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Posts Tagged ‘Autonomous’

Skydio 2 is a $999 4K autonomous drone that will keep DJI on its toes

02 Oct

After teasing it back in July, and promising availability for Fall, American drone manufacturer, Skydio, has today announced the release of the Skydio 2. A more compact, lightweight, autonomous drone with a superior camera, compared to its predecessor, the R1, it is going after the DJI Mavic 2 Pro and Air markets.

The Skydio 2 retails at a competitive price point of $ 999. A 12MP camera, mounted on a 3-axis gimbal and built around Sony’s IMX577 1/2.3” CMOS sensor with Qualcomm’s RedDragon™ QSC605 technology, can deliver up to 4K/60p HDR video. Using 45 megapixels of visual sensing from six 200° color cameras, the drone can detect obstacles in every direction and avoid them. This is Skydio’s foundation for truly autonomous flight, an ‘Onboard AI’ that powers the ‘Skydio Autonomy Engine.’

The drone can reach a maximum autonomous speed of 36 mph and can remain in the air for 23 minutes with up to 3.5 km wireless range. To compare, the DJI Mavic 2 series can fly up to 45 mph remain air bound for up to 31 minutes. Nevertheless, Skydio is also selling the fact their latest release is 50% smaller, lighter, and quieter than the R1.

There are three ways to fly the Skydio 2. The Beacon (an additional $ 149) will extend communication range up to roughly 1 mile (1.5 km) and enable the drone to follow you through obstacles, even when it can’t see you. You can use the Beacon’s drag and drop controls to reposition the drone in the sky and access modes including Dronie, Rocket, and Orbit for smooth, cinematic shots.

The drone can also be controlled via smartphone with the Android or iOS app. You can access AI modes including the ones mentioned above along with Cable Cam and Sport mode. Photos and video clips can be downloaded and saved directly to the phone for instant sharing. The remote control, also an additional $ 149, extends the range to over 2 miles (3.5 km) and is ideal for those who want to manually maneuver the drone with joysticks.

Skydio manufactures and repairs its drones in the same Redwood City, California, location as its designers and engineers work. They are so confident in its ability to maneuver around obstacles and operate autonomously that they will replace or repair any Skydio 2 for free, granted it was flown within the company’s Safe Flight guidelines.

You can reserve a Skydio 2 today for $ 100. They are expected to start shipping out within the month.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Skydio R1 autonomous camera drone gets four new cinematic modes in update

31 May

The Skydio R1 aerial “self-flying camera” received its first major software update today, gaining four new cinematic modes: Quarter Lead, Quarter Follow, Car Follow, and Car Tripod. Skydio underscores the new Car Follow mode as the biggest new feature, one that enables the drone to follow vehicles autonomously while capturing footage.

Talking about the software update is Skydio CEO Adam Bry, who said, “With Skydio R1, cinematography becomes a software defined experience. That means we can regularly introduce fundamentally new capabilities over time for all existing and future users.”

The R1 is billed as an advanced autonomous device thanks in part to the NVIDIA Jetson AI supercomputer powering the device. According to Skydio, the Car Follow feature is made possible via neural networks trained using automobile image datasets.

In addition to the new operation modes, R1’s software update optimizes the Skydio Autonomy Engine prediction system to enable more intelligent obstacle handling. The drone’s companion mobile app has received UI improvements that simplify accessing the new cinematic modes, and the update also improves the landing experience by showing operators exactly where the drone will land.

The Skydio R1 is available through Skydio’s website for $ 2,499 USD.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Skydio R1 4K camera drone boasts game-changing autonomous tech

16 Feb

California-based company Skydio has announced the R1, a drone described as a “self-flying camera” that autonomously follows and records a subject. Unlike some competing models, R1 was built specifically for autonomous flight; it is able to fly itself at up to 25mph / 40kph while maneuvering around obstacles thanks in part to Skydio’s Autonomy Engine.

While many drones depend on GPS for autonomous flight, Skydio’s R1 is different—it features 13 cameras that work with the Autonomy Engine to perceive and map the world around the UAV. Skydio packed an NVIDIA Jetson AI supercomputer into R1, and the little drone is using it to power intelligent features like real-time movement planning and complex environment navigation.

