1,499 Drones Recreate Gigantic Nutcracker Ballet, Set World Records

Orchestrated by drone show performance company Sky Elements, a recent recreation of characters from The Nutcracker ballet successfully set two new Guinness World Records. The show used 1,499 choreographed drones flying above the Birdville Fine Arts and Athletic Complex in North Richland Hills, Texas, to achieve the feat, and it must have been a sight to behold in real life. At least there’s a video for those of us who live behind computer screens.

The first record was for the largest aerial display of a fictional character using drones, awarded for a giant Nutcracker stretching 700 feet into the night sky. The second was for the largest aerial image formed by drones, for an absolutely massive picture of a Christmas tree in front of a window with snow falling behind it. Maybe it’s true what they say after all: everything IS bigger in Texas.

Will the records get beaten in the coming year? Almost certainly. As a matter of fact, if I had an army of drones, I would beat them myself. But I don’t even have a single drone, so their records are probably safe from me, provided 2,000 drones don’t fall off the back of a truck in front of my house.

[via TechEBlog]

This indoor drone flies to deliver hot or cold air to people inside the house

Different people have different needs and tolerances for temperature. What might be room temperature for one could be uncomfortably warm for another. Some easily get cold, while others might need the fan or A/C to be at full blast in front of them. This variety of needs means achieving the perfect temperature inside a room to satisfy everyone is next to impossible. At the same time, catering to each and every preference is also impractical, given the limitations in space for multiple appliances. That’s the kind of problem that this idea for an indoor drone is trying to solve, making everyone inside your house feel comfortable and happy with the air temperature that’s catered specifically for them.

Designer: Miray Ozlem ER

It might be hard to imagine right now, but the houses of the future might be filled with robots of different kinds. We’re already familiar with the rolling cans that are robot vacuum cleaners, but there might come a day when small robot drones will also be flying around inside. Drone AC is envisioned as one such self-flying robot, and its sole purpose is to control people’s emotions through scents and hot or cold air.

In a nutshell, the idea for Drone AC is for this quadcopter to fly around the house, scanning people’s body temperatures and then blowing hot or cold air in their direction to either raise or lower that body temperature to more comfortable levels. It also has functionality to spread scents like an aroma diffuser, and its ability to fly could make it more effective in spreading that pleasant smell around the house.

Most of these functions are automated, controlled by a combination of sensors and algorithms. It can even fly back to its wall-mounted dock when it needs to recharge before it actually drops to a critical level. The only manual intervention that humans need to do is to put in water to cool the air.

While the Drone AC concept sounds and looks fantastic, and there might be a slim chance that such drones will indeed exist in the distant future, the current design leaves a few concerns. A quadcopter will naturally affect the airflow around the drone, so that might also affect the efficacy of blowing hot or cold air in a certain direction. Having the water refill area so close to the drone’s charging port also seems to be inviting trouble. The design does spark the imagination of how the house of the future will look like and how our lives could be more comfortable and more enriching with intelligent products like this.

The post This indoor drone flies to deliver hot or cold air to people inside the house first appeared on Yanko Design.

This drone controller concept will make you feel like an elite agent on a mission

Commercial drones are a dime a dozen these days. Some are so small that they can fit on the palm of your hand, while others are large enough to deliver packages. One common characteristic that these drones have is that they are primarily controlled using something that resembles a gamepad. Some can even be controlled using just a smartphone. While these might be the simplest and most convenient way to use drones, they are also pretty boring and unimaginative. Without arbitrary restrictions, it might be possible to design a controller that exudes the same spirit of action and adventure that drones carry, like, for example, a portable battle station that turns you into the commander of your flying buddy.

Designer: Martin Lezana, Alan Fornari

There’s nothing inherently wrong with using a game controller for a drone. It has a very familiar interface, at least for those who have ever played a video game on a console or PC, it is easy to make given how many production pipelines already manufacture these devices, and it has all the buttons and thumbsticks needed to control a drone. When used with a smartphone for displaying information and video from the drone’s cameras, it can be an all-in-one drone controller you can easily stash in a bag together with the drone.

That doesn’t mean, however, that is the only way to drive a drone, especially ones with more complex features. These might lean more towards the professional or even military type of drones, but even those are often controlled by something no more sophisticated than a gamepad. This drone controller concept, in contrast, pulls out all the stops and imagines a device that is almost straight out of an action flick.

