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Researchers have published a study revealing their successful approach to designing much quieter propellers.

The Australian research team used machine learning to design their propellers, then 3D printed several of the most promising prototypes for experimental acoustic testing at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation’s specialized ‘echo-free’ chamber.

Results now published in Aerospace Research Central show the prototypes made around 15dB less noise than commercially available propellers, validating the team’s design methodology.

The legal rights of robots have expanded, at least in Pennsylvania. There, autonomous delivery drones will be allowed to maneuver on sidewalks and paths as well as roadways and will now technically be considered “pedestrians.” It’s the latest change in the evolving relationship between autonomous vehicles and humans.

Scientists are creating drones that fly in sync with each other.

And here we have the fruit pickers of the future. Hovering drones. 😃

This fleet of drones will pick fruit for you! Fruit production has exploded over the past few years, but so has food waste! Increased demand sometimes means unpi… See More.

Founded by Google veterans and backed by $340 million from major VCs, Skydio is creating drones that seem straight out of science fiction—and they could be flying around your neighborhood soon.

The technology could boost aerial robots’ repertoire, allowing them to operate in cramped spaces and withstand collisions.

If you’ve ever swatted a mosquito away from your face, only to have it return again (and again and again), you know that insects can be remarkably acrobatic and resilient in flight. Those traits help them navigate the aerial world, with all of its wind gusts, obstacles, and general uncertainty. Such traits are also hard to build into flying robots, but MIT Assistant Professor Kevin Yufeng Chen has built a system that approaches insects’ agility.

Continue reading “Insect-Inspired Flying Robots: Researchers Introduce a New Generation of Tiny, Agile Drones” »

Innovating And Investing In The New Space Age — Space 2.0 — Hélène Huby, VP, Orion-ESM, Airbus Defence and Space.

Hélène Huby is Vice-President of the Orion European Service Module (Orion-ESM), at Airbus Defence & Space.

Continue reading “Hélène Huby, VP, Orion-ESM, Airbus Defence and Space — Innovating And Investing In The New Space Age” »

It can exceed the speed of sound, hitting an astonishing Mach 2.1! 😲🤯

A new combat drone has been created that can hit speeds of more than 1500mph.

The drone is much bigger than the ones you’ll have seen floating around your local parks, however, and looks more like a small spaceship.

Continue reading “World’s First Supersonic Unmanned Combat Drone Reaches Speeds Of Over 1,500mph” »

The Defense Department is hungry for small drones that will track objects and fly into buildings, combat zones and other dangerous areas with little help from remote pilots. Self-piloting drones will become a key part of fighting and other military activities in the years to come, said Mike Brown, director of the Defense Innovation Unit, a Pentagon organization that aims to facilitate cooperation between the military and the tech industry.

While much has been made of tech’s unwillingness to work with the Pentagon, start-ups are still plumbing the industry’s decades-long ties to the military.