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Weaponized drones, Walmart tries to catch up with Amazon, drone swarms and UFOs, disinfecting a stadium with a drone, converting old biplanes to unmanned aircraft, and a video of whales swimming with surfers.
UAV News
Well, Sure: Drone With a Shotgun
The i9 is a weaponized drone created for the UK’s Strategic Command by an unnamed company. It’s a human-operated, 6-rotor drone, about a meter across and intended as a breaching weapon for urban warfare. It uses machine vision to identify targets and carries twin shotguns.
There is some resistance to lethal autonomous weapons, including weaponized drones, although the i9 is reportedly not autonomous. The Campaign to Stop Killer Robots says the “US, China, Israel, South Korea, Russia, and the UK are developing weapons systems with significant autonomy in the critical functions of selecting and attacking targets.” They are concerned that taking lives without human intervention crosses a moral threshold. The organization published the paper “Country Positions on Negotiating a Treaty to Ban and Restrict Killer Robots” [PDF] which lists 30 countries that have called for a prohibition on fully autonomous weapons. The UK and the US are not included.
Heads up! Walmart is building their own drones to catch up to Amazon
Walmart partnered with drone delivery company Flytrex to deliver “select grocery and household essential items” with automated drones. Walmart is also partnering with Zipline for health and wellness products. Delivery test trials are scheduled for 2021. In addition, Walmart is partnering with Quest Diagnostics and DroneUp for at-home COVID-19 self-collection kits. Amazon and Walmart are pursuing different strategies: Amazon is developing their own drones while Walmart is relying on 3rd parties.
Drone Swarm or UFO? Verge Aero Helps UFO Seekers Figure it Out
Verge Aero provides drone light shows and the software needed to produce them, making them experts in drone swarming. They’ve assisted the History Channel with their series Unidentified: Inside America’s UFO Investigations. That show wanted to know if drone swarming technology could lead to UFO sightings.
COVID-19: NFL Stadium Being Cleaned with Drones Ahead of Return of Fans
American football is proceeding with caution. Some games are being played with no spectators and others are allowing a small number of fans into the stadium. Mercedes-Benz Stadium, home to the Atlanta Falcons, has partnered with Lucid Drone Technologies as part of their cleaning protocol. The drones have electrostatic spraying nozzles and distribute medical-grade disinfecting chemicals. An inhibitor prevents bacteria and viruses from adhering to surfaces without leaving a residue. Lucid drones are built in the U.S. The D1 disinfecting drone is intended for stadiums, schools, and manufacturing facilities. The C1 cleaning drone is designed for building exteriors and windows.
Video: Lucid D1 Disinfecting Drone – Stadiums
Video: Disinfecting Drone for Schools
Azerbaijani military turns Soviet biplane aircraft into drones
The Azerbaijani military has converted old Soviet-era civilian An-2’s into UAVs. A special kit replaces the human pilot in the cockpit and the conversion takes a short time to install. These unmanned An-2’s are being used in the Armenian and Azerbaijani conflict over a disputed separatist region. Satellite imagery shows that Azerbaijan deployed more than 50 An-2 biplane aircraft to one airport. Several have been shot down.
Video: Ադրբեջանական անօդաչուի խոցումը [Azerbaijani drone strike]
UAV Video of the Week:
Two Whales Swim Near Surfer In Australia In A Mesmerizing Footage
At Seven Mile Beach near Lennox Head, south of Byron, two Bryde’s whales were filmed swimming with surfers. The whales, which weigh 12 to 20 tonnes each, were joined by a pod of dolphins in hunting a large school of bait fish while surfers caught waves above them.
Video: Incredible drone footage shows two Bryde’s whales joining surfers