标签: drone

A few days ago, I wrote about Nighttime Aerial Drone Ballet . This little rascal boasted a video showing a large number of drones flying at night with their movements and accompanying light display choreographed to match a live performance of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony.   I was originally alerted to this video by my chum Arthur Smith in the UK. Once my blog had posted, I emailed Arthur to tell him about it, and he responded by saying:   Hi Max, thank you for the mention in your great blog. With this kind of control it becomes feasible to deliver a lot of stuff by drone. Engine and battery capabilities are still too weak for human flight, as far as I know, but I would not be too surprised if this does happen in the not-so-distant future as it would be very useful.   Well, you could blow me down with a feather because, shortly after I read Arthur's message, I received an email from Nathaniel Berman pointing me at this article and this video and asking if I'd heard that E-Volo's Semi-Autonomous Volocopter had successfully completed its first flight.   This film shows the prototype 2-seater VC200 and product concepts based on the Volocopter platform. Now, if you've only ever flown one of the smaller, simpler drones, you may feel a tad wary with respect to trusting your precious body in a larger version. My first drone-flying experience didn’t end so well to the extent that the little scamp disappeared into the distance, never to be seen again.   But things are changing so fast in this area -- the combination of extremely accurate sensors and sophisticated control algorithms removes much of the complexity involved in flying these little beauties. One of the guys in my office has a DJI Phantom 3 Standard Quadcopter . He says you can fly it to a particular location in 3D space, take your hands off the controls, and it will remain exactly where you left it, even in gusting winds.   Similar technology involving myriad sensors and networked microprocessors in the VC200 means that the pilot can use very simple controls to express his or her desires, and the processors do all of the hard work to control the 18 rotors in such a way as to achieve rock-steady realization of the pilot's wishes. If you take your hands away from the controls, the VC200 maintains its current position as if it were "pegged to the sky."   Now, I have to admit that the 2-seater VC200 does look very, very tasty. For myself, however, I would LOVE one of the 1-seater VC100s, which also makes an appearance in the above video. I can so imagine myself flying to work in the morning...

My chum Arthur Smith in the UK  is the man who balances being an expert in Cosmic Ray research with beekeeping and creating homemade soap -- not a combination of skills you tend to run across very often.   Well, knowing of my interest in drones and flashing lights, Arthur just sent me a link to this video with the subject line: "Drone display sets world record for most UAVs airborne simultaneously." I'm not quite sure what I was expecting here, but it certainly wasn't what I got, which was mind-blowing and exhilarating and makes me want to run out of the door and buy a bunch of drones.   As you'll see in the video, the drones are flying at night with their movements and light display choreographed to match a live performance of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. This is one of those feel-good videos that makes you gasp "Ooh!" and "Ah!" I so wish I could have been there to see the live performance.

