Important Innovations

  Combination Plane and Drone - Tayln Air                                                  Source:  Talyn Air No Need For an Airport Los Angeles-based Talyn Air has designed a unique e-VTOL, an electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicle.  The vehicle is a concept that flies like a plane but launches and lands with the assistance of a large drone. The unmanned drone flies the e-VTOL to its flight level where it releases the e-VTOL once its rotors reach a flight sustaining speed. The drone returns to its base to be recharged for another takeoff or landing.  Talyn Air says this system is so efficient it can travel three to five times farther than most other electric planes. Rocket Science Talyn Air was co-founded by two astronauts, Jamie Gull and Evan Mucasey, who both worked on Crew Dragon and the Falcon 9 rocket at SpaceX....

  Cadillac e-VTOL Flying Taxi                                        GM:  e-VTOL Concept New Form of Personal Air Mobility GM surprised the world at CES 2021 by introducing a totally unexpected Cadillac personal flying machine.  It's an electric powered, autonomous e-VTOL.  The vehicle takes off and lands vertically.  It is sleek and futuristic looking.  It is a flying drone that GM calls a flying taxi.  This is not a flying car as it cannot be driven. Highly Advanced GM EV Technology GM has invested $27 billion into the development of electric vehicles.  It is utilizing its on-road electric vehicle technologies to go airborne.  The personal flying vehicle is totally powered by batteries.  GM's top of the line Ultium EV battery platform is likely to play a major role in the e-VTOL, which has zero emissions.  The four-ro...

For Search and Rescue Incidents Source:  University of Leeds WideSee Systems This is new technology that's designed to be life-saving.  It's a flying drone equipped to see inside buildings with walls as thick as 1/2 meter of concrete.  An example of where this new search and rescue drone can work is at a high rise apartment building on fire or a corporate structure collapsed by an earthquake.  The WideSee drone mounted scanner can fly around the perimeter of buildings and spot people trapped and in need of rescue inside. New Technology Developed by 3 Global Universities. This system doesn't use traditional heat seeking cameras that often are compromised by flames. It uses an adaptation on the commercially available LoRa wireless radio wave system. The radio signals transmitted by the drone can spot people trapped in buildings with very thick concrete walls.  What is additionally so compelling beyond the new breakthrough technology is the global engin...

Amphibious Pelican Drone from The Netherlands Source:  TU Delft, Pelican Drone in Action This Week Water Testing in Minutes The Pelican amphibious drone is able to deliver water tests in minutes.  This new technology is gamechanging because current water quality testing is time and labor intensive, requires on site visits by humans and then the water samples have to be transported to a lab. The traditional process is expensive and many times the water samples no longer accurately reflect current water conditions, which dynamically change. The Pelican drone provides water quality testing results in real-time. Autonomous and Real Time Water Monitoring A team at Delft University of Technology in The Netherlands has invented the Pelican drone that flies over the water surface and scans it for problem areas with its onboard hyperspectral cameras.  If there's a potential problem, the drone swoops down and takes a water sample.  The sample is transfe...

Shapeshifter Exploring New Distant Worlds Source:  NASA/CalTech Concept Source:  NASA Drone of Drones NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab at Caltech has just introduced the drone of drones.  Right now, it separates into two different units:  two shapes to explore new distant worlds and new habitats.  It's a prototype and is made of several small, quadcopter drones calls cobots.  The cobots have propellers and fly independently and the system reassembles to roll on the ground. The future for the concept is much bigger.  The Shapeshifter would be made up of a number of small robots that can easily self-assemble into larger robots and disassemble as the mission requires, particularly in space. The mini-robots will be able to fly, roll, float and swim and then morph into a single machine. Morphing Robots On the ground, the cobots come together to form a roller-wheel like drone to explore the ground in places in space like Titan, where there is very l...

Combat Surveillance Source:  Russia Add caption Bird of Pre y Russia has designed a new combat surveillance drone that has the appearance of a snowy owl.  The drone was just unveiled at the Defense Ministry's annual military expo in Moscow. UAV that's Laser Equipped The drone is an unmanned aerial vehicle.  It's equipped with a laser in its tail that can guide artillery,  laser-guided bombs and aircraft to swoop in for an attack.  Russia's Defense Ministry says it will be able to spot targets without being detected. Portable This new device weighs only 5 kilograms and can be handled, carried and launched by one person.  It can fly up to 40 minutes and has a range of 12 miles.  It's one of Russia's new military assets now on display at the expo.