Here’s a quick intro video that explains how it’s all done:

Users launch the drone in either Side, Follow, or Orbit modes using the companion mobile app. No manual operation is necessary, and in fact, Skydio claims that users can move through complex environments, such as dense woods, without interrupting the R1’s tracking and recording abilities. Skydio goes so far as to claim R1 is “the most advanced autonomous device—of any kind—available today.”

Skydio goes so far as to claim R1 is “the most advanced autonomous device—of any kind—available today.”

The R1, which is small enough to fit in a backpack, is made with carbon fiber and lightweight aluminum. The drone’s primary camera can record subjects at Full HD/30/60fps and 4K/30fps with a 150-degree FOV. The primary camera is isolated from vibrations, stabilized with a 3-axis gimbal, and joined by 64GB of onboard storage. The remaining 12 cameras provide omnidirectional vision for navigation.

Skydio R1 is available now in the United States and Canada through the company’s website for $ 2,500 USD. Buyers are currently limited to one unit with orders shipping 2 to 3 weeks after being placed. To learn more, head over to the Skydio website.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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SYMBIOZ: Renault’s Autonomous Car Integrates Into a Matching Residence

26 Sep

[ By SA Rogers in Technology & Vehicles & Mods. ]

In the future, will our autonomous vehicles simply sit within our homes like a part of the living space, eliminating the need for garages and parking spots? Probably not. At least, not for most of us. Concepts like the new SYMBIOZ car and house combo are clearly made for the richest among us, and it’s not likely that most existing housing will be retrofitted to accommodate our driverless cars, especially since many people will likely use car services instead of owning their own vehicles. But Renault’s concept shows off one vision of how some of us might integrate autonomous cars into our lives in the decades to come.

“The way we use our cars is changing,” says Thierry Bolloré, Renault’s executive vice president and chief competitive officer. “Already a car is more than just a way to get from one place to another. It’s becoming an interactive and personalized space that connects passengers to other cars, people and objects around them. Looking to 2030 we imagine new scenarios with more efficient energy use, connectivity and autonomous driving scenarios that will improve how we live and travel.”

Presented at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show, the SYMBIOZ concept envisions the emissions-free, all-electric car as a room within a room, entering the home to offer additional seating and make the transition between home and travel more comfortable. It’s easy to move objects and children back and forth between the home and the car, and once the car is brought inside, it starts to charge from the home’s energy systems automatically. The car can even act as an energy generator in case the power goes out.

Clean energy means the car won’t bring in nasty exhaust fumes. The car-home combo shows it parking on a special circular pad that can be raised up to the second level on demand, freeing up space below and keeping the vehicle secure. Inside the vehicle, you’ll find a retractible dashboard and front seats that pivot to the back to enable easy conversation between passengers. What do you think – would you take advantage of technology like this, if it were accessible to you?

[ By SA Rogers in Technology & Vehicles & Mods. ]

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The Airdog ADII is a lightweight, autonomous ‘extreme sports’ drone

14 Jul

Helico Aerospace has launched its new Airdog ADII camera drone on the crowdfunding website Kickstarter, seeking funds for the sequel to its original Airdog drone launched in 2014. This next-generation Airdog packs both intelligent features and a portable, durable design, the combination of which makes this model suitable for ‘extreme sport’ activities, according to Helico.

The ADII camera drone sports a built-in ‘enhanced’ gimbal system that is compatible with the GoPro HERO 5 Black action camera. This gimbal system includes a trio of brushless motors, as well as an adapter that charges the GoPro while it is connected. The drone is equipped with a start/stop recording function, as well, that is triggered upon take-off and landing.

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The main selling point of the Airdog ADII is that it offers hands-free operation through a combination of software and hardware that enable automatic follow modes.

The ADII can be set to follow a specific perspective or remaining locked onto that angle, via a mode called ‘fixed follow.’ The drone also offers an ‘adaptive follow’ mode, tracking a specific subject as they move. Dynamic shots are also possible thanks to a ‘circle’ mode, which causes the drone to circle around a specific subject.

Tracking and precision, meanwhile, are made possible via an array of sensors, including: GPS, gyroscope, magnetometer, accelerometer and LiDAR. The drone is suitable for use in wind speeds ranging up to 30 knots, and boasts a top operating speed of 45mph / 72km/h and a maximum operational ceiling of 11,500ft / 3500m above sea level.

The ADII’s battery is rechargeable and interchangeable, able to power the drone for between 10 and 20 minutes per charge.

