drone

A seemingly benign promo video for the U.S. ambassador to Pakistan, which was posted to Facebook on Wednesday, has sparked some angry commenter back-and-forth on the social network.

It appears that it's not necessarily what's in the video that bothers Pakistanis, but rather the reminder of the U.S. presence in Pakistan at a time when relations between the two countries are clearly strained.

The video, "Sunday in Islamabad with Ambassador Olson," shows the ambassador donned in a pink button-up and khaki slacks cruising around Pakistan's capital city chatting with people, sampling the local … Read more

Mucking around with monarchical politics and swords is all well and good, but a remote-controlled toy drone involves around 98 percent less decapitation and at least 54 percent more fun. At least we assume that's part of the reasoning behind Game of Drones, a collective of artists, inventors, robot builders, video producers, and designers who modify drones for a bit of friendly competition.

In the past, the team has created an "unbreakable drone" and a teeny-tiny drone fitted with a rocket launcher. But the most recent drone allows its pilot to play paintball -- via remote control. … Read more

All the cool kids are getting their munchies by air these days.

South African music fans are getting beer from the sky. A research group developed and tested the Burrito Bomber. Domino's UK drafted an octocopter to deliver a couple of pepperoni pizzas. Now, all we need is sushi in flight to make this a bona fide trend. Looks like our order is up, up, and away.

Sushi chain YO! Sushi has introduced a "burger" made with rice patties and sushi-style ingredients like prawn, tofu katsu, and nori seaweed. The chain's London restaurant in the Soho district decided the delivery method needed to be just as unusual as the food. Thus the "iTray" was invented. It's a flying waiter outfitted with a special food tray and controlled by an iPad.… Read more

In the wake of the colossal tornado that rampaged through 17 miles of central Oklahoma, plans for storm-chasing UAVs are taking on new significance.

Students at Oklahoma State University have been working on "storm-penetrating air vehicles" that could help cope with deadly tornadoes.

The aircraft are "designed to penetrate thunderstorms, including the supercells that spawn tornadoes" to gather data used to predict storms and warn people about them, the university said in a release. … Read more

Andreessen Horowitz, one of the most prominent Silicon Valley investors, is leading an investment round in a company that's developing software for the commercial use of drones.

Called Airware, the Newport Beach, Calif., company provides several different platforms and tools for companies that want to invest in unmanned aerial systems (UAS), otherwise known as drones. Andreessen Horowitz led the funding round in the drone company, which raised $10.7 million. Google Ventures also participated in the round, according to All Things Digital, which was first to report on the news.

The key difference between Airware and the drones we … Read more

The X-47B prototype on Tuesday flew off an aircraft carrier and into the history books.

Today's achievement, the first-ever catapult launch of an unmanned aircraft from the flight deck of a carrier, promises to open up a new chapter in the annals of naval aviation.

The X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System demonstrator launched from the deck of the USS George H.W. Bush at 11:18 a.m. ET off the coast of Virginia. It executed several planned low approaches to the carrier -- a carrier landing will take place at a later time -- and then flew across … Read more

Imagine carving your way down a particularly challenging slope, your skis kicking up clouds of snow, trees flying by, your death-defying stunts captured perfectly on camera. And you're all by yourself.

How would you pull off such a feat?

Short of those with a film crew on hand, or at least a buddy with a GoPro camera tracking your every move, it's hard to imagine it being possible at all, let alone while you're alone.

But you may not have to imagine it for long.

Next week, a startup called Universal Air will finish shipping out its … Read more

Subscribe to Crave:

iTunes (HD) | iTunes (SD) | iTunes (HQ)

RSS (HD) | RSS (SD) | RSS (HQ)

An artist combs public places for gum, hair, and cigarette butts, and then 3D-prints portraits of the unsuspecting people who've left their DNA behind. Plus, we take a look at a laser-powered flashlight, and get our heads chopped off in an app for the Oculus Rift head-mounted display. … Read more

Keep an eye on the sky the next time you're at a concert -- a cold beer might be coming your way. It's been announced that attendees of South Africa's OppiKoppi music festival will be able to order beer that comes delivered on an octocopter drone.

Called the OppiKoppi beer drone, the device is an 8-propeller helicopter that can be loaded with beer and flown over the festival, arriving at the GPS location of any person who orders a cold brew from a mobile app. Once the drone arrives at its location, it drops its cargo and a single beer attached to a parachute will make its way down to a designated campsite called District 9.

With beer intentionally flying in the air, there's some concern about a cold brew randomly hitting festival goers in the head. Darkwing Aerials, the South African company that's providing the beer drone for the festival, says it is taking safety precautions. … Read more