There are places on the earth that scientists want to study, but that study is difficult due to the danger involved in getting there. University of Washington researchers have created a potential solution that harnesses months to drop sensors into difficult to reach areas from the sky. The sensor attached to the back of the moth weighs 98 milligrams, which is about 1/10 the weight of a jellybean.
Amazon just revealed a security camera that can rise up out of its dock and fly around your home. It's called the Ring Always Home Cam, and it can rise up... out of its dock... and fly throughout your home. This is one of a line of new Ring devices revealed today, including a Ring Car Alarm, Ring Car Cam, and Ring Car Connect.
Walmart is expanding its drone delivery tests with the announcement of a pilot project involving Quest Diagnostics. The company, which is best known for allowing consumers to order their own blood tests, will work with Walmart to deliver at-home COVID-19 tests to consumers, enabling them to test themselves in the safety of their own homes. The catch? This isn't a widespread service yet, so you must live in one of two particular parts of the US.
Just days after its drone plan announcement, Walmart has returned to reveal that it has partnered with Zipline to kick off its US-based drone delivery service. The company plans to offer drone delivery of health and wellness items to customers located in select regions, joining a few other companies like Amazon and UPS in testing this technology. Sound cool? You'll need to be near the Walmart headquarters in Arkansas to try it for yourself.
Your next Walmart order might descend from the skies, with the retailer announcing a new on-demand drone delivery pilot. The scheme will focus on small deliveries, with select grocery and household essentials slung underneath specially-designed drones and flown over to customers.
It's no secret that Amazon envisions a future in which autonomous drones will be able to make many package deliveries, reducing congestion on the road and reliance on third-party delivery services. We're still quite a few years away from that becoming an everyday reality, but there are signs of the inevitability of this future everywhere. Underscoring that is a new milestone achievement for Amazon's Prime Air drone delivery platform.
DARPA says its Gremlins Air Vehicle X-61A 'beautifully' passed its second round of testing, paving the way for airborne recovery tests scheduled to take place later on this year. The second flight test took place at the US Army Dugway Proving Ground in Utah and involved a series of demonstrations, including autonomous formation station-keeping and rendezvous, testing of its recovery system, and more.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has announced a new plan under its Airport Unmanned Aircraft Systems Detection and Mitigation Research Program that will evaluate new systems and various technologies intended to protect airplanes from drones. According to the agency, it will analyze at least 10 of these systems starting later this year.
Skydio has revealed a new version of its second-generation self-flying drone, with the Skydio X2 offering folding arms, a thermal camera, and a new touchscreen controller. Targeted at business users, the X2 isn't so much one drone as a new family, with Skydio seeing potential use across search & rescue, businesses, and defense.
European drone company Parrot has announced its new ANAFI USA, a drone model designed for industrial use with enterprise-grade data security and a variety of high-end technologies. The ANAFI USA isn't meant for the average drone enthusiast -- it's a working machine that can be used to monitor wildfires and other natural disasters, to survey land and rural infrastructure, and more.
The idea of delivering packages using drones isn't without controversy, yet appears to be an inevitable part of our future. Many companies have been developing and testing various drone-based delivery systems over past years, some having reached the point of limited drone delivery trials, real-world tests, and even partnerships. There's still one very big issue when it comes to these vehicles, however, and city buses may be the solution.
Drone company Skydio is back and it is bringing with it one of its most requested drone features, the company announced on Thursday. The Skydio 2 drone is once again available for sale and it comes alongside a new software update that brings many changes to the platform, the most notable being the arrival of Extended Tracking Distance, one of its most requested features.