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The Airdog Kickstarter campaign is offering interested consumers a single ADII model for pledges of at least $ 1,200 USD; shipping to these backers is estimated to start in October 2017 and will be limited to ‘certain’ countries.

Visit the Airdog Kickstarter to find out more.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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MIT previews autonomous tracking drone

23 May

Despite camera drones becoming more and more intelligent, high-quality aerial tracking shots normally still require a large degree of human input. A research project at the MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) is aiming to change that. The team has developed a drone that does not require any human control for recording tracking shots.

Users can specify a viewing angle as well as the position and size of the target’s face on the screen and the drone will remain locked onto its target while also avoiding any obstacles in its flight path. Tracking parameters can be changed in-flight and the drone will adjust its position accordingly. Users can also attach a weighting to parameters, so the drone can prioritize in situations when it’s impossible to maintain all specified parameters.

The MIT drone and tracking system will be presented at the International Conference on Robotics and Automation in Singapore at the end of the month. You can see the MIT drone in action in the video below and find more information on the MIT website.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Future-Proof Parking Garages: Autonomous Vehicles Drive Reusable Designs

03 May

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

As driverless vehicles hit the streets and shared car usage grows, forward-thinking architects, developers and urban planners are working on adaptable designs to future-proof parking garage structures and give them second lives.

Big firms like Gensler see the writing on the wall, predicting car usage will peak by the end of the decade and ride-sharing may dominate by 2025. The effect of this on cities and real estate will be massive, freeing up home garages, street parking and dedicated parking structures — nation-wide there are over 500,000 parking spots and spaces inside buildings and outdoors covering an estimated 3,500+ square miles.

Gensler’s The Mod concept plays to new possibilities in light of their predictions, featuring garage floor heights that will work for new uses. Its modular sections can be easily moved or removed to let in light and facilitate circulation. Built-in utility hookups also help make conversion easier. The firm has also designed a building in Ohio with three parking levels made to be changed into offices over time with easily-added facades and details similar to ones found on other floors (below).

Another such project — a 1,000-car garage for building residents in the Arts District of Los Angeles by Avalon Bay — is to be completed in four years, a long time in this age of fast-evolving technology. Accordingly, their plans include tricks to make converting this area back to other residential uses easy and efficient. This includes flat floors (rather than inclined ones found in many garages) so they can be turned effectively into usable spaces, like shops or community areas.

Converting garages will be a huge project of the coming decades, but so will rethinking the way new architecture is designed in the age of autonomous vehicles. Without people at the wheel, cars can park themselves in smaller spaces. Loading/unloading zones will be reduced and the way people enter buildings (from the street rather than a garage) could change dramatically as well.

Then, of course, there are streets — with less street-side parking, space is opened up for things like parklets, walking and biking paths (not to mention all of the changes to how roads will work). Accordingly, many designers, developers and planners are wisely anticipating these changes — still, their ultimate effect on the built environment remains to be seen as the future continues to take shape.

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

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Autonomous Trap: Artist Uses Ritual Magic to Capture Driverless Cars

28 Mar

[ By WebUrbanist in Art & Installation & Sound. ]

car trap

Somewhere between pagan magic, modern science and quirky satire, this installation project uses salt circles but also the logic of traffic lines to lure in and ensnare unsuspecting autonomous vehicles.

salt trap car

James Bridle‘s Autonomous Trap 001 employs familiar street markings found on divided highways – per the rules of the road, cars can cross over the dotted line but not back over the solid line. It sounds a bit absurd, but consider: driverless cars with various degrees of autonomy are already hitting the streets, and these do rely on external signals to determine their course. As these technologies gain traction, it is entirely likely that serious attempts will be made to spoof and deceive their machine vision algorithms.