ROTORwing VTOL Drone New Species of Aircraft This is very innovative drone and aviation technology from DZYNE Technologies.  The company calls it a new aircraft species with its rotating wing design.  The wings of the ROTORwing VTOL drone can also work as helicopter blades.  The wings combine the functions of a fixed wing and propellers.   Conventional drones fly and land using separate fixed wings and a propeller.  Combining the two makes this flying machine radically different. VTOL For a Variety of Missions from Intelligence Gathering to Package Deliveries With advanced vertical takeoff and landing, the drone can take off from virtually anywhere and is airport runway independent. The company says it has a three hour ++ range, silent electric propulsion and can perform a variety of services from intelligence gathering to package deliveries. Innovative Aviation Technology The new drone has a set of top mounted fixed wings, each with a ...

Drone Shifts from Air to Ground Source:  University of Ben-Gurion of the Negev  FSTAR Drone The Flying STAR drone can drive, fly and even make itself smaller.  All of these functions are achieved using the same set of motors.  FSTAR stands for flying, sprawl-tined autonomous robot.  It's an outstanding achievement by a team at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel.  It flies like a quadcopter, drives on tough terrain and squeezes into tight spaces. A First This drone is a first.  It can travel on the ground up to 8 feet per second, can climb or go under obstacles and compress itself to traverse narrow spaces.  The drone flies flat.  The sprawl, which adjusts from flat to 55 degrees, allows it to transform from a flying quadcopter to a car-like robot. This hybrid flying, driving quadruped is unique.  It has low power needs and may have a big role in package delivery, search and rescue and other uses.

New Hummingbird Drone Tiny Drone so Agile It Hovers and Turns Like a Hummingbird Researchers at Purdue University have created a tiny drone inspired by the aerial dynamics of hummingbirds.  The drone can fly, hover and make quick turns just like the hummingbird.  The drone is designed for use in search and missions and for surveillance.  For a great news blog on this, go to Important Innovations Collection: New Hummingbird Drone : Very Agile Flying Drone with Artificial Intelligence Source:  Stock Image Hovers and Turns Like a Hummingbird Purdue University rese...

Drone-X-Pro Source:  Drone-X-Pro Easy Flying - Tiny Drone - Smart Gadget If you're interested in drones, the inventors of the Drone-X- Pro say this small drone is easy enough for anyone to operate.  It's the size of a cellphone that you can hold in the palm of your hand.  You charge the battery, install the App and in under ten seconds, you're good to go.  You control the small drone's flight by your smartphone. Foldable Propellers This is a precision engineered drone specifically designed for easy flying inside and outside.  Its propellers fold in for easy carrying and the design is lightweight. HD 360 degree Images The drone is equipped to take HD photos and videos and can capture 360 degree images from the air.  It's equipped with gravity sensors to automatically avoid collisions with objects and the ground.  Drone-X-Pro can fly up to 12 meters per second and a maximum  distance of 2 km.  And, it's capable of flying ten minute...

FAA Gives 1st Approval for Drone Package Deliveries to Google Source:  Google Drone Google Drone Package Deliveries to Start in Virginia in a Few Months Package deliveries by drones in the United States has been approved for Google by the FAA.  Google is cleared to start drone delivery service in Virginia.  Operations are expected to get airborne in a few months.  Google calls it Project Wing.  The drones are expected to cut costs and time for package deliveries.   For more on this news development, go to Important Innovations Collection: Drone Deliveries to Your Door : Google Wins First FAA Approval to Deliver Packages by Drones Source:  Google Drone Starts in Virginia Google is now on its way to de...

Vienna Style Commuting Courtesy:  EHang - Vienna Test Flight First Flight It looks like a helicopter at first glance.  But it's a lot more than that.  This is the first demonstration of this pilotless air taxi prototype that just successfully took off in Vienna, Austria.  The Austrian and Chinese developers say it's ready for mass production and commuter service.  The EHang 216 is at the forefront of autonomous air taxis readying for takeoff. Autonomous Flying It's the creation of  Austrian aerospace company FACC (now owned by Chinese aerospace group AVIC) and the Chinese drone maker company  EHang. It's a European first for them.  The vehicle circled in the air and landed safely after a few minutes of flying above a soccer stadium. Rigorously Tested and Ready for Flying This is a slim drone with 16 propellers.  It can seat two passengers, fly up to 90 mph for a half hour.  And, it can travel 50 to 70 kilometers depending ...

