(Source: popularmechanics.com) For the drone revolution to really take off, the flying machines will have to fly longer than the half-hour-or-so that today's batteries allow. Startup Top Flight says it has the solution. Companies like Amazon are annoyed by the FAA's draft drone rules that restrict commercial use of unmanned aircraft. But the regulations may be a moot … [Read more...] about Hybrid Power Could Give Commercial Drones Hours of Flying Time
Massachusetts
Drone Tests to Begin in Cape Cod This Summer
(Source: bostonglobe.com) Drone pilots, start your engines. In just a few months, researchers could be sending unmanned aircraft into the air from Joint Base Cape Cod to test an array of experimental sensors over land and water. With drone flights strictly limited by federal regulators, the testing program at the military installation is a chance for New England … [Read more...] about Drone Tests to Begin in Cape Cod This Summer
Plymouth, MA Uses Drones to Survey Storm Damage
(Source: wcvb.com) For the first time, the Plymouth Fire Department had access to ultra-high-definition video of damage just hours after the blizzard slammed the coast. The images from two drones were so crisp the fire chief could not only survey erosion at White Horse Beach, he was able to zoom in and take a closer look at each home. “The quality is unbelievable,” said … [Read more...] about Plymouth, MA Uses Drones to Survey Storm Damage
It’Snot Unusual for Drones to Help Stressed Whales
It’s not easy being a whale these days. From illegal whale hunters to over-exuberant tourist-watchers to human-made ocean noises, our largest sea mammals are under a lot of stress and, unlike humans, when whales stress out they don’t seek peace in the bottom of a Ben and Jerry’s container – they produce gallons of mucus full of stress hormones. And here’s the Catch 22: In … [Read more...] about It’Snot Unusual for Drones to Help Stressed Whales
US Drone Research Hits Regulatory Turbulence
from nature.com Over the past few months, archaeologist Chris Roosevelt has been remotely piloting a petite six-rotor helicopter named Hydra over western Turkey, snapping high-resolution photographs of the scrubby terrain. The pictures will be assembled into three-dimensional maps to help Roosevelt and his colleagues to understand how people who built a kingdom in the region … [Read more...] about US Drone Research Hits Regulatory Turbulence