Micro aerial vehicles are becoming increasingly important in search and rescue operations due to their agility, speed, and ability to access confined spaces o r hazardous areas. However, designing lightweight aerial systems presents significant structural, aerodynamic, and computational challenges. This work addresses two key limitations in many low - cost aerial systems under two kilograms: their lack of structural durability during flight through rough terrains and inability to replan paths dynamically when new victims or obstacles are detected. We present a fully customised drone built from scratch using only commonly available components and materials, emphasising modularity, low cost, and ease of assembly. The structural frame is reinforced with lightweight yet durable materials to withstand impact, while the onboard control system is powered entirely by free, open - source software solutions. The proposed system demonstrates real - time perception and adaptive navigation capabilities without relying on expensive hardware accelerators by offering an affordable and practical solution for real - world search and rescue missions.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles grow more popular by the day and applications for them are crossing boundaries of science and industry, with everything from aerial photography to package delivery to disaster management benefiting from the technology. But before they become commonplace, there are challenges to be solved to make them reliable and safe. The following paper discusses the challenges associated with the precision landing of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, including methods for sensing and control and their merits and shortcomings for various applications.

Chennai: An indigenously designed and developed landing gear for the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)-Rustom II has been successfully tested on Thursday, a defence statement said. The landing gear developed by a Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) laboratory here has undergone low-speed and high-speed taxi trial in Chitradurga, Karnataka, it said. The maiden flight of Rustom II with the indigenously developed gear was successfully carried out. "The Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment (CVRDE), the main laboratory of DRDO, has designed and developed the gear," the statement said. Rustom II is a medium-altitude long-endurance UAV designed for carrying out surveillance for the armed forces.

What does a company do when its trailblazing and diverse innovations for nearly half a century have redefined how the world drives and flies? When its many technological "firsts" include the first practical electric car, flying the Nano Hummingbird drone, record-setting, solar-powered aircraft flights in near space, and reshaping the battlefield with portable, hand-held, tactical drones and loitering munitions? It takes on another world. AeroVironment, Inc. has revealed its critical role in collaborating with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (NASA/JPL) in Pasadena, Calif. to build the drone helicopter recently selected by NASA/JPL's Mars Exploration Program, and displayed a model of the Mars Helicopter, which is planned to fly on Mars in less than three years. "AeroVironment's deep, rich and diverse history of innovation combined with our experience with near-space aircraft like Pathfinder and Helios make us uniquely suited to collaborate with NASA and JPL on this historic, interplanetary venture," said AeroVironment President and Chief Executive Officer Wahid Nawabi.

"The best minds of my generation are thinking about how to make people click ads. That sucks," said data scientist Jeffrey Hammerbacher, founder of Cloudera. What else are many of the top AI folks working on? Instead of solving world hunger or cleaning up the ocean or curing cancer, they're working on killing people and getting people to buy crap they don't really want or need. Sure, the absolute best of the best in the field have the creative freedom to tackle whatever they want but those folks are few and far between. There are only so many pure research positions. A company or college has to achieve incredible success before they have enough money to bet on long term projects that may never work out. Google is one of those companies. The University of Toronto kept the tiny field of neural networks alive for decades when it looked like it might never solve a real world problem. There are others but not many. The fact is to fund real, civilization changing research you need surplus money. And surplus money doesn't come easy.

Yuneec may be DJI's biggest consumer drone rival, but you probably have only heard of its consumer and selfie drones. The big, six rotor UAV with bright orange visibility is meant for commercial jobs, including video production, public safety, and inspection. It's equipped with a retractable landing gear, mission planning software and a variety of cameras, including a thermal imaging model and one with a two-inch sensor. The landing gear allows a 360-degree, unobstructed view, and the stabilizing gimbal can tilt 20 degrees upward for inspections. There are three of hot-swappable camera options, including the E90, with a 1-inch, 20-megapixel Sony Exmor sensor, not unlike what Sony uses on its RX100 models (there's no mention of 4K support).

I'll confess I was slightly confused when a GDU drone showed up at my door last month. I had never heard of this company, and it's rare that a new drone maker slips past my radar. A quick trip to the internet set me straight: GDU is the new name of ProDrone, which unveiled the Byrd to much fanfare at the last CES. Compact and relatively lightweight; the Byrd can fit in your backpack with room to spare. Interchangeable gimbals work with a few different common cameras, which means the camera is upgradeable.

At the top of the bustling consumer drone marketplace, two big names have been battling (sometimes litigiously) for dominance. DJI popularized drone flying as a hobby with its Phantom line, but lately, Yuneec has been whittling into DJI's marketshare with its competing Typhoon line. Both company's flagship quadcopters are equipped with excellent video cameras, both are accessibly priced, and both have autonomous and safety-minded features that make flying easy for inexperienced pilots. Hexacopter design offers added stability in flight. Automated flight modes and integrated camera/flight controls mean a single pilot can still do everything themselves.