The controller looks more like a miniature command center, with a central console that displays the drone’s vision as well as its stats. There are buttons, knobs, and sliders that correspond to specific features present in a larger drone so that you won’t have to shuffle between screens to get to the setting that you need to change. There are also two different kinds of joysticks, one on each side, that offer precision control over the flying machine.

Admittedly, this kind of drone controller isn’t one that you’ll be able to easily put in your backpack, but the controller itself actually transforms into a portable case of its own. You do have to detach the joysticks first before the other pieces can slide in and fold down, and there are separate carrying pouches for those detachable joysticks. You can’t simply hold this controller in your hands either, and it’s meant to be strapped to your body when in use.

This drone controller concept is admittedly overkill for a toy, and its use is geared more towards sophisticated drones in applications like search and rescue or reconnaissance. Still, it’s a rather interesting design that would inject a bit of fun when using a drone, even if you’re just imagining yourself to be some action hero that’s about to encroach on enemy territory.

The post This drone controller concept will make you feel like an elite agent on a mission first appeared on Yanko Design.

Google’s sister company Wing designs drones to handle diverse payloads and the logistics industry can’t wait

Drones are already playing a matchless part in photography and videography, and they were supposed to revolutionize the logistics industry invariably. Delivery of goods using drones has not taken off as presumed when Amazon, for instance, tried testing the possibility. True, the aviation and government norms play a curbing part but majorly the limitation of payload capacity of drones is what has created a bottleneck to the inventive technique for small-scale experiments.

Amazon and Uber (in the near future) are likely to set up large-scale operations focusing on drones for delivery. Readying its fleet of flyers for that future, Alphabet Inc.’s subsidiary Wing has unveiled drone prototypes that will be capable of delivering cargo weighing as little as half a pound and as much as 7 pounds. This variation in weight means a tailored aircraft is necessary for several payloads: for instance, a drone designed to deliver prescription medication is not ideal for delivering a gallon of milk or a heavier package like a refrigerator.

Designer: Wing

It has been found that almost 90 percent of the drone deliveries happening today are of payloads weighing up to five pounds. Therefore, Wing’s idea of larger-sized drones that can manage heavier deliveries is a welcome message for the lingering industry. The company’s appropriately-sized fleet of aircrafts for appropriate packages will share the company’s existing design philosophy, which the company has been testing globally by way of Hummingbird – its flagship drone. Wing claims this drone can carry up to 2 pounds and has made thousands of delivers across the globe.

In the video, Wing shows off its new, different-sized drones including the industry-leading one capable of seven pounds of payload. The smaller one on display can take off with as little as 0.6 pounds. Therefore, what Wing has achieved is a drone fleet capable of efficiently delivering packages including small pill bottles to those weighing as much as 7 pounds, which should give logistic partners a wide variety of options to choose from.

The post Google’s sister company Wing designs drones to handle diverse payloads and the logistics industry can’t wait first appeared on Yanko Design.

Tiny Drone Swarm Navigates Bamboo Forest Autonomously

Because the robotic apocalypse can’t come soon enough for some people, researchers at China’s Zhejiang University have programmed a swarm of small drones to navigate autonomously to avoid obstacles. In this case, those obstacles are the entirety of a bamboo forest. It’s been real, folks, but there is officially nowhere to run and nowhere to hide.

All of the ten-drone army “are equipped with depth cameras, altitude sensors and a small computer, all running a custom algorithm for collision avoidance, coordination, and flight efficiency.” Wow, so not only are they flying around, not crashing into things, but they’re doing it efficiently. The future, ladies and gentlemen! Humanity doesn’t stand a snowball’s chance in the devil’s butt.

The drones were allegedly developed to be utilized for aerial mapping applications, as well as conservation and disaster relief. Maybe they originally were, but all that goes out the window when they become sentient and decide the only disaster that needs relief is the planet wiped clean of humans. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a rocket to the moon to build.

[via TechEBlog]

Designed at Caltech, this bipedal, hybrid robot can walk and fly to showcase the future of locomotive robotics

Researchers at Caltech designed LEO, a hybrid, bipedal robot, that combines flying and walking to experiment with the future of locomotive robotics.

