Robotics Introduction

3DR, North America’s largest drone manufacturer, has collaborated with AirMap to put accurate and automatically updated in-app flight safety zone information at the fingertips of all 3DR Solo® users.

Nov. 16, Berkeley, CA – Today 3DR announced a first-of-its-kind partnership with AirMap, a company that provides flight zone information for drone users and RC pilots around the world. 3DR will integrate AirMap’s safety information software into its Solo smart drone app in anticipation of the coming holiday season. It’s the first time that drone software has been able to directly deliver reliable safety information to users.

“We’ve made drones really easy to fly,” said 3DR CEO and co-founder Chris Anderson. “With Solo, for instance, we built software into the drone that made it automatic to get the kind of cinematic video you want. This dramatically reduced the amount of practice that used to be necessary back when drones were difficult to fly. Now, we want to make flying as safe as it is easy. Supplementing the Solo app with AirMap’s robust and reliable real-time airspace information allows us to increase education with a seamless and enjoyable drone experience.”

AirMap software continually pulls and compiles airspace information and displays the restricted, warning and informational areas on a map. If Solo users open their Solo app in a restricted area, they’ll see a yellow (warning) or red (don’t fly here) circle. Users can then tap the circle to bring up a map that displays any airspace information in the area, along with information about the type of restriction. This airspace information includes real-time Temporary Flight Restrictions that may be established in the areas around wildfires, major sporting events and other sensitive places.

The Solo app will contain basic airspace information: federal guidelines (e.g., five miles from an airport); national parks; airbases, etc.

“Drones are a powerful, important and increasingly popular technology, and we want to make it easy for people to fly them safely,” said Ben Marcus, co-founder and CEO of AirMap. “We collaborate with industry leaders like 3DR to give drone users the information they need to make decisions about where to fly.”

Though the effort is now getting off the ground, with future updates the Solo smart drone app will display more detailed and nuanced airspace information piped directly from AirMap. This will include state and local regulations in addition to federal rules.

To learn more about Solo and the Solo App, visit 3drobotics.com/solo.

To learn more about AirMap, visit www.airmap.io.

—

About 3DR:

3DR is the smartest and most technologically advanced drone company in the world. As North America’s largest personal drone manufacturer, 3DR makes advanced and easy-to-use drone technology friendly to consumers and pros alike, including their flagship product, Solo, the world’s first smart drone. Led by New York Times best-selling author and former editor-in-chief of WIRED magazine Chris Anderson, 3DR creates technologies and professional tools specifically designed to make drone photography easy for beginners and pros alike. With a Series C round of V.C. funding led by Qualcomm, 3DR is the first company to fully integrate drone and smartphone technology. For more information on 3DR, please visit http://ift.tt/Q1Yqf7.

About AirMap:

AirMap is the leading provider of airspace information and services for drones. AirMap’s real-time services are available to manufacturers through an API and through an SDK for application developers. The founders of AirMap are among the world’s foremost experts on drone technology, aviation, and policy. The company believes that drones are changing the world in incredible ways, and that providing accurate airspace information empowers innovators to deliver valuable products and services to end users. AirMap is a Consumer Technology Association Innovation Award Winner, a member of the Small UAV Coalition, Dronecode Foundation, AUVSI, NASA Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM) program, and serves on the FAA’s UAS registration task force.

AirMap Communications Contact: Megan House

Email: media@airmap.io

The post 3DR Collaborates with AirMap to Integrate Flight Safety Zone Software into the Solo App appeared first on 3DR | Drone & UAV Technology.

via 3DR Collaborates with AirMap to Integrate Flight Safety Zone Software into the Solo App

Every few decades since the 1950s, there is another automation scare (Letters, 10 November). Yet each new wave of automation displaces less labour than predicted. I investigated the last of these predictions in the 1990s about the imminent computer integrated factory (Forcing the Factory of the Future, 1997). By and large it didn’t happen. However sophisticated the systems, workers are still needed to fill in the unexpected and non-standard tasks. Investments are costly and labour is always cheaper somewhere in the world: today in east Asia and eastern Europe. As in previous episodes it is usually those who would gain from the hype being taken seriously, eg banks (for the capital borrowing) and consultancies (for the expensive advice), who are in the vanguard of propagating it.
Bryn Jones
Social and policy sciences, University of Bath

• Join the debate – email guardian.letters@theguardian.com

Continue reading...
via Same old beneficiaries of the robots ruse | Letters

Robotics Introduction

Researchers Teaching Robots How to Best Reject Orders from Humans

NASA Awards R5 Valkyrie Robots to MIT and Northeastern

Iran Demonstrates New Humanoid Robot Surena III

Parrot Pitches BeBop 2 Drone As “Flying Image Processor”

3DR Collaborates with AirMap to Integrate Flight Safety Zone Software into the Solo App

Robots, Robots, Everywhere (at San Francisco Startup Launches)

Same old beneficiaries of the robots ruse | Letters