Electrifying Drone Race Tests Pilots' Sky-High Skills

The buzz of the engine roars as a vehicle launches from its start position, accelerates to high speeds and then banks hard around a corner. This may sound like your typical NASCAR event, but this thrilling race actually takes place on a different course — one that's high in the sky.

The Drone Racing League's semifinals for its first race of the season took place yesterday (Feb. 29) in Miami, where drone pilots from around the world gathered to test their chops on an aerial course that includes navigating tight turns, maneuvering through glowing gates and dodging objects throughout the stadium.

Racing at speeds that exceed 80 miles per hour (129 km/h) at times, the skilled pilots don first-person view (FPV) goggles (that show a video feed of what the drones are seeing) to race custom-built drones through a course that weaves in and out of Sun Life Stadium, home of the NFL's Miami Dolphins. [Photos from Above: 8 Cool Camera-Carrying Drones]

Eight pilots racaed in yesterday's semifinals, a field narrowed from the 12 competitors who took part in the first round. The racecourse required pilots to navigate around the stadium, zooming around bleachers, through concession areas, up a spiraling staircase, and then back around the bleachers again, according to a Drone Racing League (DRL) video about the event.

Each of the pilots raced with a custom-built DRL Racer2 drone that has a carbon-fiber frame to protect electronic and camera components, according to the DRL. The drones were also equipped with ultrabright LED lights to make them easy to identify on the racecourse. When pilots put on their flight goggles, they were able to see a video feed from a camera attached to the drone that helps them direct their machine through the course with handheld controllers, according to the league's website.

After yesterday's race, only the four highest-scoring pilots will continue on to the final round. To obtain the highest score, a pilot needed to pass through two checkpoints and cross the finish line in less than 2 minutes, according to DRL officials. The faster a drone flew through the course, the more points the pilot was awarded.

The Drone Racing League's scoring system awards each pilot 50 points for each checkpoint his or her drone passes and for crossing the finish line, according to league officials. In addition, each pilot is awarded 10 points for every second under the 2-minute time cap he or she posts as a final time, DRL officials added.

Dutch Police Deploy Drone-Disabling Birds of Prey

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.

In a statement released Jan. 31, the Dutch National Police Corps announced a new initiative using birds of prey to intercept unwanted drones. The program was developed and tested in partnership with Guard from Above (GFA), a Dutch company located in the Hague that specializes in training large, predatory birds to "hunt" and subdue robotic prey.

A video published by the National Police Corps of an indoor demonstration shows a handler releasing an eagle, which swoops toward a hovering quadcopter drone, snatching the machine out of the air and flying off with it into a corner of the training ring. [In Images: Amazing Harpy Eagle Chick]

According to Mark Wiebe, innovation manager of the National Unit of the police, the eagle reacts to the drone as it would to its normal prey — not only grabbing it while in flight, but taking it immediately to ground, as it would any animal that it had just nabbed and was ready to eat.

"For years, the government has been looking for ways to counter the undesirable use of drones," Sjoerd Hoogendoorn, GFA co-founder, said in a statement. "Sometimes a low-tech solution for a high-tech problem is more obvious than it seems. This is the case with our specially trained birds of prey. By using these birds' animal instincts, we can offer an effective solution to a new threat."

The bird taking down the drone in the video appears to be a golden eagle, a powerful bird that typically preys on small mammals, but is capable of fighting off bears or coyotes when defending its prey or young, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. In 2012, a viral video convinced many that a golden eagle had carried off a small child, though the video was later proven to be a hoax.

Dutch police are currently investigating different approaches to containrogue drones, which can interfere with helicopter flights, cause injury to bystanders, and even be used for criminal purposes, Wiebe said in the statement. Safety nets, which were tested by Tokyo police in December 2015, are also being considered. The police will make their final decision about making the eagles a permanent part of the squad after the test period concludes — "in a few months," according to the statement.

Drone squad to be launched by Tokyo police

A drone commando squad, designated to locate and - if important - confisticate nuisance drones flown by members of the public, is to be launched by police in Tokyo.

The police unit will patrol public buildings such as the prime minister's office.

If a suspicious drone is detected, the operator will be notified via loudspeakers on the ground.

But if he or she fails to answer, police will launch drones fitted with nets to bring down the device.

