Video: Drone captures footage of synchronized holiday lights

Flickering lights, check. Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas,” check. Drone, check. Holiday cheer, check. In what is surely one of, if not, the most stunning Christmas spectacles we’ve seen this holiday season, the residents of Yucaipa, California recently came together to rig an entire neighborhood with synchronized lights and tunes. And, the result is pretty brilliant.

Resident Jeff Maxey recently uploaded a series of videos showcasing the impressive effort of his neighborhood using no other than a drone to capture a bird’s-eye view of the celebration.

Indeed, this isn’t the first time we’ve seen UAVs used to showcase holiday festivities. Last year, Bay Area filmmaker shared footage of San Francisco landmarks from the air — like the Ferry Building, Embarcadero Center, and Coit Tower — all decked out in lights.

Well, Santa hats off to you, folks! Perhaps this should be added to our list of awesome ways drones are being used today…

What the puck? Mistletoe drones help spread holiday cheer

While we’ve recently explored a number of innovative uses for drones, TGI Fridays has added yet another. This holiday season, the restaurant chain will have UAVs play cupid in select locations, all in an effort to entice guests to make their date night more spirited.

How it works is simple: The mistletoe-equipped drones will fly around the dining establishment and hover over couples trying to enjoy their fried green beans and Jack Daniel’s Burgers. When they kiss under the flying apparatus, they are awarded special gift cards to continue their holiday merriment. No kiss? No gift card for you!

In addition to the festive garland, the restaurant chain’s drone also features an HD kiss cam and is capable of capturing up to 20 minutes of spooching.

“At Fridays, we decided to put a little extra ‘happy’ into the holidays by rolling out the Mobile Mistletoe this December,” explained Brian Gies, TGI Fridays CMO. “We’re inviting friends to get together to enjoy a more spirited holiday season inspired by a little Mobile Mistletoe mischief. If guests show a little love under the mistletoe, Fridays might just show them a little love with some nice holiday gifts.”

Now, the idea of floating a UAV over patrons isn’t entirely a bad one. In fact, Gizmodo recently compiled a comical list of some other drone-driven restaurant experiences that could make eating even more enjoyable in the future.

If you recall, mistletoe drones helped spread their holiday cheer right there in the Bay Area last year, but this is the first time they’ll be hovering inside restaurants.

BIZZBY Sky trials on-demand drone delivery via real-time app

When it comes to the concept of delivery by drone, what’s not to love? While we’ve already seen major couriers like DHL and Amazon Prime prepare to take flight, a number of other companies ranging from Domino’s Pizza to Google also have their minds set on the sky.

Now, on-demand lifestyle services app BIZZBY has begun trials of a collect-and-deliver autonomous drone delivery service, which is capable of shipping small objects in real-time at the touch of a smartphone button. In addition, the London-based company says that the flying ‘copter can show real-time footage from an on-board camera.

In a recent statement, BIZZBY reveals that drones can be requested in seconds to arrive at a pick-up location within minutes. Talk about speedy delivery!

“An automated secure storage box is released to accept delivery items of up to 500 grams. At the tap of a button the drone departs to the delivery address, while an on­board camera delivers real­time footage of its journey to the recipient directly within the app. On arrival, the item is released from the secure compartment,” the company writes.

With the emergence of the Internet of Things and ubiquity of smart devices, BIZZBY is hoping to enable everyone to book their own delivery drone in a matter of seconds. Unlike other attempts before it, the company is focused on moving everyday items between everyday people.

“We are currently focused on delivering on­-demand lifestyle services from cleaning, handymen, beauty, deliveries to everyday help and believe in using technology to make our lives easier. As the pioneer of on­-demand services we believe drone delivery is the future and we’re at the forefront of its development,” says Rohan Sinclair Luvaglio, BIZZBY Founder and CEO.

The project’s greatest constraint at the moment are the UK’s civil aviation authority (CAA) regulations, battery power, weight and flight distance. Currently, the unmanned vehicles are able to fly at heights nearing 400-feet using built-in sensors to avoid collisions and adhere to restricted fly zones. In an attempt to counter the battery issue, the drones also include a reserve battery to help get the drone home safely.

“Although it may seem futuristic, technology is advancing rapidly and it’s a matter of time before we’re able to roll the service out to the public,” explains Luvaglio. “This is the future and we’re proud to be the first UK company driving innovation, just imagine the possibilities this opens up from delivering important documents, keys to urgent medical supplies ­ the sky’s the limit.”

Door-to-door delivery is just one of many applicable uses of these unmanned aerial vehicles — many of which powered by AVR microcontrollers — and rely upon real-time apps. As our friends at PubNub recently wrote, no matter what the use case is, you need a way to signal and control those drones in real-time. With PubNub Data Streams (which now support Arduino), you can send and receive data between IoT embedded devices and microcontrollers, enabling Internet of Things developers to build interactive and powerful drone applications.

