Kelly Shores

Officials in Nevada are piloting a program to use fixed winged drones to sniff out radiation from a nuclear accident similar to the 2011 Fukushima disaster in Japan. The use of these unmanned aircraft will greatly reduce the risk to officials who are called upon to test for radiation. This team has traditionally used Bell helicopters and Beechcraft airplanes for monitoring radiation contamination,...

China based Smart phone manufacturer Xiaomi is hoping to compete with the giant of the drone industry, DJI, by releasing a brand new offering to the market called the Mi Drone. It features a spherical camera that is reported to shoot at least 4K video. Other details about the new drone offering are unclear, but if the company’s innovation is any indication, it should be worth a look when it ...

Not so long ago…in a galaxy not-so-far-away…a very entertaining and innovative movie using classic Star Wars toys was made. The movie, which was produced by Rotor Riot, used modified drones combined with classic Star Wars toys to create a story about a Rebel X-Wing fighter, piloted by R2D2 trying to escape a band of Imperial Tie-Fighters. The chase takes the audience through trees, und...

Check out this drone footage of 70 sharks devouring a humpback whale in the waters off Dirk Hartog Island – off the coast of western Australia. Truly amazing footage of the sheer power and awe-inspiring ferociousness of nature. Video and pictures here: https://www.yahoo.com/news/drone-flew-over-70-sharks-152600312.html  

A panel of privacy experts is working to set guidelines for drone operators around privacy. The exercise is designed to strike a balance between privacy and the usefulness of drones for things like deliveries, inspections, real estate and more. Here is a summary of the guidelines. Operators should not fly over private property without the owner’s consent. Operators should alert people about ...

The Flying Circus FPV Festival is taking place in Covington, Virginia. This festival is open to the public and features FPV racing for both quadcopters and radio control airplanes. The area features waterfalls, a tunnel bridge and an underground mine which will be utilized as part of the racing terrain. This is a qualifying event for both Drone Nationals and MultiGP Nationals. This event is a uniq...

Interested to know what US cities have the most drone users registered with the Federal Aviation Administration? Check out this list from Marketwatch! Given the number of drones sold in the United States, these numbers actually seem pretty low. But I think we can all agree that they will increase rapidly as more people learn and understand the laws governing US amateur drones. http://www.chron.com...

The problem with drones for photography and video is that they have a limited battery life. You may find the perfect angle to get the perfect shot and then have to land immediately because you have run out of juice.  Taking a cue from the insect world, Hao Jiang, Morgan T. Pope, William R.T. Roderick, and Mark R. Cutkosky are employing microspines, to attach drones to ceilings or walls where they ...

There is no question that drone racing is becoming one of the hottest new sports around. From the immersive nature of it, to the amazing skill of the pilots, drone racing is fun to watch but may seem intimidating to “noobs” who have never tried it before. But fear not, there are some simple steps you can take to break into the sport. The first step is to find a local or online group to...

China is leading the world when it comes to the development and production of drones. A CNN reporter recently visited the headquarters of DJI, the world’s largest drone manufacturer and asked what they thought the future holds for this rapidly developing technology. According to DJI, we may have hit a plateau in terms of technology development and should expect the rapid advancement in techn...

A company called Amimon recently released a product that is set to “revolutionize” drone racing. Today’s FPV video signals are known for being full of static, low resolution and significant latency. The CONNEX ProSight HD Vision Kit from Amimom is poised to change all that. With crystal clear HD signal and latency-free transmission. “For FPV drone racing, every millisecond and image detail m...

Ford Motor Company recently filed for a patent that will use drones as a way to enhance self-driving cars. This move makes perfect sense because drones can “see” much farther than the sensors on a car can reach. The idea is to connect the drone to the onboard computers within the vehicle to increase the working range of the autonomous vehicle as well as improve safety. “There is ...