One Drone Thread to Rule them ALL

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Re: One Drone Thread to Rule them ALL

Postby elfismiles » Wed Aug 31, 2016 9:55 am

Ship Operators Explore Autonomous Sailing (VIDEO)
More automation will enable them to optimize use of cargo vessels, cut fuel consumption and labor costs
By Robert Wall in London and Costas Paris in New York
Aug. 31, 2016 5:30 a.m. ET
Image
Companies and universities are working together to develop automated cargo ships. The Wall Street Journal looks at Rolls-Royce’s concepts for the next revolution in maritime transport. Photo: Rolls Royce.

“All hands on deck” may become a thing of the past.

Ship designers, their operators and regulators are gearing up for a future in which cargo vessels sail the oceans with minimal or even no crew. Advances in automation and ample bandwidth even far offshore could herald the biggest change in shipping since diesel engines replaced steam.

Ship operators believe more automation will enable them to optimize ship use, including cutting fuel consumption. “The benefit of automation is as an enabler of further efficiency across the 630 vessels we operate,” said Palle Laursen, head of Maersk Line Ship Management, a unit of cargo-ship giant A.P. Moeller-Maersk A/S.

British engine maker Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC is leading the Advanced Autonomous Waterborne Applications initiative involving other companies and universities. It foresees technologies long used to improve commercial airline operations migrating to ships. The group also is tapping know-how from those working on driverless cars to adapt for safe at-sea autonomous operations.

A future unmanned ship could resemble some of the most advanced combat drones. It would sport infrared detectors, high-resolution cameras and laser sensors to monitor its surroundings. The vast troves of data would be transmitted to command centers where staff do little more than monitor progress and ensure ships are operating at optimum speeds.

The consortium completed a study this year that concluded such vessels are feasible and offer savings.

Oskar Levander, vice president for innovation at Rolls-Royce’s marine unit, said moving toward greater autonomy and unmanned shipping could cut transport costs 22%. The bulk would come from lower staff costs, though such vessels also would be more fuel efficient by eliminating the need to carry equipment to support people onboard.

The first steps already are being taken. The Stella ferry, used in the Baltic and operated by Finferries, has been equipped with a variety of sensors including lasers and thermal cameras to assess whether such sensors could allow autonomous operations.

A critical step toward floating remotely controlled unmanned cargo ships on the oceans by 2030, and autonomous ones by 2035, is the ability to pass large amounts of data from ship to shore to ensure safe operations. For years, lack of affordable bandwidth has made that a challenge. A new generation of communications satellites is promising lower costs to transfer data.

Satellite-services company Inmarsat PLC this year launched its Fleet Xpress service to provide improved connectivity to ship operators. It combines high-bandwidth satellites with a more secure connection to guarantee vital safety connectivity. Ronald Spithout, president of Inmarsat’s maritime business, said the connection will let operators monitor engine and other ship functions more closely to enable enhanced automation.

Rolls-Royce, no longer affiliated with the luxury car maker, is betting that a push to smarter vessels will lift the fortunes of its struggling marine business. The prolonged slump in crude prices has led to a sharp drop in demand for sophisticated offshore vessels. Marine sales at Rolls-Royce fell 23% last year after declining 16% the prior year when oil prices started to slump.

Oil prices may rebound, but the demand for the gold-plated vessels used to service oil and gas rigs far offshore may never fully recover, said Mikael Makinen, president of Rolls-Royce’s marine division. Rolls-Royce is betting smart ships will be a new growth market.

The company is already in talks with operators it wouldn’t name to start trials of more autonomous vessels.

Automating shipping faces barriers, though. “There are a vast range of safety, security, navigational and legal challenges to be solved before crewless container vessels can be considered in our fleet,” said Maersk’s Mr. Laursen.

The International Maritime Organization, the arm of the United Nations overseeing global shipping, prohibits ship operations without crew. The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, known as Solas, requires all ships to be “sufficiently and efficiently manned,” the IMO said.

Safety rules emerged in 1914 in the wake of the sinking of the RMS Titanic two years earlier, which killed more than 1,500 passengers on the ship’s maiden trans-Atlantic voyage. Current rules, completed in 1974, have been adapted for new technologies such as introducing mandatory requirements for electronic charts and automatic identification systems for ships. Proponents of greater autonomy hope the rules may be further relaxed.

