includes drones. Remember: If you fly, we can’t."

 

Come on people!  Stay away from fires!

Thursday, September 17, 2020

drone finds murder suspect

 https://rapidcityjournal.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/update-drone-helps-police-capture-murder-suspect-in-rapid-valley/article_7c5c966a-8a7e-509a-a703-3cd27242bce2.html

 

"The Rapid City-Pennington County drone team arrived and as they flew the drone above the area noticed a heat signature coming from a creek behind the 3500 block of School Drive. Law enforcement went to the area where they found a man — later identified as Flying Horse — trying to hide in the water."

 

He might have escaped otherwise.

Monday, August 31, 2020

Amazon Prime prepares for takeoff

 https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/31/amazon-prime-now-drone-delivery-fleet-gets-faa-approval.html?utm_source=digg

 

The approval will give Amazon broad privileges to “safely and efficiently deliver packages to customers,” the FAA said. The FAA certification comes under Part 135 of FAA regulations, which gives Amazon the ability to carry property on small drones “beyond the visual line of sight” of the operator. 

Amazon said it will use the FAA’s certification to begin testing customer deliveries. The company said it went through rigorous training and submitted detailed evidence that its drone delivery operations are safe, including demonstrating the technology for FAA inspectors. 


* * * *

Will kids want to play with them?  Will people steal them?  Stay tuned...

 

Monday, August 24, 2020

Hawk decapitates R/C pilot

 https://imgur.com/gallery/EjFIGGn

 

Birds have flown somewhat close to my quadcopter, but I think it was curiosity so far.  Don't wanna fly around parenting birds.

Friday, August 14, 2020

Eagle takes down a drone

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/bald-eagle-takes-down-michigan-government-drone-n1236687?cid=sm_npd_nn_tw_ma

 

The bird of prey attacked the Phantom 4 Pro Advanced quodcopter drone about 162 feet in the sky on July 21, "tearing off a propeller and sending the aircraft to the bottom of Lake Michigan," according to the state Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy.

"The attack could have been a territorial squabble with the electronic foe, or just a hungry eagle," the department said.

 * * *

I flew along some cliffs taking video, and when I reviewed the video, there were 2 hawks sitting in a tree close to where I was headed.  Apparently they weren't bothered much by my quadcopter.

 

Tuesday, August 11, 2020

Secret spy drone plan cancelled, revealed

 https://www.yahoo.com/news/cia-built-nuclear-bird-drone-124500313.html

 

The aircraft was originally based on the characteristics of large, loitering birds, but this changed in time to include actual bird-like characteristics. The CIA described Aquiline as a “small, bird-like surreptitious vehicle with sufficiently small acoustic, visible, and radar cross section to permit it to operate in the natural physical signal environment of living birds.” Radars and human sentries at sensitive sites would mistake Aquiline for a bird and pay little attention to it.

Tuesday, July 21, 2020

Terrorist shoots at police drone

https://imgur.com/gallery/04doU5L

In the afternoon, the police sent a drone to the bus. The man opened fire, trying to shoot down a police drone flying over a hostage bus.

Thursday, June 18, 2020

drones for libraries!

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/06/10/wing-library-book-drone-delivery/

Heyde, whose mom is a librarian, noted that Wing had already brought on more local merchants during the pandemic, and the company wanted to help kids get books as well.
Passek began pushing for book delivery last fall as soon as she saw how quickly her Wing orders were being flown to her house. Then the coronavirus pandemic hit and her cause became more immediate.

* * *

Sounds good.  Will they drop the books on the kids directly?

Saturday, May 30, 2020

drones for medical delivery

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/may/29/drone-deliveries-soar-in-rural-scotland-during-coronavirus-outbreak

The 16km (10 mile) flight from Lorn and Islands district general hospital in Oban, on the mainland, to Mull and Iona community hospital in Craignure, on the east of the island, takes about 15 minutes compared with between 90 minutes to six hours by road and ferry.
Whiston said the two-week drone delivery trial, which is being run in partnership with drone operator Skyports and defence and technology company Thales, was planned before coronavirus struck but has been accelerated by the pandemic.
A second test this winter is crucial because “the Scottish weather can be very challenging”, says Whitson. If it’s successful he thinks drones could be deployed across NHS Scotland. “We would look to link up more of our islands,” he said. “And we have been sharing what we’re doing here with colleagues across Scotland, and there is significant interest about using it in the Western Isles, Clyde and the Grampians.”

* * * *

I think drones are finally finding their place in the world.

Sunday, May 17, 2020

Don't shoot down drones

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2020/05/minnesota-man-faces-felony-charges-for-shooting-down-drone/

"Two employees approached the man and asked him what he was doing. Soon afterwards, someone else shot the drone out of the sky. The man says his drone cost $1,900.
The authorities arrested 34-year-old Travis Duane Winters and charged him in Watonwan County District Court, The Free Press says. Officials say Winters admitted to shooting the drone. He faces charges of criminal damage to property and reckless discharge of a weapon within city limits"

Let the police handle it.

Wednesday, April 1, 2020

Drones fight fire

https://youtu.be/WFqThcMIN7A

Using huge-ass drones with hoses to put out a fire.

Wednesday, February 19, 2020

new drone law proposed in South Dakota

https://www.kotatv.com/content/news/House-Bill-would-address-privacy-concerns-for-commercial-drones-567988241.html?fbclid=IwAR0lKGwCg9-oLisiFj9yODmVjakdQOslhzjeOFWF2kj1tW9aLolYzJ1wBII

"It eliminates the loophole and it forces commercial drone operators of all kinds to operate a drone for only legitimate, business purposes," said Representative David Johnson, District 33. "Ultimately, we're trying to protect South Dakota citizens' natural right and expectation of privacy in a private place."

Seems ok to me.

Saturday, February 1, 2020

fighting a virus with drones

https://www.wfla.com/news/health-news/drones-in-china-call-out-people-not-wearing-masks-amid-coronavirus-outbreak/

"Chinese state-run agency Global Times released a video of a drone that is flying in the air and detecting patrons who are not wearing masks while outdoors amid the spread of the coronavirus.
The drone specifically calls out people based on the color of their clothes to efficiently enforce the rule.
The video has gone viral on Chinese social media and was praised as a creative and efficient way to raise awareness of ongoing coronavirus."

I really don't want drones running around telling me what to do.

Tuesday, January 28, 2020

woman harassed by drone

https://www.pressherald.com/2020/01/24/gorham-woman-harassed-by-drone-discovers-not-much-can-be-done-about-it/?fbclid=IwAR1U6H2X2DlQucYt0b6oF0DTT7A8wZ5WUbw-N7AnYX3EPp_T3CnesMM-HJQ

"Mary Dunham has gotten used to seeing drones flying around Gorham, where she lives, but this week was the first time one followed her.
She didn’t like it.
On two consecutive days, Dunham, 43, called police to report the suspicious drone surveillance. But each time, officers told her there wasn’t much they could do. Her experience underscores the fact that, as drones have become more and more popular among everyday Americans, the devices remain little regulated."

some things about this story don't seem right.  There ARE rules, like needing permission before flying over private property, not flying over people without permission, etc.  Also, 8 miles is a long way for a regular quadcopter to fly.  So i'm not sure this is all correct here. Still, this kind of stuff is no doubt happening.