15 pretty cool drones that aren’t in the military… yet
15 pretty cool drones —
Herding sheep, delivering pizza, guiding lost students around campus -- these are just a few things friendly drones can do. Company and DIY drones are on the rise, and not even Hollywood stars will be safe from them. Soon starlets might be acting in front of drone-mounted cameras or being chased by a UAV paparazzi.
Courtesy Dedicam.tv
Airborne aid —
U.S. start-up Matternet aims to create a network of drones capable of transporting potentially lifesaving goods to rural and under-developed areas. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is backing rural drone transport too, funding a project that aims to transport vaccines to hard-to-reach and disaster-struck locations.
Courtesy Matternet
Indiana drones —
In Peru, archeologist are using drones to map archeological sites and protect them from vandals and squatters.
Courtesy Ernesto Benavides/AFP/Getty Images
Game of drones —
Japanese toy maker Kyosho has developed an infrared controlled drone 'Neon Messenger', which can display LED messages while flying.
Courtesy Yoshikazy Tsuno/AFP/Getty Images
Campus guide —
Drones turn campus guide at -- where else -- MIT. Skycall is a prototype to help Harvard students navigate around MIT's infamously convoluted landscape. It was developed by an MIT research group called Senseable City Lab.
Courtesy MIT Senseable City Lab
Cat drone —
Drone+stuffed cat = art. Orville is a flying helicopter cat made by Dutch artist Bert Jansen. The remote-controlled quadcopter was first exhibited in Amsterdam and Jansen has since created more taxidermy drones.
Courtesy Ade Johnson/AFP/Getty Images
Copper chopper —
German communications provider Deutsche Telekom is tired of people stealing their copper cables. So they contracted a company to tag overhead telephone cables with drones across Germany in an effort to fight theft of the cables, which has shot up in recent years with the value of copper.
Courtesy Sean Gallup/Getty Images
Pizza drone —
Pizza delivery companyDomino's has tested the possibility of delivering pizza via the DomiCopter. Other companies are also investigating the possibility of delivering their food via drones.
COurtesy Domino's
Search and rescue —
Drones, often more resilient than humans, make for an ideal search party, as they can be pre-programmed to scan an area inch-by-inch. Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department began experimenting with the SkySeer Search and Rescue drone as early as 2006.
ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images/file
Lay of the land —
Soon, real farming could be as easy as online farming games. Time-consuming agricultural tasks, such as spraying pesticides, could be left to UAVs, whilst surveillance drones can analyze the land and offer insight into how to boost the harvest. This French drone is scanning crops to help farmers optimize water levels and fertilizer use.
ALAIN JOCARD/AFP/Getty Images
UAV in the desert —
The Burning Man festival in Nevada is often a hotbed of amateur UAV activity. So much so that some look to the event for insight on how to balance freedom of drone use with privacy and safety concerns.
Herding sheep —
Drones as shepherds? Quadcopters could soon be replacing dogs as herders.
Courtesy Craig Rogers
Real-time monitoring —
The French Fly-n-Sense company has developed an innovative forest surveillance system which will enable a real-time monitoring of fire outbreaks and the development of flames in French southwestern forests.
Courtesy Pierre Andrieu/AFP/Getty Images
Drone ranger —
Efforts to protect four of the world's last remaining northern white rhinos have been boosted by a $70,000 drone. The Ol Pejeta Conservacy in Kenya is planning to use the UAV to monitor the location of its wildlife and deter poachers from harming the animals.
PRAKASH MATHEMA/AFP/GettyImages/file
Up, up and away! —
UAV technology company 3D Robotics has developed the X8, a copter that can take high-resolution videos and photographs, an do detailed mapping. 3D Robotics says the user will be able to create, fly and repeat missions for data measurement.
