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Urban Air Mobility: The Future of Human and Freight Transport
The drone industry is as complex as it is intriguing – many people still have the image of a drone as a small, airborne device used to take photos or, in light of recent happenings, disrupt airport traffic control. In reality, the term drone refers to ‘any unmanned system that is autonomous or remotely controlled’. This obviously includes surface systems such as driverless cars and unmanned ships, underwater systems such as unmanned submarines, air systems such as unmanned aircraft, unmanned space systems and, more importantly, any hybridization of the above such as flying taxis (surface and air) and multimodal systems capable of operating on the surface of the sea and underneath it and in the air above it. Mind boggling right?To broaden the understanding of what precisely a drone is, we will describe one of the most relevant and life-changing applications of drone technology: Urban Air Mobility, or UAM for short. Urban Air Mobility refers to the transition away from typica Read More »
How Drones Will Help Save the Environment
Often when considering ways to reduce our carbon footprint, we are bombarded with propaganda that promotes going “back to the basics”: Eat less meat, take shorter showers, bike to work, buy a reusable coffee cup, and recycle. While all valid and likely effective lifestyle changes, we also live in a world with cutting edge technology – and it should not be an either-or decision. Solar panels, electric cars, drones, they all provide us with opportunities to make environmentally conscious decisions that are both innovative and sustainable. Thanks to publicity from Amazon and Alphabet, the examples of drone delivery systems replacing “last mile” trips (typically carried out by trucks or vans) have clear benefits – a reduction in road traffic, which consequently means a reduction in fuel consumptions and greenhouse gas emissions. If a city like London or Los Angeles is able to replace even 10% of their truck deliveries with airborne drone systems, the positive effect to air qu Read More »
Drone Delivery: Think Outside of the (Take Away) Box
In tech reporting, drone delivery is consuming more headlines than ever. Companies such as Alphabet, Amazon, FedEx and even Domino’s Pizza are releasing buzz-worthy statements about the scope and potential of their futuristic delivery plans.Many of the large corporations believe that their projects are on track to commercialise autonomous deliveries in major cities as early as 2020, contingent on Government clearance and standards compliance of course. A few years ago, the majority would have dismissed autonomous deliveries as impossible. The risks – to people, infrastructure, privacy – outweighed the rewards. Pizza delivered right to your doorstep within minutes is convenient, yes, but if its drone carrier crashed into your window? Sorry Dominos, but no thank you. Within a few months of the initial hype, however, regulators and the general public quickly realised that these companies meant business. In the blink of an eye, drone delivery providers conceptualised, tested and Read More »
MetaVista breaks Guinness World Record of multi rotor UAV flight time using Intelligent Energy Fuel Cell Power Module
Longest ever multi rotor flight of over 12 hoursLoughborough, Tuesday 16 April 2019 – A flight time of 12 hours, 7 minutes and 22 seconds was officially recorded by South Korean company MetaVista as it successfully broke the multi rotor UAV Guinness World Record of flight time. The MetaVista team used a 6-litre liquid hydrogen cylinder and Intelligent Energy’s 800W Fuel Cell Power Module to power the UAV.The previous record held stood at 2 hours, 6 minutes and 7 seconds. The substantial difference in flight time achieved demonstrates the impact fuel cells could have on the commercial UAV industry, breaking through the limited flight time constraints of traditional batteries. Read More »
Robert Garbett Named “Expert Speaker” For 2019 AeroPodium Event
Robert Garbett Named “Expert Speaker” For 2019 AeroPodium Event2019 well very may be the Year of the Drone, with the technology advancing at hyper-speed and new applications emerging on a daily basis. With a mass of information and various initiatives entering the public eye, it is not often that an opportunity to learn the industry from those who started it comes around – until AeroPodium. Read More »
Drones, Standardisation and the UK Economy
Drones, Standardisation and the UK EconomyThe drone industry is stirring up both praise and controversy, proving that rapidly developing technology sectors are never easy to control whilst underpinning the urgent need for standardisation in the industry. Read More »
