Important Innovations

  FAA Approves Small Drones Flying Over People & At Night                                                      Source:  Amazon Opens the Way to Widespread Commercial Drone Deliveries The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has just approved small drones flying over people and at night.  This regulatory clearance is viewed as enabling the start of widespread commercial drone package deliveries in the US.  For companies like Amazon, Walmart and UPS, this is a long-awaited decision and a big business opportunity.  Until now, drones have been restricted to very limited operations involving direct participants and required FAA clearance and waivers for more public exposure, such as testing drone package deliveries in specific neighborhoods. Security Issues The FAA is addressing security concerns by requiring remote identification technology on the drones so they can be identified from the ground.  The new regulations take effect in March.  Drone manufacturers have up to 18 months to p

  Reusable, Affordable, Flying, Launch & Release Drones                                 Source:  DARPA's Gremlins Program For the US Military and Multi-Purpose Missions DARPA, the US Defense Department's Advanced Research Projects Agency, has a fascinating, highly advanced drone program underway to launch and catch airborne drones.  DARPA calls it the Gremlins program and it just completed the first flight test of its X-61A drone vehicle that is designed for airborne launch, free flight, swarming and then retrieval in the air, for re-use thereafter.  Drones Within Inches of Retrieval What DARPA is striving for is the aerial recovery of multiple drones that are low cost and reusable, unmanned aerial systems or  GAV (Gremlin Aerial Vehicles). The test drones each flew two hours autonomously and successfully tested for all formation flying positions and for safety.  But, within "inches", they failed to lockup in flight for the catch by a retrieval system on a C-130 H

  Golf Course with Drones Delivering Beverages and Snacks  Source: Golf Digest, TMX, Michael Jordan, The Grove Tech-Savvy, Sophisticated, Elite Golfing Michael Jordan is considered by many as one of, if not the greatest, basketball player of all time.  Now, the former NBA superstar, businessman, billionaire and entrepreneur has opened one of the world's most tech savvy, exclusive and elite golf courses in South Florida.  It's called The Grove XXIII, representing the #23 he wore when he played for the Chicago Bulls.  What differentiates the course is the technology.  Jordan is deploying flying drones to deliver, on order, snacks and drinks including cold beer, to golfers as they play their rounds.   Snack & Drink Serving Flying Drones  The course is located in Hobe Sound, Florida and opened in 2019.  It is state of the art with very sleek holes, a 15,000 foot clubhouse and snack serving, flying drones.  The drones are remotely controlled by  pilots who gently lower the food

  Disinfecting Drones at Atlanta Falcon's Mercedes Benz Stadium                                     Source: Mercedes Benz Stadium High Tech Aerial Disinfecting at Falcon's Stadium In Atlanta, the Mercedes Benz Stadium, where the Atlanta Falcons play, and Lucid Drone Technologies have teamed-up to become the first professional sports venue to use disinfecting drones to protect fans, players and staff from Covid and other viruses.   Highly Advanced Technology Starting on October 11 when the Falcon's home stadium opens for limited fan capacity, Lucid's D1 disinfecting drones will release, as they fly, medical grade disinfecting chemicals after each game.  The disinfectant is dispensed by using electrostatic spraying nozzles.  Lucid says one drone can do the work of 14 workers with backpack sprays.  The drones cut the time to accomplish the cleaning by 95%. Robots and the NFL Meanwhile, elsewhere in the NFL, robots are going on Covid patrol.  The Carolina Panthers are the f

  UK's Tesco & Manno Aero Drones of Ireland Partner                                                                     Source:  Manno Aero Drone New Tech, Drone Grocery Deliveries to Start in Ireland The world's 3rd largest supermarket/retail group Tesco is partnering with Irish entrepreneur Bobby Healy and his Manno Aero drone company to test home deliveries of groceries by Manno drones, first in Ireland.  Healy's drones are currently following fast food deliveries with their drones.  Tesco is headquartered in the UK. Its CEO Dave Lewis calls drone grocery deliveries the kind of disruptive innovation he wants to do.  Manno is an accomplished drone company and has been delivering medicine during COVID in Ireland.  Tesco CEO Dave Lewis says Manno has the proven capacity to deliver goods with its drones and now he wants to apply it to Tesco operations, specifically for its grocery store customers. Next Steps - Real Fast Orders Tesco will start with delivering a few groce

