Until now, MAVs found their way from A to B with one of two methods—GPS navigation or a human pilot. Problem is, both of those rely on external systems to guide the robot. For a more autonomous MAV, the quad-copter must see for itself. More »

In an effort to bypass censorship as well as heat from authorities and copyright owners, The Pirate Bay on Sunday unveiled new plans to “experiment with sending out some small drones that will float some kilometers up in the air.” The GPS controlled drones will hover over international waters and host parts of the website. “Everyone knows WHAT TPB is. Now they’re going to have to think about WHERE TPB is,” The Pirate Bay team told TorrentFreak. “We’re already the most resilient and the most down to earth. That’s why we need to lift off, being this connected to the ground doesn’t feel appropriate to us anymore.” The Pirate Bay has been the subject of a number of raids and investigations stemming from numerous claims of copyright infringement. In order to stay afloat, the service seemingly must find new and innovative ways to reach the masses. ”We’re just starting so we haven’t figured everything out yet. But we can’t limit ourselves to hosting things just on land anymore,” the team stated on its blog. “These Low Orbit Server Stations (LOSS) are just the first attempt. With modern radio transmitters we can get over 100Mbps per node up to 50km away. For the proxy system we’re building, that’s more than enough.”

[Via TorrentFreak]

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The armed drone has become a symbol of modern war. Who needs people? We have cheap(ish) robots that can spy and kill for us—and they do, around the world. But before UAVs were rocketing Afghanistan, they roamed Vietnam. More »

General Atomics' Avenger—the newest iteration of the classic Predator—is headed to war for the first time, Danger Room's David Axe reports. It's got F-35 sensors, loads of stealth weapons bays, and terrain-sweeping radar. Iran: start licking your lips. More »

The Acer ground-bot from Mesa Robotics does way more than your average 4,500-pound semi-autonomous mule. In addition to carrying kit and providing that extra bit of ballistic steel-deflecting cover, it also scans for IEDs using ground-penetrating radar and then autonomously switches into "flail" mode when it finds one -- digging up and detonating that critter with barely a break in its 6MPH stride. Did we mention it also acts as a landing pad for small drones? No? That's because the video after the break says it all. Cue obligatory guitars, game controllers and armchair gung-ho.

Continue reading Mesa Robotics' mini-tank is perfectly happy on point (video)

Mesa Robotics' mini-tank is perfectly happy on point (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 22 Oct 2011 04:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The US Army's newest aerial toy is a little different than the rest of its drone brethren. Instead of providing overhead video and maybe shooting off a missile, AeroVironment's Switchblade UAV is the missile. Portable, kamikaze death from above. More »

Hovering landers or drones look as though they're suspended in the air, because you can't see the vortices caused by the propellers or the heat emitted by the thruster, or whatever mechanism enables the hovering. Well, here you can. And it proves that the act of hovering is anything but delicate. More »

A lot's made of the drones that power many of the US Army's attacks these days, the missile-equipped UAVs that attack and surveille under the veil of silence and cover of cloud. But there are other, smaller Army bots out there. Specifically, in a testing ground known as the microaviary. More »

DARPA dabbles in all matter of defense drones, and it's no stranger to leveraging the wisdom of the masses to help develop tomorrow's military machinery. The agency's latest program to go the crowdsourcing route is its Anti-submarine Warfare Continuous Trail Unmanned Vessel (ACTUV), and it wants you to help develop the software that'll control the thing. DARPA's borrowed a bit of the Sonalysts Combat Simulations Dangerous Waters game to create the ACTUV Tactics Simulator, where players complete missions tracking a target sub while navigating through and around commercial ocean traffic. Would-be captains can then choose to submit their strategies and game data to DARPA for use in shoring up the autonomous seabot's strategic submarine pursuit software. Hit the source link for a free download and dive into the sub-hunting action.

Download DARPA's sub-hunting sim, help train its ACTUV automaton originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Apr 2011 23:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Qatar building fleet of remote control 'clouds' for World Cup 2022 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 27 Mar 2011 03:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The last we checked in with U Penn's frighteningly maneuverable little quadrotor, we noted that it could probably zip through your window and kill you in your sleep. Well, now it can fly through windows while they're moving. Guhhh. More »

The massive unmanned airborne vehicle (UAV) Global Observer is testing beautifully at the moment, and could one day (with a companion plane) provide much of the same coverage as a geosynchronous satellite for a fraction of the price. More »

An unmanned Global Hawk recon drone will join a team of aircraft—all equipped with advanced weather instrumentation—to observe the 2010 storm season closer than ever before. More »

The Navy isn't taking any chances. It's pushing ahead with research to laser-proof its drones, just in case anyone else has the bright idea of using ray guns to down America's robot planes. More »

The Navy isn't taking any chances. It's pushing ahead with research to laser-proof its drones, just in case anyone else has the bright idea of using ray guns to down America's robot planes. More »

In case you didn't find the original quadrocopter chilling enough, the GRASP Lab out of the University of Pennsylvania has gone and added a bit of cooperative logic to the recipe so that now multiple little drones can work together. Also upgraded with a "claw-like" gripper that allows it to pick up and transport objects, the newer quadrocopter can team up on its prey payload with its buddies, all while maintaining its exquisite balance and agility. Skip past the break to see it on video.

Continue reading Revenge of the quadrocopters: now they move in packs (video)

Revenge of the quadrocopters: now they move in packs (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Jul 2010 05:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In case you didn't find the original quadrocopter chilling enough, the GRASP Lab out of the University of Pennsylvania has gone and added a bit of cooperative logic to the recipe so that now multiple little drones can work together. Also upgraded with a "claw-like" gripper that allows it to pick up and transport objects, the newer quadrocopter can team up on its prey payload with its buddies, all while maintaining its exquisite balance and agility. Skip past the break to see it on video.

Continue reading Revenge of the quadrocopters: now they move in packs (video)

Revenge of the quadrocopters: now they move in packs (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Jul 2010 05:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  TheDmel (YouTube)  | Email this | Comments