I have to confess that I've been wanting to lay my hands on a drone for a long time, but the ones I've been looking at until now have been a tad on the expensive side. Also, I've had the sneaking suspicion that once I'd actually tried flying one I might quickly get bored and want to move on to something else.   Furthermore, niggling away at the back of my mind is the memory of the one time I actually played with a drone -- the result wasn't pretty. This all took place toward the end of last year when I toddled down to the local radio control hobby store to pick up some parts for my Animatronic Robot Eyes project. The guy behind the counter was playing with a teenie-weenie nano-drone just a couple of inches across. He made it look so easy.   I can’t remember what I paid for it, but I took one of these little scamps home with me. I charged it up and -- since it was a quiet, breezeless day -- I took it outside. Things went well for the first few seconds, but then I began to lose control. I over-corrected one way after another until, eventually, the little rascal shot up into the air, zipped over the roof of my house, and disappeared into the nether regions. That was the last I saw of it (sad face).   But "time heals all wounds," as they say. I've been hearing a lot of good things about the Sky Viper Drones from Sky Rocket Toys . The folks at Skyrocket have just launched four new models, and these little beauties really are incredibly reasonably priced (the drones, not the folks at Skyrocket). - Sky Viper Nano Drone M200 : 2.75" blade-to-blade. SRP = $29.99. - Sky Viper Stunt Drone S670 : 10" blade-to-blade. SRP = $49.99. - Sky Viper HD Video Drone V950HD : 12.75" blade-to-blade. SRP = $89.99. - Sky Viper Video Streaming Drone V950STR : I don’t know much about this one -- it's on the Skyrocket toys website, but I'm not seeing it in the stores yet.   Now in their third generation, all Sky Viper Drones feature extreme performance capabilities, exciting one-touch stunts, 6-axis digital stabilization, and variable modes of flight sensitivity. Using the supplied 2.4GHz controllers with long range spread spectrum, you can control the Sky Viper drones up to 200 feet away (if the drone flies outside the range of its transmitter, it will automatically land itself and wait for you to retrieve it).   Well, I finally took the plunge. For the last couple of days I've been playing with two of these little beauties -- the Sky Viper Nano Drone and the Sky Viper HD Video Drone -- and I have to tell you that this is really, really fun.   I started with the Sky Viper Nano Drone as shown below. The first thing to note about this is that -- unlike my original drone from the RC hobby store -- the instructions that come with the Sky Viper drones are (a) In English, (b) Understandable, and (c) Intuitive.       In the case of the controls, there are two main joysticks augmented by a bunch of buttons. Pushing the left-hand joystick forward causes the drone to rise up into the air; pulling it back causes the drone to lower itself toward the ground. At the same time, pushing this joystick to the left or right causes the drone to rotate counter-clockwise or clockwise, respectively. Meanwhile, pushing the right-hand joystick forward, backward, left, or right causes the drone to go forward, backward, left, or right, respectively.   One thing I really love about these drones is the ability to quickly and easily calibrate them. You start by making the drone rise up a couple of feet into the air and then immediately returning it to the ground. While doing this, you observe what the drone does while it's in the air. Does it drift forwards perhaps? In this case, once you've landed, you click the 'B' ("Back") button on the controller and try again. Similarly, if it drifts backwards you click the 'F' ("Forward") button; if it drifts to the left you click the 'R' ("Right") button; and if it drifts to the right you click the 'L' ("Left") button. It really can’t get much easier than this.   The reason I started with the Nano Drone is that (a) it's the cheaper one and (b) it's harder to control (this is because it's lighter and has less inertia). My reasoning was that once I learned to fly the Nano Drone, it would be much easier (and less wearing on the nerves) for me to fly the Video Drone (the main functions are identical on both controllers; the Video Drone controller just has a few more buttons). Here's a video of me learning to fly the Nano Drone.   Like everything, this does take some practice. I'm getting better each time I fly it, but I'm still not able to control it without thinking. Well, obviously I'll always be thinking, but -- instead of focusing on every detail of what my hands are doing -- I want to get to the stage where my actions are largely automatic.   Once I felt like I had a reasonable amount of control over the Nano Drone, I decided it was time to move onwards and upwards (pun intended). The Sky Viper Video Drone boasts an adjustable HD SkyPro camera that can record 720p photos and video. You can use the included 4GB MicroSD Memory Card to capture a humongous number of photos and/or up to 20 minutes of flight footage at a time! (You can also upgrade to a 32GB MicroSD memory card if you wish.)       The controller has two extra buttons on the front -- one is marked "Photo" and the other is marked "Video." I wanted to try taking a video, but I pressed the wrong button, which explains the following ground-level photo.     Apart from the poor choice of shot, I was actually quite pleased with the quality of this image, but we digress... After I'd worked out which button to press, I set the camera recording and captured this video . It won’t take you long to work out that I still need quite a lot more practice, but I think I'm getting there.   I have to say that all of the folks in my office are really enjoying playing with these drones. I have them sitting on a table in the bay outside my room, and I often see them flying past my door. The next thing we want to do is take the larger drone outside and capture some video of our office building, but we're all rather busy, so that will have to wait until we get a moment's break.   Based on my experiences with these Sky Viper drones, I'm convinced that I will be moving on to more sophisticated versions at some stage in my future -- something that can stream full high-definition video using a shock-mounted camera on gimbals and that can be controlled up to say a mile away. But that's not going to happen for a year or two.   In the meantime, I think that these incredibly affordable Sky Viper drones offer a really good starting point for someone like me who hasn’t had any (significant) experience with anything like this before. The only problem is that all of this has whetted my appetite for more. I now have my sights set on a Sky Viper Video Streaming Drone V950STR , I just need to find out who is selling the little scamps.