If you’ve ever seen a heron take flight or land afterward, you’ve probably admired how gracefully they move. Like cats, they seem to always stick the landing. Inspired by the flight and movement of birds like herons, researchers at Caltech created a clever, bipedal robot with a small stature and uncanny knack for balance. In its current form, LEONARDO, as they. call the robot, is strictly experimental. However, future applications could find LEONARDO tactfully sticking the landing on a solo mission to Mars or leading the way to adaptive landing systems for other robots on Earth.

Designer: Caltech

LEONARDO, or LEO for short, stands for LEgs ONboARD drOne and is equipped with a pair of multi-joint legs and propeller thrusters to stabilize its walking gait and allow the robot to hop and jump. Standing only 2.5 feet tall, LEO is lanky in proportions, with long legs and the main body measuring only half the length of them. These proportions aid in LEO’s varied locomotive capabilities, from flying to walking. The researchers at Caltech explain, “The point of LEO is to give unprecedented walking ability and to solve problems posed by hybrid locomotion. LEO is capable of many tricks: tight-rope walking, stair flying, and skateboard riding. LEO is helping engineers rethink how robots could move in the future and could open difficult environments to robotic exploration.”

While LEO is more or less a passion project that serves to experiment with the potential of locomotive robotics future applications could find LEO revolutionizing adaptive landing gear systems, not only for Earth-bound robotic exploration missions but for rotorcraft on Mars. Caltech researcher Soon-Jo Chung, Bren Professor of Aerospace and Control and Dynamical Systems explains, “By using a hybrid movement that is somewhere between walking and flying, the researchers get the best of both worlds in terms of locomotion. LEO’s lightweight legs take the stress off of its thrusters by supporting the bulk of the weight, but because the thrusters are controlled synchronously with leg joints, LEO has uncanny balance.”

The post Designed at Caltech, this bipedal, hybrid robot can walk and fly to showcase the future of locomotive robotics first appeared on Yanko Design.

Polestar’s emergency vehicle uses autonomous drone technology to respond to catastrophe

Polestar Duo is an itinerant vehicle that merges autonomous drone technology with a hybrid modular building to provide emergency relief.

In the age of COVID-19, one thing’s for certain—the need for autonomous, mobile emergency services is more urgent than ever before. When faced with unprecedented crises, dwindling resources make it hard to respond with tact. Considering the modern world’s technological advantage, innovative task forces and emergency services should be made readily available to help prevent catastrophe.

Designer: Marcelo Aguiar

Marcelo Aguiar, Chief Automotive Designer at electric car startup UNITI Sweden, recently devised a concept for a vehicle that blends autonomous drone technology with a hybrid modular building to create an accessible means to respond to any disaster.

Designed for the Polestar Design Competition, Aguiar’s Polestar Duo appears like a multifunctional shipping container that travels via drone technology.

Aguiar conceptualizes Polestar Duo to be flexible, adaptable, and itinerant, to be able to “perform in a variety of scenarios adopting different functions: it can work as a rescue vehicle, be used as pop-up structure or temporary accommodation, provide support in humanitarian crisis situations, be a mobile off-grid home to enable a more itinerant lifestyle.”

Equipped with a wind turbine, the Polestar Duo operates from a pair of back-driven propellers with wings that swivel to the optimal position considering the given day’s weather and wind conditions. Before taking flight, Polestar Duo’s wings unfold by rotating along their axes.

The integrated drone technology carries Polestar Duo’s Pod, which functions as the hybrid modular building, by attaching the Pod’s roof to the drone’s base. In difficult access scenarios, Polestar Duo deploys high-strength tethers that suspend the Pod from the drone’s base.

Merging today’s appeal to sustainable design with autonomous technology, the vehicle’s overall carbon footprint remains low due to the use of recycled and lightweight building materials, re-adaptability, and local power generation. Aguiar goes on to explain that, “this reduces the load on available resources while building, and becoming, a versatile infrastructure to support societal progress.”

Twin wings unfold at Polestar Duo’s axes to take flight. 

When idle, Polestar Duo’s wings fold up.

Polestar Duo is comprised of two main parts: the drone and the folding quadcopter.

The Pod attaches to the drone’s base for secure transportation.

In difficult access scenarios, the Pod suspends from the drone’s quadcopter via high-strength tethers. 

Outside of emergency services, Polestar Duo can be used as temporary living accommodations. 

The post Polestar’s emergency vehicle uses autonomous drone technology to respond to catastrophe first appeared on Yanko Design.