Engineers at the University of Tokyo JSK Robotics Laboratory had been working on a drone that represents the latter called the “Dual-Rotor embedded multilink robot with the Ability of multi-deGree-of-freedom aerial transformatiON” – a mouthful, so just DRAGON for short. In Japanese mythology, dragons aren’t the fire-breathing, treasure-hoarding monsters you’ll find in Tolkien, Martin, et […]

Conventional drones use visual sensors for navigation. However, environmental conditions like dampness, low light, and dust can hinder their effectiveness, limiting their use in disaster-stricken areas. Researchers from Japan have developed a novel bio-hybrid drone by combining robotic elements with odor-sensing antennae from silkworm moths. Their innovation, which integrates the agility and precision of robots […]

The Federal Aviation Administration receives thousands of complaints every year about the characteristic loud buzzing produced as drone propellers slice through the air. That noise is an issue in other countries, too: Canada and England, for instance, report a sharp uptick in similar complaints over the last several years. Experts believe noise pollution caused by […]

A groundbreaking development by Professor Fu Zhang and researchers from the Department of Mechanical Engineering of Faculty of Engineering at the University of Hong Kong (HKU), has enabled drones and micro air vehicles (MAVs) to emulate the flight capabilities of birds more closely than ever before. Unlike birds, which navigate unknown environments with remarkable speed […]

Chinese government scientists have released the results of a weather modification experiment in the dry western region of Xinjiang. A fleet of cloud seeding drones increased rainfall by over 4 per cent across more than 8,000 sq km (3,089 sq miles) in a day, according to the project team led by Li Bin, senior engineer […]