“What you’re looking at is a salt circle, a traditional form of protection—from within or without—in magical practice,” explains Bridle. “In this case it’s being used to arrest an autonomous vehicle—a self-driving car, which relies on machine vision and processing to guide it. By quickly deploying the expected form of road markings—in this case, a No Entry glyph—we can confuse the car’s vision system into believing it’s surrounded by no entry points, and entrap it.”

autonomous vehicle trap magic

“The scene evokes a world of narratives involving the much-hyped technology of self-driving cars,” writes Beckett Mufson of Vice. “It could be mischievous hackers disrupting a friend’s self-driving ride home; the police seizing a dissident’s getaway vehicle; highway robbers trapping their prey; witches exorcizing a demon from their hatchback.” It has elements of cultural commentary that stem from acute awareness of real conditions, bordering on the absurd but also quite sobering.

mountain pass

In fact, Bridle made his trap while training his own DIY self-driving car software near Mount Parnassus in Central Greece. “Parnassus feels like an appropriate location,” he says, because “as well as [having] quite spectacular scenery and [being] wonderful to drive and hike around, it’s the home of the Muses in mythology, as well as the site of the Delphic Oracle. The ascent of Mount Parnassus is, in esoteric terms, the journey towards knowledge and art.” Meanwhile, Bridle continues to work on other pieces related to contemporary technology, tackling subjects from machine vision and artificial intelligence to militarized tech and big data.

[ By WebUrbanist in Art & Installation & Sound. ]

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Drone Design: 14 Autonomous Gadgets Taking Tech to New Heights

20 Sep

[ By SA Rogers in Gadgets & Geekery & Technology. ]

drone-design-millennium-falcon-2

Their efficiency in the real world is yet to be established, but if these drone concepts and fully-realized creations are any indication, some of us could be looking at losing our jobs to robots in a range of industries over the net couple decades. From emergency responders to face-recognizing cameras, many of these autonomous flying gadgets take over tasks currently completed by pilots, construction workers, delivery drivers and videographers – but sometimes, they’re just for selfies.

Mercedes-Benz Electric Vision Van with Rooftop Drones

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drone-design-ercedes-2

Designed for last-mile delivery in urban and suburban contexts, the all-electric ‘Vision Van’ by Mercedes-Benz is the first of its kind to feature built-in aerial drones that enable multiple package deliveries in a single neighborhood at the same time. This theoretically reduces the number of vehicles in any given residential area and makes the delivery process totally emissions-free. The van also features blue LED lighting on the lower body and slide-out shelving units. It certainly takes windowless vans to another level.

ROAM-e Mini Selfie Drone

drone-design-roam-e

drone-design-roam-e-2

What would have been seen as undeniably dystopian in previous decades is now packaged as a selfie assistance tool. The ROAM-e drone can be programmed with facial recognition technology so it follows you around like a puppy, snapping your photo or streaming live video all the while. Admittedly, the video function could be helpful, standing in for a camera operator in all sorts of settings and going where they can’t go (unless they’re secretly superheroes). The drone can be collapsed and folded to the side of a water bottle an two hours of swappable charging keeps the drone in the air for up to 20 minutes (for longer videos, switch out the battery.)

PowerEgg Drone

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A small egg-shaped device sprouts propellers and turns into a personal camera drone at the push of a button. The PowerEgg by PowerVision is clean, simple and easy to transport, featuring a 360-degree panoramic 4K HD camera, advanced sensors for indoor navigation and real-time, long-range video transmission. You can snag one yourself for $ 1,288.

Drone Ambulance by Argodesign

drone-design-ambulance

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Could this Drone Ambulance concept by Argodesign save lives by enabling more flying responders to hit the ground faster than a single helicopter? It’s about the size of a compact car and can land in much smaller areas, and a single pilot can manage an entire fleet of them remotely.

Trident Underwater Drone

drone-design-trident

drone-design-trident-2

Explore bodies of water without ever getting wet thanks to the Trident drone by Berkeley robotics company Openrov. No scuba gear and training is required when you send this portable machine down into the water in your place, and it can dive to a depth of 100 meters, sending live HD video to the surface via a thin buoyant tether. It can be controlled from the surface by a laptop or mobile device. The Trident is set to hit the market in November.

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Posts Tagged ‘Autonomous’

Skydio 2 is a $999 4K autonomous drone that will keep DJI on its toes

Skydio R1 autonomous camera drone gets four new cinematic modes in update

Skydio R1 4K camera drone boasts game-changing autonomous tech

SYMBIOZ: Renault’s Autonomous Car Integrates Into a Matching Residence

The Airdog ADII is a lightweight, autonomous ‘extreme sports’ drone

MIT previews autonomous tracking drone

Future-Proof Parking Garages: Autonomous Vehicles Drive Reusable Designs

Autonomous Trap: Artist Uses Ritual Magic to Capture Driverless Cars