Drone Research

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Oct 26

Last updated

Black quadcopter with a Livox Mid-360 LiDAR dome on top and MARS lettering on its frame, hovering in front of blurred mountains

Drone Research · Analysis

Purdue's "From Scratch" Drone Flies on a Hong Kong Lab's Planner

A Purdue lab says it built its viral forest drone from scratch. Its telemetry names SUPER and FAST-LIO, open-source code from the University of Hong Kong.

Haye KestelooOct 264 min read

Federal Aviation Administration headquarters at 800 Independence Avenue SW in Washington, D.C., with the Orville Wright Federal Building sign in front

FAA

FAA Puts $12 Million Into Drone Test Sites as Part 108 Sits Unsigned

The FAA awarded $12 million to 19 drone research projects at its nine test sites. Congress mandated the money in 2024, and Part 108 is still unsigned.

Haye KestelooOct 5

RESEARCH

Duke University Drone Tracks Another Drone Using Only Its Sound

Duke's SonicFly follower quadcopter chases a leader drone with a 10-gram microphone array, no GPS sharing, no radio link, and no camera.

Haye KestelooAug 18

A small white hexacopter weather drone climbs vertically against a clear blue sky, seen from below.

Drone Research

Meteomatics Weather Drones Give NOAA Forecasters New Eyes

Meteomatics and NOAA flew Meteodrones over Purcell, Oklahoma on July 30, profiling the lowest layers of the atmosphere on demand — the exact altitude band where tornadoes form and where balloons and satellites leave forecasters half blind. Switzerland has 10 sites and Norway is building 30. Oklahoma has one.

Rafael SuárezAug 5

Overhead black-and-white view of a DJI Phantom quadcopter surrounded by folding DJI Mavic drones and other multirotors arranged on a white surface

Wildlife

Drone Captures Humpback Whale Birth In a World First

A drone off the New South Wales coast filmed a humpback whale giving birth on July 28 — only the fourth complete humpback birth ever captured on film, and the first ever recorded from the air.

Rafael SuárezAug 4

Two researchers on a small boat off Maui hold up a quadcopter carrying an orange suction-cup whale tag, preparing to launch it toward a humpback whale.

Drone Research

UH Drones Tag 22 Humpback Whales Off Maui Without Boats

University of Hawaii researchers tagged 22 humpback whales off Maui this year by flying suction-cup tags onto their backs with drones, replacing a method that required putting a boat within arm's reach of a 40-ton animal.

Rafael SuárezAug 4

Green laser beam used for wireless drone charging research

Drone Research

China's Laser Drone Charger Hits 38% Efficiency In The Lab

Chinese researchers built a laser receiver that converts light and waste heat into electricity at 38.49% efficiency, enough to spin a drone propeller.

Rafael SuárezJul 31

Drone Research

DRAGON Drone Reshapes Itself Midair To Fit Through Gaps

The University of Tokyo’s JSK Lab flew DRAGON v1.5, a drone that changes its own shape in the air, in a live demonstration on the Komaba Campus in Tokyo. The robot bends and curls to pass through gaps that would stop a fixed-frame drone, and it does it autonomously, using only its onboard sensors. Now…

Rafael SuárezJul 1

Drone Research

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