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Drone Debate Continues as Hollywood Seeks Production Options

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July 1, 2014

Hollywood continues to consider drones for media production since they have the potential to save money, offer creative options and create a safer set. Drone-makers, rigging manufacturers and aerial production companies have joined forces to offer camera-equipped drones and services. However, federal law prohibits the commercial use of unmanned aircrafts. The FAA is currently reviewing a request by the MPAA to allow drones for use by the film and television industry. Continue reading Drone Debate Continues as Hollywood Seeks Production Options

DARPA Converts Army Surveillance Drones into Mobile Hotspots

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April 17, 2014

DARPA’s Mobile Hotspots program is converting retired RQ-7 Army drones into wireless hotspots to provide Wi-Fi to soldiers in remote areas. The drones will be able to transfer data at one gigabyte per second — about the same connectivity of a 4G smartphone — to give troops the same communication capabilities, including access to tactical operation centers and mission data, that others in more central conflict zones have. DARPA is retrofitting the drones with small Wi-Fi antennas. Continue reading DARPA Converts Army Surveillance Drones into Mobile Hotspots

Affordable Drone Technology Implements New Director Mode

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January 17, 2013

UAV drone technology makes it easier for filmmakers to scout locations and drive down the costs of aerial cinematography. Even so, drones still range from $2,000 to $22,000. But French technology company Parrot, which began offering its AR Drone in 2010, demonstrated a soon-to-be released update during CES that will introduce a new Director Mode into its control scheme. Continue reading Affordable Drone Technology Implements New Director Mode

British Engineers Build and Fly First Printed Aircraft

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July 29, 2011
  • Engineers in the UK have designed, built and flown a model aircraft, the entire structure of which has been printed (including its two-meter wings, control surfaces and access hatches).
  • The Southampton University Laser Sintered Aircraft unmanned air vehicle (UAV) was printed layer by layer on an EOS EOSINT P730 nylon laser sintering machine.
  • The electric vehicle, the first of its kind to be completely printed, is capable of a top speed of nearly 100 miles per hour.
  • “The flexibility of the laser sintering process allows the design team to re-visit historical techniques and ideas that would have been prohibitively expensive using conventional manufacturing,” says University of Southampton professor Jim Scanlon. “This type of structure was initially developed by Barnes Wallis and famously used on the Vickers Wellington bomber which first flew in 1936. This form of structure is very stiff and lightweight, but very complex. If it was manufactured conventionally it would require a large number of individually tailored parts that would have to be bonded or fastened at great expense.”
  • “This is a great example of what 3D printers are making possible,” comments ETCentric staffer George Gerba.

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