Lifeboat Foundation

POSTECH has created a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) that not only adds life to drones but can also replace lithium-ion batteries in smartphones.

Battery life. Two words that can turn anyone who owns an electronic device into a total wreck. But scientists at POSTECH may have found the solution to prevent you from having a panic attack each time you see your device almost out of juice.

Prof. Gyeong Man Choi and his Ph.D. student Kun Joong Kim have developed a miniaturized solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) powerful enough to extend the flying time of drones to more than an hour. And that’s just the start.

A technology official described her pursuit of a future force that includes high-powered lasers a self sustaining combat outposts.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=hX0UELNRR1I

A few weeks ago DJI unveiled its newest drone, the Phantom 4, the first craft to offer robust obstacle avoidance at a price the average consumer can afford. It relied on computer vision to power its autonomous flight, and since DJI had shown off this kind of tech before, we assumed that all the hardware on the Phantom 4 was homegrown, or backed by a giant like Intel. But today the chipmaker Movidius announced that its latest offer, the Myriad 2, was at the center of the onboard processor powering the Phantom 4’s incredible new abilities.

As it turns out this isn’t the first time Movidius has partnered with a big name to develop cutting edge technology. Back in 2014 its first chip, the Myriad 1, was revealed as the brains inside of Google’s first generation of Project Tango tablets. After a decade toiling in relative obscurity, the small 125 person company is suddenly poised to emerge as a leader at the intersection of several major markets — from drones to phones to virtual reality — which are looking for ways to enable cheap, power-efficient computer vision.

Continue reading “The revolutionary chipmaker behind Google’s project Tango is now powering DJI’s autonomous drone” »

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is seeking techies to help fight terrorism. The US military, after spending decades in a struggle to defend itself against improvised weapons, is now inviting inventors to get explosively creative.

Whatever device this article is currently being read on, in the wrong hands, could become a weapon. Technology such as USBs, off-the-shelf software and cell phones have all been deployed against US or US-backed forces. Now the US hopes to return the favor, according to Ars Technica.

Continue reading “Calling all MacGyvers: DARPA’s Improv program invites you to DIY a bomb” »

Click on photo to start video.

By Intel.

Continue reading “A spectacular display of drone technology” »

Since the dawn of human civilization, the global tree count has fallen by 46%. Drones could fix this…

Scientists developed a new method to give drones the skills to follow hiking trails in search of lost hikers.

I like this article; why? Because if I plan to make any investment into a robot that is my personal assistant, or housekeeper, or caregiver, etc. I want to ensure that they fit my own needs as a person. Many of us have taken some sort of a personality profile for work; interview for jobs where you were reviewed to be a “fit” culturaly, etc. as well as met people 1st before you hired them. So, why should be any different from the so called “humnoid robots?” And, this should be intriguing for some of us where only 6% of your gender thinks and processes information like you do.

Emotional behaviors can make your drone seem like it’s an adventurer, anti-social, or maybe just exhausted.

Continue reading “Why You Want Your Drone to Have Emotions” »

Perdix drones were tested 150 times during the exercise in Alaska, including 72 from fighter jets.