Separately, it is unclear as of yet how security issues like piracy and the mandate to help distressed ships will be addressed for these ships

IMO spokeswoman Natasha Brown said the British government-sponsored Marine Autonomous Systems Regulatory Working Group, set up in 2014, is reviewing pertinent regulations to potentially propose changes.

James Fanshawe, chairman of the working group, said it hopes to convince the international organization to pave the way for autonomous vessels before the end of the decade.

Capt. Thanasis Apostolopoulos, head of crews at Athens-based Springfield Shipping Co. and a sailor for 17 years, said the drive to unmanned ships may be inevitable. “It will be a sad day for seafarers when it happens,” he said.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/ship-operat ... 1472635800
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Re: One Drone Thread to Rule them ALL

Postby elfismiles » Tue Sep 06, 2016 10:22 am

Royal Navy unveils robot spy speedboat
The Royal Navy Testing an Unmanned Surface Vessel in the Thames River as part of Royal Navy preparations for Unmanned Warrior this autumn . Based on the innovative BLADERUNNER hull shape it will be undergoing trials in the Tidal Thames
Image
The MAST vessel can reach speeds of more than 50kts Credit: Heathcliff O'Malley
Ben Farmer, Defence Correspondent / 5 September 2016 • 7:28pm
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/09 ... speedboat/

Google smart cars will be able to detect EXACTLY where the police are
PATENT application suggests that Google cars will be able to dodge emergency vehicles it detects when out on the roads.
By Michael Moore
PUBLISHED: 09:47, Tue, Sep 6, 2016 | UPDATED: 10:00, Tue, Sep 6, 2016
http://www.express.co.uk/life-style/sci ... pplication
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Re: One Drone Thread to Rule them ALL

Postby elfismiles » Thu Sep 08, 2016 10:40 am

Man killed in horror 'autopilot' Tesla crash when vehicle smashed into tree
12:23, 8 Sep 2016
Updated 13:24, 8 Sep 2016
By Toby Sterling
Firefighters took hours to remove the Dutchman's body from the Tesla over fears they could be electrocuted
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news ... la-8791671
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Re: One Drone Thread to Rule them ALL

Postby norton ash » Thu Sep 08, 2016 1:24 pm

elfismiles » Thu Sep 08, 2016 9:40 am wrote:Man killed in horror 'autopilot' Tesla crash when vehicle smashed into tree
12:23, 8 Sep 2016
Updated 13:24, 8 Sep 2016
By Toby Sterling
Firefighters took hours to remove the Dutchman's body from the Tesla over fears they could be electrocuted
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news ... la-8791671


The electric car killed who?
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Re: One Drone Thread to Rule them ALL

Postby Luther Blissett » Thu Sep 08, 2016 4:41 pm

I'm so mad.

North Dakota becomes first US state to legalise use of armed drones by police
It is unclear whether local police departments will use weaponised devices, even though they are technically legal

Armed drones could be used by police in the US state of North Dakota after local lawmakers legalised their use.

While they will be limited to “less than lethal” weapons, tear gas, tasers, rubber bullets and pepper spray could all be used in theory by the remote controlled flying machines.

In a classic case of unintended consequences, the original sponsor, Republican state representative Rick Becker said he was unhappy with the way legislation turned out.

His original intention was to prevent law enforcement officials from using the unmanned aerial vehicles from conducting surveillance on private property without a warrant.

“In my opinion there should be a nice, red line: Drones should not be weaponised,” he said.

The original draft of the House Bill 1328 said: “A state agency may not authorize the use of, including granting a permit to use, an unmanned aircraft armed with any lethal or non-lethal weapons, including firearms, pepper spray, bean bag guns, mace, and sound-based weapons.”

However, the state's police union amended the Bill, limiting the ban to only lethal weapons, meaning that sounds cannons or rubber bullets could be used on police drones, according to The Daily Beast.

Mr Becker said that he didn’t fight the amendments, telling the Arstehnica website that he wanted “the Bill to pass to at least require warrants.”

However, he said that he will aim to change the law in two-years’ time when North Dakota’s House of Representatives returns to session.

It is unclear whether local police departments will use weaponised drones, even though they are technically legal.

Police officers are subject to local and departmental rules that can substantially limit what tactics are allowed.

However, at least 39 people have been killed by police tasers in 2015, according to The Guardian.

The fact that a suspect could potentially be tasered by an officer sitting hundreds of miles away will likely add to the concerns of those who are worried about the militarisation of US police departments.

