By William Renz There is a hidden cost intertwined with the production of our food. Growing crops along the coasts can be a traumatic experience for aquatic ecosystems. Large, harmful algae colonies are an externality of agriculture in these areas. The algae robs nutrients of the sea and can make the waters a harsh environment […]
By: Jake Tschirhart, Marcus Foote, Robert PrestGard-Duke Auschwitz: Drone video of Nazi concentration camp / Aerial video of Auschwitz-Birkenau 1/26/15 – Precisely 70 years after the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau by soviet troops, the BBC released haunting footage of the site as it appears today. The video quickly rose to claim the Most-Watched video on the […]
I recently had the chance to ask the University of Utah’s Director of Video and Broadcast services, Eugene Skip Whitman, a few questions about his experience with and views on drones in sports media. Dominic Austin: First, could you give a brief description of your job here at the University of Utah? Skip Whitman: I manage […]
CAN BIRDS BE TRAINED TO BRING DOWN DRONES? This article by popular science explores the relationship between aerial vehicles and birds. The article discusses the possibility of training birds to attack drones, using drones to train birds, and the dangers of their interactions. The article interviews many hawk trainers and their opinions of hawk and […]
On October 27, 2014, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a new Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) that bans the use of “unmanned aircraft and remote controlled aircraft” near stadiums. The move comes in the wake of a number of reports worldwide, including within the United States, of “drone” use at sporting events. Though these incidents […]
Dr. Kam Leang is an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Utah where he is the director of the University’s Design, Automation, Robotics, and Control Lab (DARC Lab.) Here, he answers seven questions about the hobbyist and potential commercial uses of small unmanned aerial systems, or drones, and addresses the technical and […]
Randy Dryer is a lawyer and professor of law at the S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah. I recently had the opportunity to speak with him about the implications of drones for privacy rights. Zeke Peterson: How does your work give you a unique perspective on issues involving drones? Randy Dryer: I […]
Here at the University of Utah Department of Mechanical Engineering, a group of graduate students led by Dr. Kam K. Leang have been working in a research team dubbed the DARC (Design, Automation, Robotics & Control) Laboratory. There, the team works on design for remotely controlled aircraft and development of intelligent autonomous systems intended to improve navigation […]
New Quadcopters Arrive Just as US Eases Its Ban on Camera Drones Published October 1, 2014 In an interesting development for the film world, a Toronto startup just began a campaign to send small, lightweight cameras attached to drones into the air. DreamQii, the company behind their cameradrone christened the PlexiDrone, launched an Indiegogo campaign […]
Surveillance Drones on the Homefront The somber warning of Orwell’s dystopian 1984 may have seemed to pass with the fall of the Soviet Union, but many Americans have begun to fear that their free, democratic country isn’t as free and safe as it used to be. The birthplace of the unmanned aerial vehicle, or more […]