SpaceX’s Starhopper prototype could take its biggest leap on Aug. 21. (Photo Credit: Elon Musk / Twitter)
SpaceX’s shiny Starhopper will have to wait a little longer to take its biggest flight test: According to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, the prototype’s major “hop” was postponed because the company was awaiting approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
SpaceX was aiming to complete the test, which would require the Starhopper to reach an altitude of roughly 650 feet, at its facility in Boca Chica, Texas, last weekend, Space.com reported
The Coanda effect is an aerodynamic principle regarding the way fluids tend to flow along curved surfaces. This can be used to direct a flow, and [Tom Stanton] wanted to try out its application on a quadcopter. (Video embedded below.)
The project began by firing up the 3D printer, which made experimenting with a variety of different aerodynamic forms easy. Wishing to avoid simply putting a large obstruction in the way of an otherwise efficient propeller, the experiment first used impellers to direct flow sideways, over the edge of the Coanda domes. The impellers, combined with the Coanda domes, were a
If one wants a stabilized video feed from a drone, a gimbal setup is the way to go. However, the cheaper offerings are all rather similar, suited to a certain size and type of drone. [Jean] was building a smaller craft, so set out to create his own design specifically fit for purpose.
The build begins in the CAD suite, with a series of 3D printed parts designed to link together with a pair of brushless motors to make a 2-axis set up. After printing, the gimbal arms are bolted together with the motors and the camera and IMU are installed,
In a drone vs. ambulance showdown, first aid supplies get to patients faster when flown rather than driven through surface streets, sirens wailing.
That’s what researchers from Iraq and Australia found during test scenarios with a DJI Phantom 3 Professional remote-controlled drone pitted against a human-driven ambulance vehicle in a busy Iraqi city.
In four tests, the drone raced an ambulance from a hospital in Erbil, Iraq, to crowded neighborhoods near schools and markets with narrow streets. Each delivery method was timed to see how long it took to get the first aid kit to “patients
There’s nothing quite like the sight of a plastic box merrily sailing its way around a lake to symbolise how easy it is to get started in autonomous robotics. This isn’t a project we’re writing about because of technical excellence, but purely because watching an autonomous tupperware box navigate a lake by itself is surprisingly compelling viewing. The reason that [rctestflight] built the vessel was to test out the capabilities of ArduRover. ArduRover is, of course, a flavour of the extremely popular open source ArduPilot, and in this case is running on a Pixhawk.
The hardware itself is deliberately as simple as