You can stay up-to-date with the latest developments from the team by visiting their official website here. Meanwhile, you can access their full announcement here.

OK Go’s new drone-film music video is epic

Throughout the years, OK Go have made a name for themselves through a series of extremely innovative yet low-budget music videos. As a result, it’s no surprise the band was selected as ambassadors for this year’s White House Maker Faire by President Obama himself.

Embodying true Maker spirit, the alternative rock band decided to record the video for its latest hit “I Won’t Let You Down” by using a drone-mounted camera, which gave way for, as you can expect, some epic aerial footage and unprecedented visual mobility. As if the unicycles were enough, when the band makes its way outside, the unmanned vehicles follow them, soaring upwards to reveal a sea of dancers in a kaleidoscopic-like choreography of colored umbrellas.

We think Bare Conductive’s Matt Johnson said it best, “WHOA.”

From once inconceivable footage to awe-inspiring art, there are countless ways [AVR powered] drones can be used today. Here are 18 of them.

 

 

Watch out Doc, this DeLorean quadcopter is flying back to the future

Now this may very well be the most incredible (scale) model of Doc Brown’s DeLorean DMC-12 we’ve ever seen…

Not only is it a fully-functioning quadrotor, it is packed with LED headlights and taillights, as well as glowing wheels. Sparing no detail to the body, this replica even features a mini Mr. Fusion on its back.

The flying machine’s stabilization control is powered by an ATmega328P based MultiWii, a HobbyKing 12A BlueSeries speed controller, and a batch of Turnigy 2204-14T motors for the engines.

Video: Chris Anderson talks drones, Makers and the next Industrial Revolution

Earlier this month, 3D Robotics CEO Chris Anderson took center stage at ARM TechCon 2014 to share his journey from mere Maker to mass market, highlighting unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), robotics, and of course, the “Next Industrial Revolution.”

During his 40-minute keynote presentation, the former WIRED editor-in-chief shared his original “flying robot” (or, a Lego autopilot), as well as reasons for establishing a social network catered to those looking to experiment with autonomous aircraft.

“I didn’t know what the big thing was. And so, I created a website specifically to ask dumb questions in public,” Anderson explained. “Great things happens when you ask dumb questions in public. First, people answer your dumb questions, and second, it liberates people to ask their own dumb questions.”

Shortly thereafter, the DIY drone community — many of which powered by AVR MCUs — began to experience tremendous growth. For those who still need convincing that DIY drones are set to soar, Anderson revealed that DIY drone community is 60,000+ strong with over 2 million page views per month, 10,000 blog posts, and 150,000 comments per year.

“I was stunned first time I used the web. The same thing happened when I made my first drone.”

According to Anderson, 2007 was a pivotal year in taking making mainstream. This was the time when “everyone was walking up…” as hints of it were seen in WiFi controllers, Lego Mindstorms, Atmel based Arduino and RepRap printers, and other elements of the modern-day Maker Movement.

Anderson shared his thoughts at that time, “There’s something going on here. I’m not sure what it is but I got to be a part of it.”

“It later turned out what that something was was basically a convergence…. a democratization of technologies like MEMS sensors, ARM processors, etc. Suddenly things that were expensive got cheap, things that were hard got easy, things that were closed became open.”

This led to the boom of Internet of Things, wearable tech and other markets connecting once-ordinary objects to the web.

Chris even reminisced the days of 2009 with the debut of Blimpduino, a “company” he launched with his children on the weekend. Despite not actually being an operating business, BlimpDuino was a very low-cost open-source autonomous blimp consisting of an Arduino-based blimp controller board with on-board infrared and ultrasonic sensors.

From there, Anderson took the audience through his progression from prototype to mass production — with the formation of 3D Robotics and his latest ventures.

Intrigued? You can tune-in to his entire session below!

 

Video: Drones compete in a Star Wars-like race through a forest

For those Star Wars diehard fans who’ve always wanted to recreate a speeder bike chase, you’re in luck. A club based in the French Alps has begun holding official drone races, similar to those featured in Return of the Jedi. 

Watch as the group of drone enthusiasts pay homage to the infamous pod races by zooming through a 492-foot dense forest course at speeds of up to 40MPH.

The only thing that could possibly make this even cooler is if those UAVs are powered by AVR microcontrollers, similar to many of those on the market today. The race is proof that drones are increasingly growing in both popularity and capabilities. While they’ve mostly been used for aerial photography and cinematography in the past, they are now entering an entirely new era of widespread applications.

And for those interested in a hoverbike of their own, that wish may soon become a reality.

Video: Cirque du Soleil dances with drones

Cirque du Soleil is known for their dramatic combination of circus arts, street entertainment and human movement. Now, throw some quadcopter magic into that mix.

