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Creating the Open Drone Ecosystem Takes Room To Experiment

Posted by timothy on from the keeping-things-visible dept.

An anonymous reader writes: Over on Forbes, Jono Bacon writes about the emergence of an open drone ecosystem spearheaded by the recently announced 3D Robotics SOLO which is largely Open Source and has an Open Source SDK. Bacon's argument is that innovation comes from where we least expect it, so open access to the code and tools is critical in helping the burgeoning drone ecosystem to thrive, solve problems, and grow. See also our videos interviews with open-source drone programmers / users John Hawley, Clay McLure, and Mark F. Brown and Joel Rozenweig at the recent Embedded Linux Conference, where Bacon was also a speaker.

21 comments

  1. FAA Legal? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Don't think so.

  2. Charging points by Kevoco · · Score: 1

    If you imagine a world where there are little drones whirling about, obeying flight lanes and other rules, there will be a need for charging points where the autonomous drone can stop for a quick sip of electricity (or battery swap) prior to continuing on its appointed mission. This would go hand in hand with terrestrial vehicle charging needs, through the traffic patterns for each may diverge, the terrestrial vehicles following established roads while the drone are routed "as the crow flies".

    Maybe Tesla will start making drone batteries and their superchargers will serve double duty?

    1. Re:Charging points by stephanruby · · Score: 1

      May be, that's what those little helicopter landing pads embedded in the tables of Starbucks are really for.

      Soon, there won't even be any need for barristas.

    2. Re:Charging points by bluescrn · · Score: 2

      I wonder if they could theoretically charge without landing, by induction from high-voltage power lines - use the power grid as drone highways?... Although rooftop charging stations are probably simpler.

    3. Re:Charging points by slashmydots · · Score: 1

      That will never happen. A drone can easily carry enough explosives to take out a vehicle or building. So if they self-police and agree to stay in their lane or at elevation etc, that doesn't mean a rogue one can't bomb something. Anti-terrorism would have to go from virtually 2D to 3D to account for threats from the air with thousands of drones flying around. Given their speed and the inability to see what's inside them while they're in the air, it's just not going to be widespread legal ever. There is simply no solution for that problem.

    4. Re:Charging points by cavreader · · Score: 1

      You can carry enough explosives on your back or in the trunk of a car and just walk into or just park close to any public building or public transportation system and detonate. Using drones to do the same thing would just take the "suicide" out of the classic "suicide bomber" gambit first popularized by Japan in WW2. And it could be quite fun taken pot shots at drones flying overhead with your trusty ole 12 Gauge. The only drones you should probably let pass unmolested are those racking a couple of Hell Fire missiles. The tag price for bagging one of those could be quite expensive to say the least. Life will never be a safe as people want it to be and if it was it would probably be pretty damn boring.

    5. Re:Charging points by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sounds like one hell of a paintball mission.

    6. Re: Charging points by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah..
      So can a car,or a motorcycle. And they actually have been used to deliver explosives. And planes, as has been already proven can in themselves take out a building.

      So why are we not all on foot, and ground bound?

      Could it possibly be that not everyone is as paranoid as you. Or worse.. Another mall cop fuckwit prancing around with camo underwear, pretending that playing one in a video game makes you a navy seal.

      Grow the fuck up, and get a life kid.
      A toy helicopter can currently barely carry a useful payload. So your remote bombing fantasy will really have to wait until you can learn to build your own custom models.

    7. Re:Charging points by Kevoco · · Score: 1

      unless it is windy...

    8. Re:Charging points by dr.newton · · Score: 1

      Interesting idea...

      Drone pilots tend to (or should do) stay away from power lines because of the interference their magnetic field creates in the drone's internal compass. However, if that can be worked out you might be able to at least gain some flight time by getting a little boost from induction, even if you're not going to be able to recharge at the 10A-20A that drones burn staying aloft.

      For this to happen frame design would need to be largely informed by the question of where you put the coils, and how much metal to put in them. My guess is there would be some serious challenges to make a drone light enough to fly and still get meaningful power from the magnetic field.

      If a couple hundred drones are drawing enough energy to get a meaningful boost to flight time, does it start to become noticeable on the power grid?

      --
      Just another proletarian malcontent.
  3. Re:GNAA - GAY NIGGER DRONES by Kevoco · · Score: 1

    Have you considered a career in law enforcement?

  4. Drone Schmrone by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This is all well and good, but the next kazillionaire will be the person/entity who controls ANTI-drone technology.

    LOL@ vword: "defense"

  5. Risk to private pilots? by cjonslashdot · · Score: 1

    Will private pilots have to worry about hitting these drones? Many sport aviation pilots fly under 10,000 feet. With that airspace now be infested with drones that can impact and kill a pilot flying along at 150mph?

    1. Re:Risk to private pilots? by rwa2 · · Score: 1

      It's OK, I got this. I'll have an airspace reservation app. You can register your flight plan and reserve the space around it for the time you're passing through. Any drones illegally entering your airspace will be taken down by my own personal army of drones. Any other aircraft infringing upon your airspace reservation without an airspace reservation of their own will be taken down by my own personal army of drones. It will be secure, reliable, and uninterruptable because the reservation service will run in the cloud.

      --
      Now accepting applications for joining my own personal drone army.

    2. Re:Risk to private pilots? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A cow says moo. You are a cow. MOOOOOO! MOOOO says the cow! Moo. YOU COW!!

    3. Re:Risk to private pilots? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      My friend's father is a pilot. I've been up with him when a hawk dove on his plane. He said that they can smash windshields and has to watch out for them.

  6. Terrorism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Most drones can't carry enough weight to "easily" take out a building. Damage a car, sure. What would get interesting is the radar it would take to measure a drones mass to determine if it is big enough to be that kind of a threat.
    Is there a way to remotely detect a building destroying amount of explosives?

  7. Re: GNAA - GAY NIGGER DRONES by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Idiot

  8. Re:carry...explosives by Kevoco · · Score: 1

    You don't need a drone to do that:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Kaczynski