Concerns were raised following events in Ferguson, Missouri, where mostly peaceful protests over the killing by a police officer of black man Michael Brown were met over several nights by lines of body-armoured police brandishing automatic weapons, and in some cases riding mine-resistant military-style vehicles.

It prompted President Barack Obama to ordered a comprehensive review of policies that have encouraged police departments across the United States to acquire ever greater quantities of military kit that was once the reserve of professional soldiers last month.
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Re: One Drone Thread to Rule them ALL

Postby backtoiam » Sat Sep 17, 2016 12:31 pm

DARPA ANNOUNCES AERIAL DRAGNET URBAN DRONE MONITORING PROGRAM

The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency announced this week it is seeking proposals for its Aerial Dragnet program, a new initiative that seeks to monitor drones flying below 1,000 feet in large cities.

The program seeks to map small drones in urban terrain using innovative technologies that would provide persistent, wide-area surveillance, the agency said in a statement.

While Aerial Dragnet's focus is on protecting military troops in overseas urban settings, the system could also find civilian applications to help protect U.S. metropolitan areas from drone-enabled terrorist threats.

The need for a comprehensive tracking system has increased as off-the-shelf drones become less expensive, easier to fly and more adaptable to terrorist and military needs.

"U.S. forces will increasingly be challenged by the need to quickly detect and identify such craft -- especially in urban areas, where sight lines are limited and many objects may be moving at similar speeds," DARPA said.

The program seeks to replicate commercial websites already existing that display in real time the tracks of relatively high and fast aircraft overlaid on geographical maps.

The Aerial Dragnet program is looking for teams with expertise in sensors, signal processing and networked autonomy.

The agency has posted the program's goals and technical details on FedBizOpps.

http://www.spacewar.com/reports/DARPA_a ... m_999.html
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Re: One Drone Thread to Rule them ALL

Postby Grizzly » Mon Oct 24, 2016 12:22 am

http://m.slashdot.org/story/317861
US Police Consider Flying Drones Armed With Stun Guns
It's coming on fast ...
“The more we do to you, the less you seem to believe we are doing it.”

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Re: One Drone Thread to Rule them ALL

Postby Luther Blissett » Mon Oct 24, 2016 4:00 pm

It's already been legalized in North Dakota, just coincidental with the fact that one of the largest resistances in the country is taking place there right now.

I don't believe the flying robots actually have guns yet, but it's approved.
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Re: One Drone Thread to Rule them ALL

Postby elfismiles » Tue Oct 25, 2016 1:17 pm

The Pentagon’s ‘Terminator Conundrum’: Robots That Could Kill on Their Own
The United States has put artificial intelligence at the center of its defense strategy, with weapons that can identify targets and make decisions.
By MATTHEW ROSENBERG and JOHN MARKOFF
OCT. 25, 2016
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/26/us/pe ... .html?_r=0
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Re: One Drone Thread to Rule them ALL

Postby elfismiles » Fri Nov 04, 2016 10:56 am

RoBattle Is Over 7 Tons Of Semi-Autonomous War Machine
All armored casing, no human inside
By Kelsey D. Atherton June 16, 2016
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http://www.popsci.com/robattle-combat-r ... ar-machine
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Re: One Drone Thread to Rule them ALL

Postby stefano » Tue Jan 10, 2017 4:55 am

Has anyone seen the new Black Mirror series? One's got an awesome storyline about a maniac weaponising swarms of artificial bees.

As for real-world terrifying:

Pentagon successfully tests micro-drone swarm

AFP Wired World 10 Jan 2017 05:07 (South Africa)

The Pentagon may soon be unleashing a 21st-century version of locusts on its adversaries after officials on Monday said it had successfully tested a swarm of 103 micro-drones.

The important step in the development of new autonomous weapon systems was made possible by improvements in artificial intelligence, holding open the possibility that groups of small robots could act together under human direction.

Military strategists have high hopes for such drone swarms that would be cheap to produce and able to overwhelm opponents' defenses with their great numbers.

The test of the world's largest micro-drone swarm in California in October included 103 Perdix micro-drones measuring around six inches (16 centimeters) launched from three F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jets, the Pentagon said in a statement.

"The micro-drones demonstrated advanced swarm behaviors such as collective decision-making, adaptive formation flying and self-healing," it said.

