Flying Car News, June 9
A reporter pilots Kitty Hawk’s Flyer, Skydio R1 autonomously follows cars, Time Magazine puts ‘The Drone Age’ on the cover, DJI drones help save entangled whales, and more!
This week’s top Flying Car News: A reporter pilots the Kitty Hawk Flyer, Skydio R1 autonomously follows cars, Time Magazine’s Cover: The Drone Age, DJI drones help save entangled whales, 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!
Reporter Pilots the Kitty Hawk Flyer
CNN reporter Rachel Crane piloted the newly unveiled production version of the Kitty Hawk Flyer ultralight electric VTOL aircraft at a testing facility in Las Vegas after 90 minutes of training.
“The plan is to get its Flyer into the hands of individual customers soon — it’s already taking pre-orders (yet prices haven’t been revealed). But early sales will go to partners wanting to operate fleets, such as amusement parks.”
Skydio R1 Autonomously Follows Cars
Skydio’s self-flying drone, named the R1, received a software update which will allow it to follow moving vehicles autonomously while avoiding obstacles.
“The company has trained the neural networks that run on the drone’s embedded computer to recognize everything from cars to golf carts to 4x4s.”
Time Magazine Cover: The Drone Age
Time Magazine partnered with Intel to create their new June magazine cover with a light show created by 958 shooting star drones.
“In early May, Intel’s drone team worked with TIME magazine to replicate a massive, iconic TIME masthead and red border in the Folsom, California, sky with nearly 1,000 Intel Shooting Star drones.”
DJI Drones Help Save Entangled Whales
NOAA and Oceans Unmanned are using DJI drones to assist in identifying and saving whales who are entangled in ropes and debris.
“It makes the entire process much safer for both the humans and the whales.”
Amazon Patents Drone Light and Sound Communications
Amazon continues to brainstorm new ideas for drone delivery, and has patented a new system that uses lights, projections, and sounds to communicate with people on the ground.
“The UAV is unsure whether or not it should drop the payload at its predetermined drop-zone or not, so it projects a “yes” and “no” onto the ground. By stepping onto either word, the drone’s camera recognizes your decision, and either delivers the package or doesn’t.”
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!
And stay tuned for more Flying Car News!
