Author: markdickinson

Telenor identifies tech trends set to reshape lifestyle

January 21, 2019, Monday at 12:15 AM

Bjorn Hansen

KUCHING: After rapid year of tech world advancements, setbacks and successes, Telenor Group’s research arm, Telenor Research, has identified several tech trends to study up on for 2019.

In a press statement, it said, while there is no shortage of staggering high-tech feats identified for the year, the notion of ‘responsibility’ resonates through many of this year’s trends.

“The world of technology is constantly on the go. With exciting innovation – which we point to this year in greater scale than ever – comes the need for reflection, pragmatism and perspective. We think that the tech pendulum is swinging in that direction in 2019. People are taking a step back and assessing ‘what do these deeper developments in technology and connectivity mean to me, to my family, my community?’” Telenor Research vice president Bjorn Hansen, said.

“In the end, we all want the assurance that technology – no matter how many steps ahead of us it m..

Project looks into how drones can predict spread of wildfire

January 20, 2019 11:25 AM

Drone Olympics promises fun at Aero India in Bengaluru

By Akram MohammedExpress News Service
BENGALURU: For the first time at Aero India, drones designed by participants from different companies and countries will be seen in action during various competitions organised as part of the premier air show.

The contests in the Drone Olympics are expected to be major crowd-pullers at the biennial event. Three events will be held as part of the Drone Olympics during the five-day spectacle at Yelahanka Air Base, scheduled to be held from February 20 to 24, according to the Aero India website.

Among the events scheduled include surveillance competition, supply drop and formation flying challenge. According to sources, the competitions will assess the military and civilian capabilities of drones. The surveillance competition, sources added, is among the contests that will determine the military technologies embedded in the drone.

“It will also assess its reconnaissance and camouflage abilities under various conditions,” the source said. The sup..

Drone-killing tech outlawed at Australian airports despite ‘catastrophic’ risk to flights

Drone-killing tech outlawed at Australian airports despite 'catastrophic' risk to flights

Updated

January 20, 2019 11:20:09

Photo:
Drones grounded flights at the UK's Gatwick airport for days around Christmas. (AP: John Stillwell)

There is 'no bulletproof way' to stop the drones that closed Gatwick Airport

Gatwick Airport reopens after drones caused flights to be cancelled

Flights suspended at London's Gatwick Airport after reports of drone sightings

Map:
Sydney 2000

New figures show pilots at Australian airports have spotted hundreds of drones in restricted airspace in the past two-and-a-half years, but experts say Australian law complicates the use of technology that could defeat a rogue drone attack.

Key points: More than 220 drones were spotted at Sydney Airport in the past 30 monthsIt may just be the tip of the iceberg as authorities are only now rolling out technology to..

Is it time to buy a drone?

From their beginnings as tech toys, small drones have evolved into a dependable tool for agencies at all levels of government. Benefits of unmanned aerial systems include greater efficiency, cost savings and increased safety for government workers when drones reach places and do jobs that could endanger humans. Many officials, however, are still figuring out how to navigate this fairly new technology.

To be accurate, the government has been using unmanned aircraft since the 1930s, said Chris Hewlett, who leads Deloitte’s drones unit, but now small, lightweight, ready-to-use devices not unlike the ones advertised in Amazon’s daily deals list are finding their way into government use in nontraditional ways.

“If you think about the way that many of our aerospace and defense companies operate, they make something because there’s a need,” Hewlett said. “But in this particular technology, the way it’s advanced, it’s very unique. It’s a solution looking for a pr..

A two-day walk for vaccines is now just 20 minutes away with drone delivery in remote Vanuatu

Drones swoop in to deliver life-saving vaccines to remote Vanuatu villages

Updated

January 19, 2019 10:04:33

Video: Drones used to deliver vaccines in Vanuatu

(ABC News)

Vaccines delivered by drone to remote Vanuatu island in world-first trial

Drones to deliver vaccines to remote Vanuatu in world-first commercial contracts

How drones could help in the aftermath of cyclone Debbie

Map:
Vanuatu

In war-torn parts of the world, the distant whine of a drone can signal death and destruction.

Key points: One in five Vanuatu children don't get all the vaccines they needLocals sometimes have to walk for days to receive medical necessitiesAustralian company Swoop Aero designed a drone to deliver vaccines
But on the Pacific island of Erromango the sound means help has arrived.
We're standing in a tiny village called South River. It's perched on Erromango's west coast, in the nation of Vanuatu.
It&..

Gatwick drone chaos was ‘foreseeable’

Gatwick drone chaos was 'foreseeable' experts says

Image copyright
PA

Image caption

People were stranded at Gatwick and others due to land were redirected to different airports

The drone sightings which disrupted about 1,000 flights to and from Gatwick Airport in December was a “not an unforeseen incident”, an expert says.
Prof Iain Gray, chairman of the Drones Industry Action Group, said “many commentators have been talking for some time” about the potential of disruption from drones near airports.
He questioned why Gatwick had not implemented technologies faster.
An airport spokesman said the incident was “malicious and unprecedented”.
He added: “Detection and safety protocols were in place and were effective in ensuring our absolute priority, which was the safety of our airfield and passengers during the incident on 19-21 December.

“Within days Gatwick had invested several million pounds and is now equipped to the level provided by the Armed Forces during the in..

FAA looks to ease drone flight rules

Drones

FAA looks to ease drone flight rules

The Federal Aviation Administration will give commercial drones more freedom to operate over people and grant longer flight times under proposed new rules.

Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao announced the proposals at the Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting on Jan. 14.

The initiatives include a draft rule proposal to allow drones to fly at night and over people without requiring operators to get a waiver, if certain conditions are met.

It is unclear when the new rules will appear in the Federal Register and how the commenting process will be managed because the Department of Transportation is currently operating in shutdown mode due to the partial lapse in appropriations. Chao only said the proposals are available in draft form on the FAA website and will be published “as soon as possible.”

Chao also said that three drone flight research operators were selected as FAA traffic control test sites: Northern Plains UAS Test Site..

Tech to the rescue: New products aim to improve…

PCs have a lesson for the smartphone industry
15 Jan 2019 – 18:59

The smartphone market is following the growth-challenged path of personal computers. That won’t please executives at Samsung Electronics Co. and Apple Inc., but their pain might be great for consumers.

U.S. Plan Could Permit Drone Flights Over Crowds

The federal government has unveiled a long-awaited set of proposals to dramatically expand civilian drone flights while also tightening security, critical steps for an industry seeking to expand into robot aerial deliveries and scores of other commercial uses in populated areas.

A proposed regulation released Monday by the U.S. Department of Transportation would for the first time allow routine flights over people and at night, provided the remote-control operators take safety precautions. The new regulatory framework was announced by Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao in a speech in Washington.

Under current Federal Aviation Administration regulations, civilian drones can’t operate directly over people’s heads as a result of fears they could plunge from the sky, injuring or killing someone. That effectively makes it impossible to use them legally for scores of purposes, including surveying urban construction sites, delivering defibrillators to highway crash scenes and photograp..