"Terrorist attacks with drones carrying explosives are a possibility," a senior member of the police department's security bureau told the Asahi Shimbun website.

"We hope to defend the nation's functions with the worst-case scenario in mind."

In April, a drone carrying a small amount of radioactive material landed on the roof of the prime minister's office. No-one was injured and a man was subsequently arrested in connection with the incident.

A video posted online by Japanese website Jijicom shows how Tokyo Police's drones, complete with nets, might catch an unwanted airborne device in action.

Airspace restrictions

"In Japan, it is illegal to pilot drones over certain areas such as airports and power plants, over roads, or above a height of 150m," Paul Haswell, a partner at legal firm Pinsent Masons, told the BBC.

"Some cities such as Tokyo and Osaka have also outlawed their use in parks."

Regulations on drones came into force in Japan this week, following an amendment to the country's Aviation Act.

"Japan's new net-carrying, drone-disabling drone is certainly an interesting way to police those areas where drones are forbidden," added Mr Haswell.

Rules over drone use are being tightened up in several countries. In the US for example, authorities have called for a drone register which would list device owners across the nation.

Navy Helicopter Drone Completes First Round of Testing

Imagine trying to land a remote-controlled helicopter on top of a motorboat that's speeding across a lake. Now imagine that the helicopter is life size, the motorboat is a warship and the lake is the Atlantic Ocean. Navy pilots recently had to contend with just such a scenario as they tested the U.S. military's newest drone, the MQ-8C Fire Scout.

From a computer-filled control station aboard the USS Jason Dunham, the pilots successfully completed 32 takeoffs and landings with the new drone helicopter. The Navy conducted the tests, which ended yesterday (Dec. 23), to assess the drone's capabilities in different wind conditions, and to see how well it could land on a ship moving at varying speeds, according to Navy officials. In addition to landing and taking off, the Fire Scout also completed three test flights, presumably traveling out of view of the USS Dunham and then returning to the ship.

"The MQ-8C Fire Scout's flights from the USS Dunham represent a significant Navy milestone. This is the first sea-based flight of the MQ-8C, and the first time an unmanned helicopter has operated from a destroyer," Capt. Jeff Dodge, Fire Scout program manager with Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR), said in a statement. Destroyers are typically smaller than other ships from which drones may be flown, such as aircraft carriers. 

 

The Fire Scout is a modified version of a Bell 407 utility helicopter, an aircraft used by governments, militaries and private organizations around the world. But the MQ-8C and its predecessor, the smaller MQ-8B, don't have pilots in their cockpits. Instead, operators fly these helicopters remotely, from control stations located aboard ships or on land. [Rise of the Drones: Photos of Unmanned Aircraft]

The MQ-8B was first deployed by the U.S. Navy in 2009 and has since been used for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions. The MQ-8C is expected to serve a similar purpose. However, this newer aircraft can carry more weight than its predecessor (about 1,000 lbs., as opposed to 600 lbs.), and it can stay in the air longer than its smaller cousin — about 12 hours if it's carrying only 300 lbs. The MQ-8B can fly for only 5.5 hours at a stretch when carrying the same 300 lb. payload.
Unlike the military's other drones, which are fixed-wing aircraft, both versions of the Fire Scout can land and take off vertically, which means they don't need the giant deck of an aircraft carrier to operate. Both helicopters can operate aboard relatively small ships, like the USS Dunham.
The military also has another drone helicopter at its disposal, the K-MAX unmanned multi-mission helicopter, which was deployed in Afghanistan in 2011. The K-MAX drone is used to carry supplies to troops in remote or dangerous territories. It's also been used for "hot hookups," in which soldiers on the ground hook cargo to the helicopter as it hovers in the air.
It's not clear whether the MQ-8C was designed with these kinds of cargo pickups in mind, but the drone could be used for search and targeting missions, said Darren Dugan, a commanding officer aboard the USS Dunham.

U.S. defense contractors are also working on several other variants of pilotless helicopters, including an unmanned version of the iconic Black Hawk helicopter, which could one day be used to deliver cargo — and even troops — into battle. An unmanned medical transport helicopter is also being developed, as well as vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) drones that combine the hovering capabilities of a helicopter with the speed of an airplane.
 Livescience