Category: Drones

A team of experts has successfully constructed a quantum network that is entirely unhackable and intends to enhance cell phone, drone, and satellite connectivity. 

Using minuscule particles of light or “beams,” quantum teleportation technology brings “hack-proof” cybersecurity to new heights. Warner A. Miller, Ph.D., of Florida Atlantic University, is spearheading efforts to provide the first drone-based, transportable quantum network. The network consists of a ground station, drones, lasers, and fiber optics to exchange quantum-secured information. 

Quantum distribution offers a safe means of transferring information between participants to ensure confidentiality. This phenomenon includes a pair of light particles or photons formed in an indeterminate yet correlated manner. 

Measuring one instantly decides the outcome of measuring the other, even though a considerable distance separates them. He states, “Whoever wins the quantum race will win the battle.” 

Source: https://www.fau.edu/newsdesk/articles/quantum-drone-security  

NESAC specialists will assess Assam for damage to Northeast railroad lines. 

In the Dima Hasao area, specialists from the North Eastern Space Applications Centre (NESAC) are assessing quick damage to railway lines, stations, and other infrastructure. This railway route links the southern regions of Assam, Tripura, Mizoram, and Manipur to the rest of the nation. Floods and landslides caused by pre-monsoon rain have killed 24 people, including children and women, and injured around 8.40 lakh people in 32 of Assam’s 34 districts. 

Source: https://www.sentinelassam.com/topheadlines/drones-being-used-to-assess-damage-to-railway-lines-assets-593357  

Researchers have devised a deep-learning technique for drones to deal with unpredictable wind conditions. 

Engineers at Caltech have created a deep-learning technique that enables drones to adapt in real-time to wind conditions that are novel and unknown. Research describing Neural-Fly was published on May 4 in Science Robotics. It was evaluated using its Real Weather Wind Tunnel, a unique 10-foot-by-10-foot array of over 1,200 small computer-controlled fans. The device, dubbed Neural-Fly, employs deep neural networks to learn how to adapt to aerodynamic forces like gusts and turbulence. Following a flight route, the error rate of the drones is around 2.5 to 4 times less than that of drones equipped with matching adaptive control algorithms. 

Researchers at the CAST Real Weather Wind Tunnel in Cambridge, Massachusetts, have created Neural-Fly, a drone capable of detecting and responding to changing wind speeds. The team has shown that a drone’s flight data can be transmitted to another drone, creating a knowledge base for autonomous vehicles. Test drones were subjected to winds of up to 12.1 meters per second, or around 27 miles per hour, or a Beaufort six. 

Source: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/05/220505085644.htm  

DIB systems enable businesses to pre-stage equipment on-site for remote autonomous operations that can be scheduled or performed on demand. 

Percepto, the makers of award-winning autonomous robotics technology, today announced the deployment of hundreds of drone-in-a-box (DIB) systems to serve Florida Power & Light, the country’s biggest power utility (FPL). This agreement represents the world’s biggest commercial autonomous drone initiative. The two pioneers want to use it to change FPL’s 11 million customers’ critical infrastructure resilience. Autonomous drones launch from and return to networked landing boxes in DIB systems. These technologies enable businesses to pre-stage equipment on-site for remote autonomous operations that may be planned or performed on-demand. They also automate procedures and provide massive amounts of high-resolution data in an unrivaled quantity. 

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/dawnzoldi/2022/04/26/this-company-just-unveiled-the-worlds-largest-autonomous-commercial-drone-deployment/?sh=46fd5818432c 

Skyborg is an Air Force initiative that intends to allow unmanned systems to act as robotic wingmen for human aircraft. The Autonomy Core System was validated last year during large-scale Orange Flag exercises using General Atomics’ MQ-20 Avenger drones. Last May, the program completed the previous flight tests of Collaborative Small Diameter Bombs at New Mexico’s White Sands Missile Range. 

Air Dominance Systems of the Future will comprise a sixth-generation fighter plane and unmanned platforms. The human aircraft would serve as “essentially a play-caller” for the combat drones, much as a football coach would for his team. Kendall said that the bulk of US combat aircraft sent to the Indo-Pacific region in the future should be unmanned.  Source: https://www.fedscoop.com/air-force-positions-autonomous-drones-networked-weapon-systems-as-top-priorities/