A mountain rescue team is

[Michael Grove]

to use a drone to find missing climbers, with

a mobile phone app meaning members of the

public can take part in the search operation.

The pilot-less technology, which is usually a feature of war zones, will be

trialled to save lives on the Lake District fells. The ‘Aerosee’ drone relays

back 100 images a second, allowing people who have downloaded the app

to click on any area of the image where they think they have spotted an

injured person on the mountainside.

These images are then relayed to the rescue team.

Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team, who are trialling the drone next week,

said the technology could help searches by bringing in a potential army

of volunteers. Team leader Mike Blakey said: "Mountain rescue is changing

as new technology is available. Drones may be really useful in some

scenarios and the idea of getting people to help with the rescue wherever

they are in the world is really interesting. It taps into all the social media

ways that people are using digital technology."

The technology has been developed by scientists from the University of

Central Lancashire, and will be tested on July 25. Paul Egglestone, director

of the aerospace and media innovation studio at the university, said -

"Drones get lots of bad press as they're usually associated with the military.

The unique thing about our approach is that we're inviting civic-minded

people to give up 20 minutes of their time to help save a life on the

mountainside. It turns the whole drone debate on its head."

Unmanned aircraft have been used to target terrorists in Afghanistan and

Pakistan, but now the technology is being utilised to rescue lost walkers in

the countryside. Drones have also been deployed  to track suspected 

rhino poachers in South Africa. What began as pilotless, robot aircraft for

the military has graduated to a program designed to explore the feasibility

of uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) sharing airspace with piloted civilian

planes and Britain’s skies could soon be buzzing with pilotless drones

fighting fires, assessing storm damage and delivering transplant organs

as companies seek to persuade regulators to lift controls on their use.

To take part online, follow the instructions at http://www.aerosee.org.

[Michael Grove]

Eurocontrol outlines regional UAV activity

[Michael Grove]

Over £320 million has been spent on developing European Union surveillance drones without

proper democratic oversight and amid concerns over close links between industry and officials,

a report from a civil liberties watchdog has found. Neither the House of Commons nor the

European Parliament has been consulted over the development of EU unmanned aerial vehicles

(UAVs) which are being designed to police Europe's skies on law enforcement missions.

[Michael Grove]

A mini quadcoptor will be used by UK Police to help enhance safety at London Gatwick Airport

and the area around it. From  this month officers are running a trial using a small unmanned

aerial system (UAS) at and around the airport that will give them an eye in the sky to deal with

potential incidents.

The system will be able to beam live high-quality pictures to officers on the ground, allowing them to

more quickly assess locations and film incidents from above. An officer will control the aircraft from

the ground, in line of sight, using a portable console from up to 500 metres away. The trial of the

Aeryon Skyranger system is being funded by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) to test

how effective it could be in policing

[Michael Grove]

Flying robots that can show true autonomy – and even a bit of politeness – in working together &

venturing into hostile environments are being developed by engineers at the University of Sheffield.

[Michael Grove]

The Financial Times's Camp Alphaville was billed as providing 'Peace. Love. Higher Returns'

and as being like a 'festival for finance': it didn't disappoint. Taking place in a giant tent in London,

containing igloos, a magician and a bar, the event was an attempt to foster wide-ranging discussion

on the economic trends shaping our future. I had been invited to take part in a panel discussion on

the topic of ... 'ALL your jobs belong to the robots'

[Michael Grove]

The selection of available UAVs has greatly expanded over the last few years and it has

become difficult to keep track of the entire range. The market offers diverse systems, and

there is no universal classification. The US military uses a tier system with specific UAV

requirements (e.g. they must offer particular levels of range or endurance). In general, systems

tend to be classified by measurements or specifications, which can relate not only to range and

endurance but also to size, maximum take-off weight, service ceiling, and price. Other major

distinctions are the build type and the engine used. The following table gives a brief overview

of the advantages and disadvantages of different build types 

Build Types 

We've written extensively about "swarming" robots before, but THIS IS a serious swarm if we've ever seen one--right down to the high-pitched cacophony of rotors that sounds eerily like a hive of bees moving en masse. But it's the way these nano quadrotors swarm--seemingly aware of each other and of each individual's place in space--that's truly fascinating.

[Michael Grove]

The owner of THIS drone, filmmaker Mark Devries, had an idea of what he'd discover here, but still ... whew. He wanted to get a look at some pig farms operated by Murphy-Brown, a subdivision of Smithfield Farms, far and away the world's largest pork producer. There are over 2,000 farms like this in North Carolina alone.

[Michael Grove]

Drones are a real buzz term these days. People are flying them for fun at home, filmmakers are

shooting amazing movie scenes with them and the military are using them to fight wars overseas.

They have developed a bad reputation in recent times for military reasons, but the unmanned aircraft

have so much potential to shape the world we live in for the better. Thankfully, there are some

awesome new applications for drones already in use today and some even cooler plans in

development. Here is a list of the top ways drones can make a difference.

[Michael Grove]

For law enforcement officers around the world, partnering with animals is a time-honored

tradition. Mounted police do their duty on horseback -- and, in some countries, camelback.

Specially trained dogs serve and protect by sniffing out drugs and explosives. But in the

Netherlands, police officers are inaugurating a new species of animal partner -- eagles --

to take down illegal aerial drones.

[Michael Grove]

Drones are too small to be tracked by conventional radar systems, but Vodafone has created a  4G network SIM card that makes them visible on air traffic control systems and allows operator greater control if they go off course. 

The world-first Radio Positioning System can track a drone in real-time with up to 50 metre accuracy by the operator and authorised bodies like air traffic control. It can force a drone to land automatically or return to the operator if it approaches excluded zones like airports and prisons.  It also has an emergency override function. 

The phone company has been working with European regulators to create the system and have already tested it on a  1.3 metre wingspan, 2 kg X-UAV drone. Throughout the preliminary trial - which took place over a 32km course around the town of Isla Mayor, near Seville in Spain - the drone transmitted a real-time HD video feed and flight data including speed, RPS location and GPS coordinates.