I'm really, really keen on laying my hands on a drone. Ideally, I'd like one of the "Big Boys" -- a hexacopter about 2-3 feet across carrying a meaty digital video camera and capable of flying for about 30 minutes with a couple of miles range control-wise, streaming video capability... the list goes on.   In reality, of course, I'd settle for something a lot smaller and cheaper (LOL). One thing I've discovered to my cost is that many of these little rascals may not be as easy to control as one might wish. A couple of months ago, I was visiting a local hobby shop looking for servo parts for my Animatronic Robot Eyes . As I approached the checkout, I saw one of the guys behind the counter playing with a teensy-weensy quadcopter just a couple of inches in diameter. He appeared to be totally engrossed in what he was doing, but I now realize I'd been marked as a target.   He made it look so easy. Using a small handheld controller, he had this little beauty zipping back and forth around the store. Eventually, he flew it back and landed it in the palm of his hand, and then he looked up and said, "Are you ready to check out?" There was a pile of boxes on the counter in front of me, each containing one of these drones. They were only $29.95 each. I am a man of little willpower when the "Oooh, shiny" factor rears its seductive head. The long and short of it is that I splashed the cash for one.   When I returned home, I immediately charged the battery. Then I took my little drone outside and started to play with it. At first, it seemed easy. I managed to make it rise a couple of feet and hover in place for a few seconds. But then it started to drift, and I overcorrected. Then it started to drop, and I overcorrected again. To cut a long story short, I got flustered. The quadcopter shot up into the sky and then vanished over the roof of my house. I ran around the house shouting my mantra of "Don't panic! Don't panic!" I was wrong; it was indeed time to panic. I never saw my little quadcopter again. It may still be soaring above our heads as far as I know.   But now it's time to dry the tears and turn my frown upside down, because the Torquing Group has created a mega-cool quadcopter called Zano. As you can see in this video , having a Zano at your fingertips takes selfies to new heights.     The great thing about the Zano, from my point of view, is that it is designed to be really easy to control. In addition to magnetometers, accelerometers, gyroscopes, the device boasts IR obstacle avoidance, echo-sounding sonar, and a high-resolution air pressure sensor for altitude control. Coupled with the software (which is iOS and Android compatible), this produces a nano-drone that you can control with a gesture.   Furthermore, there is a LED display panel on the front, LED landing lights, and a five-megapixel HD video camera coupled with digital image/video stabilization for clear and precise images and video capture. Also of interest is the fact the Zano boasts xPico WiFi technology from Lantronix embedded inside. (See Lantronix xPico WiFi Shield for Arduino .)   The promise of the Zano is that even a drongo like yours truly should be able to capture stunning aerial photographs and videos with no complex flight training required. This looks sooo tasty. I've just been rooting around the Zano Kickstarter Project page, where we discover that this project has already met its fundraising goal more than three times over (and there are still 16 days to go).   "Daddy wants him a Zano," is all I can say.

My friend Rick Curl went to my office a few weeks ago to retrieve his great-grandfather's scrapbook (see Looking through a window into the past ). One of the things we've discussed in the past is my desire to build a quadcopter – or maybe a hexacopter – or possibly (dare I say it) an octocopter. I'd like to mount a really good digital camera to it and take interesting pictures of things. Well, Rick regaled me with a website he'd found that explains how Dominos is testing a pizza delivery drone called the "Domicopter" – the idea is that this very tasty octocopter can rush your pizza to your house a lot faster than a guy driving a car, plus you wouldn't have to tip ( Click Here to read the full story).     But wait, there's more – Rick also tells me that a Japanese restaurant chain called Yo!Sushi is experimenting with a quadcopter that delivers sushi to your table ( Click Here to read this story). Can you imagine a future in which the skies (and restaurants) are jam-packed with these little rascals? I wonder what my dear old dad would have thought about this. I've said it before and I'll say it again... we certainly do live in interesting times...