Airbus autopilot "Flying Taxi" Vahana completed its first test flight

Airbus announced that its Vahana electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft completed its first test flight on January 31 local time. During the test, the full-size aircraft flew 5 meters off the ground and landed safely, but the automatic flight lasted only 53 seconds.

The first flight was completed at 8:52 am Pacific Time on January 31 at Pendleton UAS Range, Oregon. The first flight was carried out in the fully automated driving mode with a flight altitude of 5 meters and then safely landed. The next day, Vahana successfully completed its second test flight. Airbus said it wants to build an autonomous multi-rotor eVTOL fleet to make air commutes in a future-jammed city. Launched in 2016, the project was launched by Airbus subsidiary A³ in Silicon Valley. Since then, the company regularly releases new developments about the aircraft, including a user experience concept video.

In fact, Airbus planned to make its first flight, called Alpha One at the end of last year, but flight testing was delayed until the end of January as the company relocated the flight test center from California to Pendleton, Oregon. A³ previously said it will launch a production version of Alpha One in 2020. According to the information provided by A3, Alpha One's main specifications are as follows: 20.3 feet wide, 18.7 feet long, 9.2 feet high and 1642 pounds heavy. We are all looking forward to more RC Quadcopter Spares provided so the RC aircraft industry will be developed in a faster and healthier way.

"Our goal has always been to design and manufacture a single-seat electric vertical take-off and landing pilot to meet the growing demand for city travel," said Zach Lovering, Vahana Project Leader. "We have celebrated this huge achievement in aviation innovation, and in less than two years Vahana has completed a conceptual drawing on a napkin and successfully completed its first flight and our team is very grateful for the support from our A3 and Airbus families as well as our partners including MTSI and the Pendleton UAV system base. "

Vahana is a research and development project for the A3 Innovation Center at Airbus Outpost in Silicon Valley. The A3 Innovation Center is able to acquire unique talent and ideas, discover new opportunities for cooperation and execute quickly. Vahana aims to meet the growing needs of urban transport by harnessing the latest technologies in electric propulsion, energy storage and machine vision, all-in-one personal flight.

1218 UAV pieced together as "Olympic rings"

On the night of February 9, at the opening ceremony of the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, 1218 UAVs built the first UAV light show in the history of the Olympic Games. UAV carrying LED lights in the air to form a three-dimensional image of a skier, then change the formation, pieced together as "Olympic rings". The Guinness Book of World Records, which flew the largest number of drones at the same time, was born here.

The 1218 unmanned aerial vehicles were Shooting Star drones made by Intel Corporation of the United States, each weighing only 330 grams, a little heavier than volleyball. Intel explained that "the unmanned aerial vehicles that were unveiled at the opening ceremony were equipped with LED lighting devices that could show more than 4 billion color combinations when flying to the sky." There are media reports the UAV formation this time is not on-site control, but pre-recorded because of fear of Pyeongchang overly cold weather and unpredictable winds.

In fact, Chinese companies have also used quadcopter drone for similar performances. In December 2017, 1180 UAVs produced by Chinese companies made a spectacular and varied show in Guangzhou, forming different Chinese characters and patterns, setting a world record then. The live performance and the changing patterns make it more difficult to imagine the difficulty of the programming.

An authoritative Chinese expert on the field of drone said on the "Global Times" on the 11th that the key to fancy business performance is to be accurate and coordinated. The movements are pre-arranged, and according to the location of each individual UAV in accordance with their time and path of flight, you can display complex graphics in the air. In simple terms, there is no particularly complicated algorithm, and the main task is to have each UAV fly according to the path and time of the animation simulation. The UAV GPS signals or more accurate differential GPS signal will accurately locate the spatial location.

Would you like to know if your flight will be delayed? Ask Google.

Today, Google's flight search service APP Google Flights released new features that make use of artificial intelligence techniques to predict flight delays. Google Flights, Google's flight inquiry service, has recently been updated to help travelers resolve some problems. Based on historical flight status data, Google Flights attempts to predict when the flight will be delayed, and it can tell you which amenities are not included in the base economy class fare.