World's 1st Drone Cleared for Heavy Cargo Trials Source:  Ehang Booming Drone Business China's Ehang is the world's 1st autonomous aerial vehicle (AAV) & eVTOL company approved to perform commercial trials of carrying heavy cargo in its passenger drones.  The pilotless Ehang 216 drones can carry two passengers, go up to 80 mph and travel a distance of 19 miles. It's now the first drone company in the world that is cleared to perform a series of trial tests with the drone carrying cargo loads of 330 pounds and more. Global Market Size Ehang founder and CEO Hu Huazi says the Chinese regulatory authority's clearance will accelerate the commercialization of  AAV/eVTOL technology and air mobility solutions for logistics. He adds it's a foundation for the world to establish a coordinated and sustainable regulatory environment.  The global market potential for eVTOLs is huge.  Morgan Stanley estimates it at $1.5 Trillion by 2040.  30% of t

Harnessing Ocean Energy As A Power Source Source:  DARPA Sustainable Energy The concept of underwater energy harvesting by drones is being developed by the US Defense Department's Advanced Research Agency DARPA.  This could not only revolutionize naval propulsion, particularly for drone submarines, by providing them a sustainable energy source.  But also, if the drones transport the harvested ocean energy to ships at sea, there would be far less need to return to port to refuel.  The time and energy efficiencies would be breakthrough. Manta Ray Project DARPA calls the program the Manta Ray Project.  It's goal is to develop unmanned underwater vehicles - drones - that can operate underwater for very long, extended periods of time, all the while harvesting the energy of the ocean as a power source.  Four companies have just been selected for the job.  Lockheed Martin, Northrup Grumman and Navtek LLC are working on the drones.  And Metron is developing underwater energy

COVID-19 Accelerating Autonomous Deliveries Source:  Waymo Big Investor Money Pouring In COVID-19 is accelerating a big shift in the global autonomous driving industry.  Business is booming in the autonomous delivery of packages, not the autonomous driving of people.  Companies like self-driving technology company Waymo are enjoying a huge boom in its business of package deliveries and a big influx of capital from investors. Fresh Capital Big players like Waymo, which is owned by Google's parent company Alphabet, are getting a big jump in funding.  Waymo now has $3 billion in fresh capital after expanding its first funding round.  It just raised $750 million in mid May.  According to Reuters' analysis, investors have poured $6 billion into two dozen companies involved in autonomous deliveries in the past seven months.  The technology ranges from drones to big, autonomous trucks. Global Phenomenon:  Future of Travel.   The growth in autonomous deliveries i

UK Testing Drones to Deliver Medical Supplies Source:  UK's NHS Medical Test Drone Testing Fast Tracked for This Week The use of new technologies in the coronavirus health crisis is proving to be increasingly important. The United Kingdom is starting test trials this week on using drones to deliver much needed medical supplies during the pandemic. The drone delivery service project is being spearheaded by the UK's Transport Ministry. They're fast tracking the effort.  The first deliveries are going to a hospital on the Isle of Wight.  The Ministry also hopes to use drones to deliver other vital supplies. British Robots Delivering Groceries Meanwhile, a fleet of robots on wheels are delivering groceries and other vital shopping items during the UK's coronavirus lockdown.  For example, the UK  robot company Starship is providing  free robot deliveries of groceries to all NHS health workers in the t

Norway & Sweden Create World's 1st Green Airspace  Source:  Sweden's Heart Aerospace Electric Plane ES-19 Source:  Rolls Royce Electric Plane Safe Airspace to Test Electric Planes Norway and Sweden have created a large, green airspace for the testing of electric planes and small to medium sized drones.  This is the world's first test airspace for electric flights. The airspace straddles the Norway-Sweden border over an area between Roros and Osterund.  It's large, rugged and challenging both from climate and terrain perspectives and includes mountains, lakes and forests.  It's specifically designed to be a place to test manned electric aircraft and unmanned, small to medium sized drones. Norway and Sweden Continue to Act for a Greener  Environment The green flyway is yet another world first example of Norway and Sweden's commitment to electric powered vehicles to reduce carbon emissions.  The green flyway provides an isolated space to test fl