While we’ve seen inanimate objects come to life onscreen in nearly ever Disney movie, these special effects are typically the culmination of long hours of work in animations labs. So, how could these effects be brought into the real world? Over the past five years, researchers at ETH Zurich have studied the possibilities of using “athletic quadcopters,” algorithmically-powered drones that can solve problems in human-like fashion.

Partnering with Verity Studios and Cirque, the team has produced a short-film entitled “SPARKED,” which features a flying dance performance of 10 drones. The collaboration made way for unique, interactive choreography where humans and drones both move in sync… and it was quite stunning.

The film is an entirely effect-free short movie starring a repairman and several lampshades that suddenly come to life. As you might have guessed it, the lampshades are actually [perhaps AVR MCU-powered?] drones in disguise.

Verity Studios, an offshoot of ETH, captured the four-minute film at the Flying Machine Arena at ETH Zurich, which researcher Markus Hehn calls “a sophisticated test bed for autonomous flight that we use for development, testing, and demonstration of our flying machines.”

The ballet-like choreography is the result of algorithms that capture data from the flying bots along with various off-the-shelf hardware components like a motion capture system (which serves as an indoor GPS), a couple of standard desktop PCs, and wireless routers.

So without further ado, watch the amazing performance below!

Oh, and speaking of Disney magic and drones, that may happen sooner than you think.

This drone can fold up into your pocket

Developed by Maker Jason Lam along with his team at San-Francisco based AeriCam, the Anura is a flying quadcopter that can be folded into approximately the size of an iPhone 6.

“For the first time a pocket size drone design for consumer and able to travel with user 24/7 and where ever. All your need is your smartphone,” the company writes.

The portable drone connects with iOS and Android smartphones via Wi-Fi. Equipped with a built-in microcamera, Anura offers a live aerial view on the screen of the connected smartphone, which also serves as its remote control.

AeriCam tells Gizmag that the drone’s range will extend to roughly 80-feet (25-meters) with a flight time of around 10 minutes per charge and a top speed of 25 MPH (40 km/h).

In addition, the pocket-sized UAV hopes to pack some other funitionalities, including auto take-off, auto land, return home and follow phone — that is, of course, if they reach their minimum of 1,000 units.

According to its most recent tweet, the company will be launching its Kickstarter campaign on October 15th to raise funds for production.

Students design a hybrid exploration robot with Arduino

A team of mechanical engineering students at the University of Pennsylvania has developed a search and rescue robot that overcomes many limitations seen in many modern designs using an ATmega32U4 based Arduino unit. The Hybrid Exploration Robot for Air and Land Deployment (H.E.R.A.L.D.) combines a quadroter and a robotic snake to enable movement both through and over obstacles while also surveying them from the skies.

With guidance from their professor, Dr. Mark Yim, the team set out to build a search and rescue robot that would “be able to traverse uneven and unstable terrain, avoid damaging obstacles and fit through narrow spaces.” All while being able to communicate with the user and be light enough for the average human to carry. Also, with saving lives a major goal, the robot needed to possess the ability to move at a speed that would not hinder the search and rescue process.

The team integrated the two robotic designs to limit the flaws of each individual construct. While quadrotors are known to have short battery life, the team’s system “allows for the quadrotor to be carried by two snakes while not in use, providing increased battery life without sacrificing mobility.” The snake itself would also be limited as to what kind of terrain it could climb, therefore the quadrotor is equipped to carry the snake over large obstacles or debris.

In order achieve this high degree of maneuverability, the snake was designed with seven degrees of freedom: two vertically actuated (pitch) servos, two horizontally actuated (yaw) servos, and three drive motors. As its creators reveal, these motors are incorporated into a mainly 3D-printed design that aims to optimize structural integrity while minimizing weight.

“Integrated treads on the wheel rims prevent excessive slip and provide edge-catching capability for obstacle clearance. The servo coupling arm acts as a bracket between the two steering actuators while providing a docking interface between the snake and quadrotor.”

A custom-made PCB, designed in Eagle, commands the snake via an Arduino Micro (ATmega32U4) and wirelessly communicates to the user over XBee radio. As for software, the team writes, “On each snake robot, we have an Arduino microcontroller running custom-written software in C++.” The team further details, “This low-level embedded software takes motor commands from a serial packet and outputs to the snake’s motors.”

The quadrotor itself runs on ArduPilot, an open-source Arduino-based system for operating DIY flying vehicles. After tweaking a few aspects of the software, the team was able to get their desired flight time of approximately 20 minutes. Using a series of magnets, the quadrotor can also carry the snakes for up to 10 minutes.

The team will continue to further develop the search and rescue implementations for the H.E.R.A.L.D. but this combination proves that we have barely scratched the surface of robotic design possibilities. Interested in learning more? The UPenn students’ entire project breakdown can be found here.