Google Flights now not only gets information directly from airlines, but it also uses historical data and machine learning algorithms to predict flights that have not yet been flagged for delays, helping travelers to cope and reduce losses. As long as the user search for a flight, Google will inform you if the flight may delay. This is based on historical data and the latest flight information to predict. Google said it will only issue a delay forecast when the system has at least 80% confidence. Google Flights uses advanced technology to predict when the ticket price increases, to help customers seize the best time to buy tickets.

There is another importance upgrade should be mentioned which also improves the service quality of this APP. In the past few years, many airlines started providing only basic carrier services. Additional services such as baggage check-in and on-board meals are subject to additional fees, and users are sometimes unsure of what items are included. Now, Google Flights shows you which services are not included in the fare. The available airlines include Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, and United Airlines.

Feel amazing at this advance high technology? You can also design and make your own AI. By using some Smart Robot Accessories, differences smart robots can be made as you wish. Just follow the instruction book, or if you are confident enough, just make the best of your creativity and DIY ability to do it.

Exclusive! DJI will release faster and lighter new Mavic Air?

At the worldwide concerned CES, DJI released only two new hand-held PTZs, Osmo Mobile 2 and Ronin-S. Recently, the internet was reported that DJI will hold a news conference in New York this month (January 2018) on the 23rd. DJI will be launching the Mavic Air which is even faster and lighter than the star product Mavic Pro. DJI confirmed the conference news on the 16th but did not reveal the details. We also initially received DJI's invitation for a conference in Hong Kong on the 25th. Without any detailed information, we can say that the confidential work is done very well. This mysterious feeling makes it even more anticipated.

DroneDJ.com published an article on last Friday (12th), referring to the invitation by DJI to participate the activities this month, 23rd, in New York. In addition to the time and place of the invitation, the invitation was merely printed with the slogan "Adventure Unfolds," as well as the silhouette of a streamlined body, without revealing any other details. On the night of the 16th, DJI confirmed on its official website and Facebook page about a press conference in New York on the 23rd, stating that "a big surprise prepared by DJI will debut on January 23, so stay tuned" and attach a trailer.

Also, DJI will hold a conference in the Hong Kong flagship store on the 25th, which will also be one of the most important conferences of the year, but the details of the event is not clear either.

DJI Mavic Pro Platinum

DJI released an upgraded version of Mavic Pro in 2017, called Platinum. We estimate that DJI will release a smaller, lighter and faster new machine than the Mavic Pro, which we believe to be called "Mavic Air". Since DJI's Mavic Pro RC Drones still have some price gaps with Spark, Mavic Air might appear at an intermediate price between $600 and $900. However, there are netizens who estimate that it will be the Phantom 5 or a new, collapsible Spark to be released that day. We’ll see. 

Drone can save lives now

Australia time 10 a.m. on January 18, 16-year-old Monty Greenslade and 17-year-old Gabe Vidlerwere swimming by the coast of Lennox Head, New South Wales (NSW), and unfortunately washed away by the waves. Fortunately, two teenage girls found them struggling in the sea. The two boys were trapped by a 10-foot-high ocean wave, and the boats were unable to get near them, but eventually, a drone took off and sent them an inflatable life-saving device to save them.

FPV Quadcopter has recorded this whole scene - the remote drone flew to the top of two boys and dropped an inflatable life-saving device, and landed the inflatable rescue pod within their reach. The drone took the life-saving device to them in less than 35 seconds. They clutched the life-saving device and were washed back to the shore by the waves, and finally, the lifeguard saved them.

The two boys were completely safe now except for fatigue. Ben Trollope, chief search and rescue drone operating officer of Westpac Little Ripper, claimed: "Two teenage girls called the Coast Command and we sent a rescue squad. The device was inflated in seconds. "

Team CEO Eddie Bennet said: "UAS technology has been developed for three years to ensure the world's first rescue mission is completed and the rescue of two boys trapped in a 3-meter-high ocean wave clearly demonstrates the benefits of this cutting-edge technology in such a time-critical emergency, which can be said as a huge success of drone rescue and Australia is ahead of the world in this technology. "

In December 2017, the state government bought more than $ 430,000 to buy several drones. In addition to life-saving RC Quadcopter equipped with life-saving float, alarm system and loudspeaker, a part of the drones are specially designed to detect offshore sharks to ensure the safety of surfing people.