Unique Power System:  Inflight Battery Swaps for Drones Source:  UC Berkeley New Drone/Battery System UC Berkeley HiPeRLab Innovation Can you imagine a drone with almost unlimited flying time?  Well, it's just been created by engineers and roboticists at the University of California Berkeley's HiPeRLab, their High Performance Robotics Lab.  It's a prototype drone system with unique, inflight battery switching technology.  The potential is to keep drones in the air for almost unlimited flight times. Quadcopter Drone with a Docking Deck The team has invented a quadcopter drone with a docking tray that's able to accept a smaller, fresh battery delivering drone.  The battery drone lands on the dock, recharges the larger drone and flies away.  This allows the next battery drone to fly in and take its place to do a recharge. Sustainable Drone Flights This is a fascinating approach to one way of powering sustainable drone flights.  In the future, othe

New Autonomous Roofers in Town Source:   University of Michigan Autonomous Roofers University of Michigan engineers and roboticists have invented a drone that can put a new roof on your house and do it autonomously.  The drone nails shingle to a rooftop and decides in flight where to target the nails.  The aerial vehicle is autonomous, positions the nail gun on a nailing point, places the nail and then moves on to the next point without any human intervention.  It's a cutting edge example of drones being capable of what can be dangerous construction work for humans. Octocopter The drone is a DJI S1000 octocopter equipped with a standard nail gun.  The drone uses a system of cameras and markers to cover test roofs with asphalt shingles.  The roofs have a range of slopes. Machine Vs. Human Right now, the University of Michigan team says the drone is less effective than a human roofer.  But they think the system will be improved by a power tethered system.

Pairing Marines with Robots in the Field Source:  DARPA's Squad X Technology Man & Machines on the Frontline The US Defense Department's Advanced Research Projects Agency - DARPA - uses AI and  autonomous robots and drones to gather information for soldiers in the field about their surroundings.  The purpose is to eliminate what's historically been called "the fog of war" meaning the uncertainty of the soldier's surroundings - enemies lurking inside of buildings, exploding devices on the ground, etc. Fog of War DARPA has been testing the Squad X system, which is multifaceted.  Aerial drones and mobile robots on the ground provide surveillance of the soldier's surroundings.  Artificial intelligence processes the information and provides what's relevant to the soldier on their Android device.  The program is designed to provide superior situational awareness.  The systems currently being tested don't involve the capacity to fire weapons

Package Deliveries and Surveillance Source:  Amazon US Patent for the Technology Amazon has found yet another way to make potentially significant money.  It's just secured a patent to utilize its package delivery drones for security surveillance for its customers. Geofencing According to the patent, the surveillance would be limited by geofencing.  That's a technology which draws a virtual line around a property under surveillance.  According to the patent, the drone would record video of the customer's house at the customer's request for security.  The drone would pick up such issues as a broken window or open garage door. Drones Ready for Takeoff In the next few months, Amazon's fleet of delivery drones will start flying purchases to customers starting at a distance of 30 minutes or less.  Interestingly, Amazon filed for the patent to enable drone surveillance in 2015 and just received the patent this month.  No word on if or when Amazon will offer

Highly Advanced Spy Drone that has Russia Very Concerned Source:  USAF MQ-9 Reaper US Air Force's MQ-9 Reaper Drones Russia is very concerned about a US plan to deploy spy drones in Poland.  It's the MQ-9 Reaper drone which is an unmanned aerial vehicle that's capable of remote controlled or autonomous flight operations.  It was developed by General Atomics for the US Air Force.  It has a maximum speed of 300 mph and a range of 1,150 miles.  According to experts, this drone technology is very advanced and has greatly increased the US ability to monitor vast areas of Eastern Europe. MQ-9 Reaper Already There According to several reports, a squadron of MQ-9 drones are fully operational from an air base in Poland.  President Trump also plans to send 1000 US troops to Poland to deter any Russian aggression.  Today, a Russian Deputy Foreign Minister expressed Russia's deep concern about the drones, saying they demonstrate US "aggressive intentions