"Perdix are not pre-programmed synchronized individuals, they are a collective organism, sharing one distributed brain for decision-making and adapting to each other like swarms in nature," said William Roper, director of the Pentagon's Strategic Capabilities Office. "Because every Perdix communicates and collaborates with every other Perdix, the swarm has no leader and can gracefully adapt to drones entering or exiting the team."

Defense Secretary Ash Carter -- a technophile and former Harvard professor -- created the SCO when he was deputy defense secretary in 2012.

The department is tasked with accelerating the integration of technological innovations into the US weaponry.

It particularly strives to marry already existing commercial technology -- in this case micro-drones and artificial intelligence software -- in the design of new weapons.

Originally created by engineering students from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2013 and continuously improved since, Perdix drones draw "inspiration from the commercial smartphone industry," the Pentagon said.


Follow the link to check out the video in this article - they even sound like sci-fi horror.

The Pentagon's Autonomous Swarming Drones Are the Most Unsettling Thing You'll See Today
By Kyle Mizokami Jan 9, 2017

An arm of the Pentagon charged with fielding critical new technologies has developed a drone that not only carries out its mission without human piloting, but can talk to other drones to collaborate on getting the job done. The Perdix autonomous drone operates in cooperative swarms of 20 or more, working together towards a single goal.

Named after a character from Greek mythology that was changed into a partridge, the bird-sized Perdix drones were featured on the news program "60 Minutes" last night, January 8. In footage taken over the skies of Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, a trio of F/A-18 Super Hornet fighters release a total of 103 Perdix drones from small pods mounted on hardpoints on both wings. The drones are capable of withstanding ejection at speeds of up to Mach 0.6 and temperatures as low as minus 10 degrees Celsius.

GPS data, combined with a map of the area, shows that during the October 26 test the fighters released their Perdix drones in a long line their flight path. The drones formed up at a preselected point and then headed out to perform four different missions. Three of the missions involved hovering over a target while the fourth mission involved forming a 100-meter-wide circle in the sky.

Ejected from a fighter, the tiny drones collaborate to accomplish their mission—with not a single human involved.

According to the Department of Defense, the demonstration showed off Perdix's collective decision-making, adaptive formation flying, and self-healing abilities. The drones collectively decide that a mission has been accomplished, fly on to the next mission, and carry out that one. The benefit of a swarm is that if one drone drops out—and a few appear to crash—the group can rearrange itself to maintain coverage.

Developed by students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Perdix drones are inexpensive drones that draw inspiration from the commercial smartphone industry. The drones feature two sets of small wings, making them look like World War I fighter planes. The biplane configuration reduces wing weight and wingspan. The wings are made of carbon fiber and the fuselage is made of a kevlar composite. The drone is powered by a lithium polymer battery pack powering a rear-facing push propeller.

Perdix has been a known program since March 2016, when the Washington Post revealed footage of a F-16 fighter releasing 20 drones over Alaska. At the time, however, the Post stated the drones had already been undergoing flight testing for two years.

There are a multitude of uses for such a drone swarm. The drones could be released by fighters to provide reconnaissance for troops on the ground, hunting enemy forces and reporting their location. They could also jam enemy communications, form a wide-area flying communications network, or provide persistent surveillance of a particular area. They could be loaded with small explosive charges and attack individual enemy soldiers. In air-to-air combat, they could spoof enemy radars on aircraft, ground vehicles, and missiles by pretending to be much larger targets.

The drones are a pet project of the Strategic Capabilities Office, which is in turn part of the Pentagon's Third Offset Strategy. Third Offset is designed to use America's technological edge and combine it with new ideas to maintain dominance against potential adversaries. Other concepts include the "Arsenal Plane", which uses older, larger aircraft such as the B-52 to act as a flying arsenal for newer planes like the F-35, carrying a vast number of weapons that can be fired on cue.