Four affordable drone quadcopters that blow your mind - part 2

3. JJRC H37 Mini Baby Elfie 720P WIFI FPV Altitude Hold Fly More Combo RC Drone Quadcopter RTF

With aerial photography beauty mode, this JJRC H37 drone lets your photo looks more beautiful, which is quite suitable for the selfie. With the foldable arm, small size, it is easy and light to carry. Two remote control ways are available, RC control mode and gravity control mode. The Gravity Sensor Mode enables the small quadcopter to automatically follow the way you move your smartphone. With a 720P camera, mobile phone WiFi control and real-time transmission FPV system, allows you capture photos and record videos effortlessly through your mobile phone screen. Built-in barometer with altitude hold function provides stable flight. With trajectory flight mode, you can plan your fight plan. With an attractive headless model, completely solving pilot loss-of-orientation problem. One press automatic return ensure that you can call back your quadcopter without any delay. 4 Channel which can do ascend, descend, forward, backward, left sideward fly, right sideward fly and rolling 360-degree. JJRC H37 has 6-axis gyro and lightweight airframe with nice durability, which can have more stable flying and be easy to control. 3D flips with amazing agility provide a stunt aerial show.                 

4. SYMA X22W WIFI FPV With 720P Camera APP Controller Altitude Hold Mode RC Quadcopter

With Altitude hold mode, this SYMA X22W drone can set hight. With Headless Mode, you have no need to adjust the position of aircraft before flying, and the 720P camera allows you to get great selfies effortlessly. With Wifi real-time transmission FPV system, it can capture photos and record videos for your great memory. It can remote controlled by mobile phone wirelessly and use the FPV system by mobile phone screen. 6-Axis gyro quad-rotorcraft flight ensures strong stability, and can easily implement various flight movements, which is stronger wind resistance and easier to control. 4 Channel flight which can do ascend, descend, forward, backward, left sideward fly, right sideward fly and rolling 360-degree. Lightweight airframe with nice durability makes it more firm and light. With One Key Takeoff & Landing, SYMA X22W will automatically take off or land by one press, and it will take off or go back to the position where it took off. 3D flips with amazing agility provide a stunt aerial show. The creatively designed LED lights are fitted for night flight possibilities, leaving a beautiful landscape in the night sky.

                      

Four affordable drone quadcopters that blow your mind - part 1

Today, I will love to share with all the drone lovers four drone quadcopters that are quite popular recently. These four models are both affordable low-end drone quadcopters that are very suitable for beginners. If you don’t want to spend lots of money on a drone like the hundreds of dollars DJI, then take a look at these high-quality RC FPV drones, which can also satisfy your needs. They are both under 50$, some of them are even under 20$, however, amazingly, they are widely praised by customers.

1. JJRC H45 BOGIE 720P WiFi FPV Selfie Drone RC Quadcopter With High Hold Mode

With foldable arms, small size, this JJRC H45 drone is easy to carry. With altitude hold mode function, it provides stable flight. With WiFi function, it can be connected to APP, APK system to take pictures, video by real-time transmission through the phone camera image. It also has HD 720P camera, offering wide range high definition pictures and video. With Headless Mode, no need to adjust the position of aircraft before flying. Under sound mode, you are allowed to command the quadcopter to move as you like. Under waypoint mode, you can make it fly as the flight plan you made. Under One key to return mode, it will automatically find the way home.

With 2.4GHz Technology, 4 Channel, it is completely Anti-Interference. It has 3-level flight speed to switch that can make more fun with the flying. The quadcopter fuselage is made of high strength and resistant engineering plastics which is lightweight and durable resistance. With 6-axis gyro it can have more stable flying and be easy to control.

2. Eachine H8S 3D Mini Inverted Flight 2.4G 4CH 6Axis One Key Return RC Drone Quadcopter RTF

The most special features of this super mini drone are Inverted Flight, Rolling 180-degree, Battery protection and 3D Flip. With Headless Mode, you have no need to adjust the position of aircraft before flying. One key to return function makes it easy to find the way home. It can realize 3D tumbling in four directions with 4 LED lights. It has 6-axis gyro and lightweight airframe with nice durability which can have more stable flying and be easy to control. Even though the size of this drone is mini, you will still find it of amazing features and find all kinds of rc spare parts to choose.