Yale's New Drone with Talons for Perching & Resting Source:  Yale University Greater Energy Efficiency The new drone developed by researchers at Yale University was inspired by birds.  They've equipped it with robotic talons that allow the drone to perch on ledges and even hang upside down.  The purpose is to conserve battery power.  It also provides the drone more access and enables it to perform more tasks.  For a great news blog, go to Important Innovations Collection: New Drone Perches Like Birds : Greater Energy Efficiency Yale's Drone with Landing Gear Nature Inspired UAV Researchers at Yale University have developed a UAV ...

Ionocraft - Size of a Penny Source:  UCal Berkeley No Moving Parts, Just Electricity And Ions Ionocraft is being called the world's smallest flying drone.  It's powered by ion thrusters and is breakthrough drone innovation from University of California Berkeley. Small and Silent The flying drone measures 2 cm x 2 cm, weighs just 30 mg and is the size of a penny.  When it flies it is completely silent.  The concept behind this is electrohydrodynamic thrust or EHD.  The concept has been around for many years but never applied to larger EHD craft because of the size of the components involved. The Berkeley team says working as they did on a smaller scale is providing an excellent example of the technology.  It's resulted in improved thrust to weight ratio and lower voltage requirements. Ion Thruster Power The team uses a high strength electric field which generates a plasma of ions. In essence, when the ions hit air molecules that generates the th...

Bipedal Locomotion Drone - Just Like a Bird California Institute of Technology's Leonardo Caltech has achieved a significant advancement in drone technology.  They've developed a drone that walks and hovers in flight like a bird.  Most drones either walk or fly, not both.  The drone's uses included search and rescue on earth and planetary exploration.  For a great news blog on this, go to Important Innovations Collection: Caltech's Leonardo Drone Walks, Hovers : Bird Inspired Robotics Source:  California Institute of Technology's Leonardo Bipedal Locomotion - Hovers in Flight and Walks, Jus...

New Look at Flying and Commuting Innovation The Bell Nexus This Bell Helicopter piece of aviation innovation is a real vehicle, under development and readying for takeoff.  It's an aerial drone taxi that's capable of vertical takeoffs and landings and speeds up to 250 mph.  For a great news blog on this, go to Important Innovations Collection: Bell Nexus, Air Taxi Flying Machine : New Look at Flying's Future Source:  Bell Helicopter's Bell Nexus Readying for Takeoff Bell Nexus, created by Bell Helicopt...

$13 Billion Flying Drone Squad The US Navy just awarded Boeing an initial $805 million contract to build Stingray MQ-25A drones.  The Stingray's mission is to refuel aircraft in mid-air.  The Navy wants a Stingray flying by 2021 and 4 Stingrays in service by 2024.  It plans on deploying a total squadron of 72 with a price-tag of $13 billion.. Carrier-Based and Unmanned These are the Navy's first, carrier based, unmanned aerial refueling tankers.  They'll launch from ships and refuel Navy fighter jets in the air. They'll significantly extend the range of the carrier air wing's missions.  Currently, the Navy's using F/A-18 combat jets for refueling. Competitive Advantages This was a 3-way contest for the drone contract.  Boeing beat out Lockheed and General Atomic.  Analysts say the winner Boeing could have an advantage in developing future unmanned systems for the military.

Underwater Canyon off Irish Coast Pulls CO² from Air Porcupine Bank Canyon  What a discovery!  A research expedition of scientists from University College Cork to a huge underwater canyon off the Irish coast discovered a hidden natural process that pulls greenhouse gas carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. Mission to Map Underwater Porcupine Canyon They towed a drone out on Porcupine Bank to the Porcupine Bank Canyon, which is a huge, cliff walled underwater trench. It's at the point where Ireland's continental shelf ends.  The scientists are building a detailed map of the canyon's interior and boundaries.  That was the purpose of their just completed journey. Discovery Process Along the way, they spotted a process at the edge of the canyon that pulls CO² from the atmosphere and buries it deep in the sea.  All around the canyon's rim live cold-water coral which thrive on dead plankton.  The plankton build their bodies on carbon from CO² in th...