Drohnen-Funk und Solar-Inseln aus Österreich


Wer echte Technik-Freaks treffen und Pioniergeist fühlen will, der wird derzeit in der Phorusgasse 8 in Wien fündig. Denn im dortigen “Frequentis Gründerzentrum” gedeihen junge Firmen heran, die nichts anderes als die Eroberung des weltweiten Hightech-Marktes im Sinn haben.

“Elf österreichische Start-ups bauen hier derzeit an der Technik-Zukunft und könnten bei Erfolg ganze Branchen revolutionieren”, sagt Friederike Lehmann, die Leiterin des Frequentis Gründerzentrums. Die Bandbreite der am Dienstag vorgestellten Projekte ist enorm - von Flugdrohnen-Funk über Herzpumpen-Drucker bis zu schwimmenden Solar-Inseln entstehen zwischen Hightech-Werkstatt und Computer-Labor viele smarte Ideen.

Kurier

... Link (0 comments) ... Comment



Use of drones on the rise in Germany


More businesses are using unmanned aerial vehicles for surveillance and research. While the technology is cost-efficient and practical, some are worried about its potential to violate privacy and data protection laws.

The western-German town of Düren was in turmoil. A small drone was circling slowly and deliberately over the local school. The result: nervous residents, curious glances, frightened whispers. Many locals asked if this was a secret military operation or some sort of new state surveillance program. But in the end it turned out that a photo and film production company had been using the drone to make 360-degree aerial shots.

dw.de

... Link (0 comments) ... Comment



Drone Documents: Why The Government Won’t Release Them


The covert U.S. effort to strike terrorist leaders using drones has moved further out of the shadows this year — targeted killing has been mentioned by President Obama and defended in speeches by Attorney General Eric Holder and Obama counterterrorism adviser John Brennan. The White House recently declassified the fact that it is conducting military operations in Yemen and Somalia.

But for all the talk, the administration says it hasn't officially confirmed particular strikes or the CIA's involvement.

propublica.org

... Link (0 comments) ... Comment



Quadcopter drone group held in London airport on suspicion of terrorism


Fresh from performing at Science Gallery in Dublin last night during the opening of Hack the City, an English group of urbanists, technologists and architects who created GPS-enabled quadcopter drones, were held at London Southend Airport on suspicion of terrorism and recorded under the UK’s Terrorism Act.

The group, known as Tomorrows Thoughts Today, had been performing their Electronic Countermeasures robotic ballet in the sky show at Science Gallery for the opening of the three-month Hack the City exhibition in Dublin City.

siliconrepublic.com

... Link (0 comments) ... Comment



Filmmakers Use Drones to Spy on Facebook, Google HQs


Filmmaker and digital rights expert Caroline Campbell and visual artist Nina McGowan have teamed up to use customized drones to film unseen parts of Dublin city, including the inside of Facebook’s and Google’s headquarters.

Their film, Loitering Theatre, is part of the Science Gallery’s Hack the City exhibition, which aims to “tweak and mash up Dublin’s existing urban systems.”

wired.com

... Link (0 comments) ... Comment



Drone dogfights by 2015? U.S. Navy preps for futuristic combat


Imagine an aerial dogfight of epic proportions: Fifty aircraft on a side, each prowling the sky for advantage over dozens of adversaries.

If Timothy Chung has his way, such a battle could take place over Southern California by 2015. But before you worry that war is coming to American soil, you should know that Chung's vision is really about a high-tech game of Capture the Flag played by as many as a hundred small, lightweight unmanned aerial vehicles playing their role in a grand challenge of an experiment.

cnet.com

... Link (0 comments) ... Comment



Pentagon Lists 110 Potential Drone Bases in U.S.


The Department of Defense has identified 110 sites in the United States that could serve as bases for military unmanned aerial systems (UAS), or drones. A new report to Congress lists each of the 110 sites “and the UAS likely to fly at that location.” See “Report to Congress on Future Unmanned Aircraft Systems Training, Operations, and Sustainability,” Department of Defense, April 2012 (pp. 9-12).

The newly disclosed DoD report was first reported by InsideDefense.com.

The actual or potential drone bases are located in 39 of the 50 states, from Fort McClellan in Alabama to Camp Guernsey in Wyoming, as well as Guam and Puerto Rico.

fas.org [pdf]

... Link (0 comments) ... Comment



US Navy buys Linux to guide drone fleet


The US Navy has signed off on a $27,883,883 contract from military contractor Raytheon to install Linux ground control software for its fleet of vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) drones.

The contract covers the Naval Air Station at Patuxent River in Maryland, which has already spent $5,175,075 beginning to install Linux systems. The no-bid contract was awarded to finish the work and get the Navy's drone fleet fully operational using a Linux backbone.

theregister.co.uk

... Link (0 comments) ... Comment



Drone attacks create terrorist safe havens, warns former CIA official


Indiscriminate use of drones in Middle East causes too many civilian casualties, warns former CIA counterterrorism head

A former top terrorism official at the CIA has warned that President Barack Obama's controversial drone programme is far too indiscriminate in hitting targets and could lead to such political instability that it creates terrorist safe havens.

Obama's increased use of drones to attack suspected Islamic militants in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Somalia and Yemen has become one of the most controversial aspects of his national security policy. He has launched at least 275 strikes in Pakistan alone; a rate of attack that is far higher than his predecessor George W Bush.

guardian.co.uk

... Link (0 comments) ... Comment



Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Drones


The Obama administration has made drone warfare a centerpiece of its counterterrorism strategies, so here's a rundown of the essentials.

Everyone is talking about drones. Also known as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, or UAVs, remote-piloted aircrafts have become a controversial centerpiece of the Obama administration's counter-terrorism strategy. Domestically, their surveillance power is being hyped for everything from fighting crime to monitoring hurricanes or spawning salmon. Meanwhile, concerns are cropping up about privacy, ethics and safety. We've rounded up some of the best coverage of drones to get you oriented. Did we miss anything? Let us know.

motherjones.com

... Link (0 comments) ... Comment



Forget the Helicopter, Drones Make Aerial Videos Attainable


The average episode of Top Gear runs around $1 million to produce. But those high-style, high-flying – and incredibly expensive – aerial shots just got slightly more affordable with the introduction of a new quadrocopter specifically developed for shooting automotive action.

Christopher Kippenberger and his Berlin, Germany-based production company, Kippenberger Racing, have been hard at work over the last few months putting the finishing touches on a customized drone capable of shooting high-resolution video. And unlike a helicopter rental, which can easily run tens of thousands of dollars after insurance, fuel, pilot costs and airspace approval, Kippenberger’s quadrocopter will only set you back around $5,000 after the two-man operation builds you a made-to-order drone.

wired.com

... Link (0 comments) ... Comment



Autonome Mini-Drohnen für Österreich


Die Quadkopter werden von Hand gefertigt, der Einstiegspreis liegt bei 8.400 Euro

Die Wiener Firma Koschier IT bringt "Microdrones" nach Österreich. Dabei handelt es sich um Flugdrohnen mit vier Rotoren. Die für den professionellen Einsatz gedachten Flieger starten und landen vertikal. Sie sind kleiner und wesentlich günstiger als militärische Geräte, aber mächtiger als Modellflieger aus dem Elektronikmarkt.

derstandard.at microdrones.de

... Link (0 comments) ... Comment