Month: September 2015

UAVs Assume the Most Dangerous Work

How can drones help society? Let me count the ways. For the linesmen who have to climb power-transmitting pylons in remote areas, this invention will be a lifesaver. Why climb when you can send a drone? This patent application relegates the most dangerous tasks to machines. Sharper Shape Ltd. of Helsinki proposes to mate ground and airborne units into a lean, mean, surveying machine. Using the latest technology, maintenance of a power line network is […]

Amazon’s Narrow Patent Application for Drone Delivery

It’s been the talk of the town since Amazon ‘leaked’ its drone-delivery service, but in reading the patent application for this invention, there is plenty of room to maneuver around Amazon. The application is well-written as far as understanding the concept of drone delivery: “The final, or last mile delivery of physical items to a user specified location is traditionally accomplished using a human controlled truck, bicycle, cart, etc. For example, a user may order […]

In-Flight Sandbox for Foreign Software

It should come as no surprise that there will be an app store for drones soon. Third-party software may bring new and unexpected uses for the Inspire1 or the Solo. An unforeseen software glitch can be an issue. “An example issue is that a UAV can receive data or instructions from an unreliable program executing on the UAV. The unreliable program can provide erroneous data that can cause the UAV to be lost, damaged, or […]