Lifeboat Foundation

Shared with Dropbox.

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — Shield AI in the next year plans to have its Hivemind digital pilot working aboard three additional types of aircraft, bringing the total to nine.

The California-based company has already folded the autonomous flight software into three classes of quadcopters, its own V-Bat drone, the F-16 fighter jet and the Kratos-made MQM-178 Firejet drone.

Up next are two more Kratos products, the XQ-58 and BQM-177, according to Brandon Tseng, the president of Shield AI. The firm has not picked a third candidate.

A supersonic drone that will be propelled by a revolutionary new engine has taken to the skies for the first time. When Venus Aerospace’s aircraft does go supersonic on a later date, it will be powered by a Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine (RDRE).

Supersonic drones may sound like something bleeding edge, but they’re surprisingly old hat as a basic concept. As far back as the early 1950s, the US Air Force was fielding remote-controlled supersonic jets for targets to test air defenses, as platforms for reconnaissance in dangerous areas, or as weapons armed with conventional or nuclear warheads.

Continue reading “Video: Supersonic drone flies with revolutionary detonation engine” »

A Japanese rocket by startup Space One has exploded in spectacular fashion following a launch attempt earlier today.

It’s yet another major setback for the company, which was hoping to become Japan’s first commercial entity to launch a satellite into orbit, the New York Times reports.

Drone footage shows the dramatic scene. At first, everything appears to go fine as the solid-fuel rocket dubbed Kairos lights its engines. But it doesn’t take long for the rocket to seemingly veer off path, erupting into a massive cloud of smoke just seconds later, causing major pieces of debris to rain down on the launch pad and engulf parts of the facility and a neighboring forest in flames.

Mr. Xia further noted the expanding utility of unmanned technologies across various domains, including aerial, maritime, underwater, and terrestrial operations, underscoring their revolutionary impact on future military engagements.

“A drone costing just a few thousand dollars can effectively neutralize an advanced tank worth over 5 million dollars,” Mr. Xia said, illustrating a remarkable disparity in warfare economics.

Drones’ ease of manufacture, low detection and radar interception rates, and precision targeting via satellite data further accentuate their tactical viability. Importantly, drones facilitate offensive operations without compromising soldier safety, marking a significant evolution in how military objectives are pursued.

EVTOL battery analysis reveals unique operating demands. Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory are taking cleaner transportation to the skies by creating and evaluating new batteries for airborne electric vehicles that take off and land vertically.

These aircraft, commonly called eVTOLs, range from delivery drones to urban air taxis. They are designed to rise into the air like a helicopter and fly using wing-borne lift like an airplane. Compared with helicopters, eVTOLs generally use more rotors spinning at a lower speed, making them both safer and quieter.

The airborne EV’s aren’t just flying cars, and ORNL researchers conclude that eVTOL batteries can’t just be adapted from electric car batteries. So far that has been the dominant approach to the technology, which is mostly in the modeling stage. ORNL researchers took a different tack by evaluating how lithium-ion batteries fare under extremely high power draw.

DoorDash and Wing (an Alphabet company) have announced their first joint drone delivery service in the United States. Targeted at select customers in Christiansburg, Virginia, eligible DoorDash orders from Wendy’s can now be delivered via Wing drone.

Wendy’s orders will be delivered using a Wing drone, which can travel up to 65 mph. Upon reaching its destination, the drone will lower the order to the doorstep using a tether.

Tesla continues to make progress on its upcoming diner, drive-in theater and Supercharger in Los Angeles, with recent drone footage showing new water runoff infrastructure, preparations for stucco installation on the first-floor walls, and seemingly, materials for the start of some interior construction.

In a drone video update shared by YouTube channel 247Tesla on Sunday, you can see new stacks of sheetrock both inside and outside of entrances to the Tesla diner building, as construction prepares to begin focus on interiors. The video also shows a new rectangular area dug roughly five feet deep into the ground, which the video’s host says will likely be used to control water runoff.

Continue reading “Tesla diner, drive-in and Supercharger preparing work on interiors” »

FCC cracks down on retailers like Amazon allegedly selling illegal signal jammers. Investigations are underway.

Uh-oh, Amazon. Looks like the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is not playing around when it comes to selling illegal signal jammers. The agency just went public with an investigation into Amazon and other major retailers for allegedly pushing these dodgy devices that can block your cell signal, GPS, and more.

Typically advertised as “drone deterrents” or “privacy tools”, these nefarious gadgets are specifically designed to block radio frequencies. This has serious ramifications, cutting off cellular devices and GPS units and impacting emergency communication channels.

Continue reading “FCC takes aim at retailers selling signal jammers” »