Drones have continued to capture our imagination in remarkable ways throughout 2015. Despite the thick layers of bureaucracy that outlaw commercial use in much of the world, fresh ideas itching to put the technology to use constantly come to the fore. Let's cast our eye over some of the more promising to emerge this year; a diverse list that includes everything from drones that deliver medical supplies to drones that can build bridges all by themselves.
Fighting fire with fire-starting drones
Controlled burning is a measure often taken by land management and conservation teams, as it can help deter invasive species and mitigate the risk of larger, more damaging blazes in the future. But getting them started by hand or all-terrain vehicles carries some risk.
Researchers at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln are working on a safer and cheaper approach, starting these fires form the sky by way of drones. The vehicles under development carry a basket full of ping-pong like balls full of potassium permanganate powder. Just before being shot at a target area, the drone injects each ball with liquid glycol causing it to burst into flames soon after hitting the ground.
Drones that maintain cities
Drones that maintain cities
For every gaping pothole, blown street lamp and busted power line, a pair of human hands needs to tend to the problem. The University of Leeds has embarked on a £4.2 million (US$6.4 million) project aimed at ushering in the era of self-repairing cities. The thinking is that fleets of flying robots will detect deterioration in infrastructure early on, preventing them from evolving into larger repair jobs that would lead to larger inconveniences like major roadworks.
The venture is in its very early stages, with the team planning to begin actual testing of the drones next year, but it has broken it down into three areas. This includes drones that perch on powerlines like birds and repair busted street lights, drones that watch over the streets to patch up potholes and robots that function independently to carry out inspections and repairs on live utility pipes.
Fast-moving drones that navigate trees on their own
The venture is in its very early stages, with the team planning to begin actual testing of the drones next year, but it has broken it down into three areas. This includes drones that perch on powerlines like birds and repair busted street lights, drones that watch over the streets to patch up potholes and robots that function independently to carry out inspections and repairs on live utility pipes.
Fast-moving drones that navigate trees on their own
Perhaps the most common objection to drones, particularly the autonomous variety, is how we can prevent them from ramming into things. Some progress has been made toward fitting drones with obstacle avoidance systems, but the technology have been very limited, only allowing the drones to move at very slow speeds – around 8 or 10 km/h (5 or 6 mph).
But a recent breakthrough by researchers at MIT saw an obstacle avoiding drone autonomously weave its way through trees at up to 48 km/h (30 mph). The advance relates to the volume of images the drones must process as it moves through its environment. The new approach basically streamlines the computational algorithms required for the drone to map its surroundings and could be the first step toward obstacle-avoiding drones that serve a real practical purpose.
But a recent breakthrough by researchers at MIT saw an obstacle avoiding drone autonomously weave its way through trees at up to 48 km/h (30 mph). The advance relates to the volume of images the drones must process as it moves through its environment. The new approach basically streamlines the computational algorithms required for the drone to map its surroundings and could be the first step toward obstacle-avoiding drones that serve a real practical purpose.
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