Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. 24/7 Space News .




UAV NEWS
Parrot launching smartphone-controlled drones
by Staff Writers
San Francisco (AFP) May 11, 2014


Use of Intel data from Skeldar UAV expanded by Saab
Linkoping, Sweden (UPI) May 9, 2013 - Saab reports it has enhanced the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities of its Skeldar unmanned aerial vehicle through product integration.

Integrated into the system is the company's Multi-Sensor Intelligence Cell, a flexible ground-based system to collect, process, analyze and report intelligence data.

Saab said combining Skeldar and MSIC gives users a tool that can close the "ISR loop" by delivering real-time sensor analysis for the mission commander to evaluate. Also, MSIC gives operators a 'sensor-to-shooter' capability by providing targeting coordinates from the sensor data.

"The MSIC has always been able to handle data from multiple ISR sources by acting as a stand-alone intelligence center," said Bjorn Klerestam, MSIC Product Manager at Saab. "Now we also have a system that enables us to scale-up the functionality of MSIC into a more integrated part of the ground control station of a UAS system like Skeldar."

MSIC has been in service with the Swedish military since 2005 and has been used for Swedish UAV operations in Afghanistan and for Gripen fighter reconnaissance missions.

Skeldar is a vertical takeoff and landing unmanned aerial vehicle with an endurance of five hours, a range of 93 miles and a speed of nearly 81 miles per hour. Its service ceiling is more than 14,000 feet.

The system was operationally deployed last year by a Spanish Navy vessel.

Wireless products maker Parrot unveiled a drone Sunday aimed squarely at smartphone or tablet owners keen on getting bird's eye views of the world.

Parrot billed its Bebop Drone as a flying high-quality camera that will land in the market in the final three months this year.

The Paris-based maker of wireless accessories for automobiles and handheld mobile devices did not disclose how much it plans to charge for the drones.

"The experience is like being a bird, an insect," Parrot founder and chief Henri Seydoux said while providing an early look at Bebop drones in San Francisco.

"You fly through the device and see the same thing as if you were a bird."

A Bebop drone can be controlled using smartphones or tablet computers powered by Apple or Android software, displaying on screens what is captured by its high-definition camera with a 180-degree "fish-eye" view.

The drones can also synch to Oculus Rift virtual reality headsets, letting wearers essentially look around by moving their heads as though they are actually flying.

Consumer targets for the drones, which are essentially motion-stabilized cameras, include people who want to capture aerial shots for movies made using smartphones or tablets.

Bebop drones link to mobile devices using standard Wi-Fi connections and have ranges of about 980 feet (300 meters).

Parrot said it will sell separately a Skycontroller accessory dock for mobile devices to boost flying distances to about 1.2 miles (two kilometers).

A homing feature lets people controlling Bebop drones order them to return automatically to where they took-off using GPS capabilities, according to Seydoux.

A 2.2-pound (one-kilogram) Bebop drone, whose camera is taken aloft by four propellers, buzzed like a swarm of bees as it swooped, circled and hovered in an inner courtyard at a historic former US mint building in downtown San Francisco.

The drones are designed to fly indoors or outdoors.

Imagery captured by drones is stored and can be digitally downloaded after Bebops return from flights, according to Parrot product manager Francois Callou.

Bebop drones will debut as communities and regulators grapple with privacy concerns, aviation risks and other issues raised by personal or business use of such devices in the skies.

.


Related Links
UAV News - Suppliers and Technology






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








UAV NEWS
Iran says it has copied US drone
Tehran (AFP) May 11, 2014
Iran said on Sunday it has succeeded in copying a US drone it captured in December 2011, with state television broadcasting images apparently showing the replicated aircraft. Tehran captured the US RQ-170 Sentinel in 2011 while it was in its airspace, apparently on a mission to spy on the country's nuclear sites, media in the United States reported. "Our engineers succeeded in breaking t ... read more


UAV NEWS
Astrobotic Partners With NASA To Develop Robotic Lunar Landing Capability

John C. Houbolt, Unsung Hero of the Apollo Program, Dies at Age 95

NASA Completes LADEE Mission with Planned Impact on Moon's Surface

Russia plans to get a foothold in the Moon

UAV NEWS
NASA's Curiosity Rover Drills Sandstone Slab on Mars

Mars mission scientist Colin Pillinger dies

Nonprofit says: fire missiles at Mars to dig for signs of life

ISS research shows that hardy little space travelers could colonize Mars

UAV NEWS
Pioneering Test Pilot Bill Dana Dies at Age 83

Pioneering Mercury Astronauts Launched America's Future

NASA Invests in Hundreds of US Small Businesses to Enable Future Missions

Boeing Showcases Future Commercial Spacecraft Interior

UAV NEWS
New satellite launch center to conduct joint drill

China issues first assessment on space activities

China launches experimental satellite

Tiangong's New Mission

UAV NEWS
Ham video premiers on Space Station

NASA Seeks to Evolve ISS for New Commercial Opportunities

Astronauts Complete Short Spacewalk to Replace Backup Computer

No Official Confirmation of NASA Severing Ties with Russian Space Agency

UAV NEWS
Replacing Russian-made rocket engines is not easy

SHERPA launch service deal to deploy 1200 kilo smallsat payloads

Pre-launch processing begins for the O3b Networks satellites

US sanctions against Russia had no effect on International Launch Services

UAV NEWS
Length of Exoplanet Day Measured for First Time

Spitzer and WISE Telescopes Find Close, Cold Neighbor of Sun

Alien planet's rotation speed clocked for first time

Seven Samples from the Solar System's Birth

UAV NEWS
US data capital poised to advance leadership position in big data

Saab adds new radar variants

Appeal court revives Oracle-Google copyright battle

High-Strengh Materials from the Pressure Cooker




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.