Flying Car News, February 24
Flying car footage from Airbus, “Green” drone delivery, a Chinese New Year Drone Show, and more!
This week’s top Flying Car News: Airbus Vahana Flying Car Video Footage, Green Drone Delivery, Samsung Drone Eye Detection Patent, Vodafone uses 4G for UTM, and more!
Flying cars will be a significant part of the future of transportation. Recent advancements in drone technology, electric VTOL aircraft, and autonomous systems have paved the way for an aerial transportation revolution. We created the Udacity Flying Car News Series, to ensure you stay up-to-date on all the latest Flying Car and Autonomous Aircraft stories!
Airbus Vahana Flying Car Video Footage
Airbus released the first video footage of the Vahana Flying Car which took off vertically and hovered for 53 seconds.
“Airbus has said it wants to build a fleet of autonomous, multirotor eVTOL aircraft that can be used to fly from rooftop to rooftop in dense cities where traffic is often at a standstill.”
Green Drone Delivery
A team of researchers from Carnegie Mellon, SRI International, and University of Colorado-Boulder conducted a study which found that drone delivery is capable of significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions compared to current delivery methods.
“In California, drone delivery of a small package would result in about 0.42 kg of greenhouse gas emissions. That’s a savings of 54 percent from the 0.92 kg of greenhouse gases associated with a package delivered by truck in that state.”
Samsung Drone Eye Detection Patent
Samsung has patented a drone with an integrated display that can track human pupils and body gestures.
“The drone’s flight speed and direction can be controlled by moving your head, eyes, or hands, and the unit can also automatically track users without any additional gestures.”
Vodafone Uses 4G for UTM
Vodafone is testing a UTM system with the European Aviation Safety Agency which uses 4G technology to track commercial drones which cannot be picked up on radar.
“It would also be possible to enable ‘protective geofencing’, which would automatically make drones land or return to the operator when approaching an ‘exclusion zone’ such as an airport or a prison. Authorities would also be able to override drone control.”
Chinese New Year Drone Light Show
Three Hundred drones performed an aerial light show in celebration of the Chinese New Year in the city of Xi’an.
“The synchronized drones, fitted with LEDs, formed various shapes relevant to the holiday while flying in formation. According to CCTV+, the performance was synched to various New Year’s music from the area and went swimmingly despite the pouring rain.”
If you are interested in joining the pioneering generation of engineers who will build the smart transportation systems of the future, discover Udacity’s Flying Car Nanodegree Program today!
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