New Drone with Autonomous Flexible Wings Source:  Purdue University Flies Against the Wind Purdue University roboticists have developed and patented a new, advanced drone with foldable wings.  The wings are designed on the flight patterns and wings of insects.  Unlike other drones with fixed wings, this new invention can withstand high wind conditions.  It's also more energy efficient and can carry heavy loads.  For a news blog with more details, go to  https://importantinnovationscollection.blogspot.com/2019/04/new-drone-with-foldable-wings.html Innovations Collection: New Drone with Foldable Wings : Autonomous Wings to Withstand the Wind Source:  Purdue University Inspired by Insects Roboticists at Purdue University have develope...

New Agritech from UK Provides Massive Data at the Crop Level Autonomous Robots on the Farm A new robot powered by artificial intelligence autonomously collects massive amounts of data on crops.  It's called Mamut and was just developed by Cambridge Consultants in the UK.  Crop data is routinely collected by aerial drones.  The flying drones can miss produce hidden under leaves or trees.  The Mamut works on the ground to provide a more complete look. It's designed for farms, including massive industrial farms, orchards and vineyards. Mamut The 4-wheeled autonomous robot is loaded with sensors and AI to gather crop health and yield data as it roams the fields.  It integrates stereo cameras,  LIDAR, a compass, an inertial measurement unit (IMU) and wheel odometers.  The onboard AI integrates all the sensor data inputs.  The system provides the farmer easy access to the data to maximize production. No GPS The autonomous robot doesn't use GPS but depends on its own p

Seoul's Robot Science Museum Source:  MAA's Concept Visualization of the Museum Autonomous Building This is a first.  For Seoul, South Korea's new Robot Science Museum, robots and drones will play a role in all aspects of the construction project, including design, manufacture of building parts and assembly.  The architectural firm MAA of Turkey is the creator and developer of this ambitious project.  MAA came up with the winning concept in the South Korean government's open bid process. South Korea is delivering on its desire to promote public education on robots and raise awareness of AI innovation through the new Museum. Only Robots and Drones Need Apply Construction gets underway in 2020 and there is a delegation of work.  One group of robots will mold, weld, assemble and polish the Museum's metal façade.  Another group will 3D print concrete slabs.  Drones will map the construction site and provide regular inspections.  They'll also serve as secu

US Military Adding Drones & Drone Defense Source:  FLIR's Black Hornet Personal Reconnaissance Drone New Innovation Arsenal The US has ordered $39 million worth of small reconnaissance drones for the US Army.  The Black Hornet Personal Reconnaissance Drones are manufactured by FLIR Systems. They are tiny, strategic, live video providing drones for soldier/operators on the battlefield. Nano-UAV's The drones are small enough to fit into a soldier's pocket or in the palm of their hand.  They are nano-UAV's (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) and provide a view of the battlefield.  The tiny drones work day and night, with speeds up to 20 feet per second and at a distance up to 1.24 miles. Live Video They are nearly silent and provide constant covert surveillance of the battlefield for half an hour. During that time, they transmit live video and HD photos back to the operator.  They weigh an ounce and are a little more than 6 inches long.  This is incredible technolog

China's EHANG 184 Aerial Autonomous Vehicle Autonomous, Electric, Green Passenger Drone China based company EHANG expects to roll out commercial version of its breakthrough, passenger flying drone The EHANG 184 in 2019.  The drone is autonomous, all electric, green and the first drone in the world to demonstrate the ability to fly a passenger. Take off and landing happens with one click.  It's a new way to commute that ready for takeoff.  For a news blog on this travel innovation, go to Important Innovations Collection: World's 1st Passenger Drones : China's EHANG 184 Source:  The EHANG 184 Drone Transit China is leading the way in passenger carrying drones.  The world's 1...