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Re: One Drone Thread to Rule them ALL

Postby elfismiles » Thu Jan 26, 2017 11:52 am

The genetically-modified CYBORG dragonflies that can be remotely controlled to spy on people
Cyborg insects are fitted with fingernail-sized backpacks that control them
They contain electronics which then activate a messenger-neuron inside the fly
These neurons then carry steering commands to the wings, guiding it on a path
They can be used for 'guided pollination' as well as surveillance missions
By MailOnline Reporter
Published: 08:23 EST, 26 January 2017 | Updated: 10:06 EST, 26 January 2017
Image
A genetically modified cyborg dragonfly that can spy on anyone has been unveiled. Dubbed the DragonflEye, the half-insect, half-machine is fitted with a fingernail-sized backpack, powered by a solar panel and remotely controlled by an operator

Read more:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/ ... y-you.html


The Dawn of Robot Wars

April 27, 2009
By Eric Stoner
Source: Indypendent.org
...
And according to the Washington Post, activists have even reported seeing insect-sized spy drones at antiwar rallies in Washington and New York.
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=23687


elfismiles » 07 Mar 2012 14:26 wrote:
FLASHBACK 2008: Robotic Insects Are Here – BEWARE! (Video)
http://www.anomalytelevision.com/site/2 ... re-beware/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSCLBG9KeX4



FLASHBACK 2007: Dragonfly or Insect Spy? Scientists at Work on Robobugs (Video)
http://www.anomalytelevision.com/site/2 ... -robobugs/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 01434.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 00958.html

Vanessa Alarcon saw them while working at an antiwar rally in Lafayette Square last month. "I heard someone say, 'Oh my god, look at those,' " the college senior from New York recalled. "I look up and I'm like, 'What the hell is that?' They looked kind of like dragonflies or little helicopters. But I mean, those are not insects."



eyeno wrote:
Swarms Of Autonomous Micro-Air-Vehicles Modeled On Insects
February 27th, 2012
http://cryptogon.com/?p=27762
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Re: One Drone Thread to Rule them ALL

Postby elfismiles » Mon Mar 20, 2017 9:47 am

Take off for police drones air force: Remote-controlled 'flying squad' to chase criminals and hunt for missing people

First 24-hour police drone unit to launch in Devon and Cornwall in summer
The dedicated force will be shared with Dorset and save helicopter costs
They will be used to picture crime scenes and track antisocial behaviour
But fears raised that technology could lead to cuts to officer numbers

By Rebecca Camber Crime Correspondent For The Daily Mail

Published: 18:16 EDT, 19 March 2017 | Updated: 19:30 EDT, 19 March 2017

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... inals.html
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Re: One Drone Thread to Rule them ALL

Postby elfismiles » Mon Mar 20, 2017 9:51 am

Real-life Robocops will soon replace human police
Police robots are joining the Dubai police force Credit: @DXBMediaOffice
Mark Molloy
20 March 2017 • 12:42pm
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2 ... an-police/
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Re: One Drone Thread to Rule them ALL

Postby elfismiles » Tue Apr 04, 2017 9:22 am

Neighbors Push Back After Hurst Police Hover Drone Over Back Yard Without Warning (VIDEO)
By Alice Barr

Neighbors in Hurst are now pushing back after a police drone hovered over one back yard, without warning.

Bobbie Sanchez said the feeling of privacy disappeared when her child said "Mommy there's a drone over our roof."

Sanchez said it was hovering long enough for her to take photos, and then call for help.

"They're watching my children play in the back yard," said Sanchez. "I called the Hurst police department and was pretty surprised to hear that it was them."

Hurst police and fire started using drones earlier this year. The day they found Sanchez's yard, they say, was a training exercise.

The department is already making changes. Any officer using the drone will now need high-level approval.

"We will not be doing any type of training exercises over houses and things like that," said Hurst Police Assistant Chief Steve Niekamp.

Going forward, the department’s drones will only launch over crime scenes or accident scenes, or to find a suspect, an active shooter or a missing person. The fire department can also use them to strategize while fighting fires.

"We're working for our citizens, if they have concerns then we definitely need to address it," said Niekamp.

But for Sanchez, and some of her neighbors, trust is already damaged.

"It might be legal but it's still creepy to think that police can be saying that they're training or looking for a criminal and still be looking at you in your back yard," said neighbor Casey Byrnes.

Sanchez added, "I am not a person who will give up privacy for safety."

The Texas Privacy Act restricts making recordings on private property but Hurst police tell NBC5 they were not recording in this case.

Also in Tarrant County, Arlington and Mansfield police use drones. Fort Worth police have one for aerial photography, but they say it's not used in the field.

Published at 10:27 PM CDT on Apr 3, 2017 | Updated at 10:29 PM CDT on Apr 3, 2017

Source: Neighbors Push Back After Hurst Police Hover Drone Over Back Yard Without Warning | NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Neighb ... 33603.html
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