Drones
Drone Rules: Federal Aviation Administration Announces It Is Testing Drone Defense System
As drones become a more common sight overhead, the government has started to think more and more about how to protect the skies. At CES 2017, the Federal Aviation Administration revealed that it is researching new ways to detect and defend against drones. FAA Administrator Michael Huerta took to the stage in Las Vegas to discuss new technologies designed to spot unauthorized unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) operating near important areas, with an emphasis on airports. According to Huerta, the organization has already tested some of its systems in busy airports in New York and Denver and smaller locales like Atlantic City. Later this year, the FAA plans to extend it tests at the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.
Are Aliens Real? UFO Sighting In Chile Recorded On Video, Government Says
Comitรฉ de Estudios de Fenรณmenos Aรฉreos Anรณmalos (CEFAA), a Chilean government agency within the civil aeronautics directorate (the DGAC, roughly equivalent to the United States' Federal Aviation Administration) released a video taken by a Navy helicopter of a mysterious craft in 2014. The remarkable footage was captured by two naval officers on a helicopter-mounted Wescam infrared camera, typically used in covert, aerial surveillance. If you've seen Predator drone footage, you've seen these cameras in action. Captured west of Santiago at an altitude of approximately 4,500 feet (far lower than commercial airliners), the Unexplained Aerial Phenomenon (UAP, the new preferred term for UFOs) was first observed with the naked eye from an estimated distance of 35 to 40 miles. The helicopter crew -- a Navy captain and camera technician -- captured 10 minutes of some of the most baffling and well-sourced video ever taken of a UFO.
CrowdAI sells artificial-intelligence-as-a-service
Computers aren't blind, but they can't see. They can detect objects, but must be trained to understand what those objects are. That takes two things: a ton of example data collected and organized by artificial intelligence and humans to accurately label and verify that data. Done right, this process can teach self-driving cars to avoid pedestrians, detect parking lot usage by counting cars in satellite photos or assess roof damage from drone footage. Businesses send CrowdAI their autonomous vehicle, satellite or drone imagery.
In 2017 drones are getting faster, more fun and easy to fix
Drones aren't new to CES, but it's only the last year or two that they got their own dedicated area in the convention hall. But, drones are meant to fly free, and not behind netting, so some bright spark invented the Drone Rodeo: an annual off-site event where the latest and greatest in UAVs could do their thing as nature intended. The event is back this year, and once again, it was a pretty good snapshot of what's going to be hot in the drone world in 2017. The star of this year's show was undoubtedly UVify. I already got to meet with their team ahead of time, to cover their no-compromises (yet accessible) racing drone called Draco.
North Korea Drones 2017: South Korea To Develop Laser Weapon System To Shoot Down UAVs Sent By Pyongyang
South Korea will develop a laser weapon system to shoot down drones sent by North Korea, the country's defense ministry said Friday. This comes as Seoul has repeatedly alleged Pyongyang of building large drones that have greater range capability to be flown remotely using flight controllers. The development of the laser weapon system is expected to begin by 2018 and it is expected to be ready by 2020, the defense ministry said, according to Yonhap News Agency. The technology will be part of its broader laser weapon system, the report added. The North operates about 300 observation drones and around 10 machines capable of conducting attacks with weapons as per South Korea's estimates, military officials told Yonhap.
CrowdAI sells artificial-intelligence-as-a-service
Computers aren't blind, but they can't see. They can detect objects, but must be trained to understand what those objects are. That takes two things: a ton of example data collected and organized by artificial intelligence and humans to accurately label and verify that data. Done right, this process can teach self-driving cars to avoid pedestrians, detect parking lot usage by counting cars in satellite photos or assess roof damage from drone footage. Now the Y Combinator startup has raised $2 million from Susa Ventures, Box Group, SV Angel, Metamorphic and Yahoo founder Jerry Yang's AME Cloud.
DJI may have quietly bought (most of) Hasselblad.
Okay, here's a weird one: Chinese drone manufacturer DJI has reportedly bought a majority stake in famous camera brand Hasselblad. The news comes from TechCrunch and photography website Luminous Landscape, both claiming inside sources have confirmed the as-yet unannounced deal. Details are beyond sketchy, since neither company has spoken to journalists to confirm or deny the transaction so far. The story, as Luminous Landscape tells it, is that Hasselblad was finally coming out of its death slide with the launch of the new X1D mirrorless compact camera. But producing the device was too costly for the cash-strapped business, and the venture firm that bought it in 2011 was unwilling to put in more capital.
5 Ways Amazon Will Disrupt Commerce Before Amazon Go Comes To Your Neighborhood
Inc. surprised some with one of its next-gen commerce announcements. Amazon Go, which promises to eliminate the checkout altogether, generated headlines in mainstream media and prompted some to contemplate the potential demise of retail as we know it. Lost in all this hype is the fact that the brick-and-mortar apocalypse is no more likely today than it was before Amazon's recent endeavor. Of course, Amazon, which is the world's largest internet retailer, has set the standard for commerce reinvention with fast delivery, near-invisible payments and other perks tied to its Amazon Prime membership platform . Amazon has outpaced the rapid growth of digital commerce in the retail industry globally, increasing its own market share from 12% in 2011 to 19% in 2016, according to the latest data from Euromonitor International.