Drone safety - A Chinese approach and what Amazon is doing about it!
Here's why drones are fascinating! They really are the "internet of flying things" (Chris Andersen). It's important to think less about the hardware and more about apps. The drone is primarily an empty vessel to fill with work to be done: taking photographs and video, scanning, moving objects, enabling communication, and collecting data. As drone applications increase, so does the need to ensure safety. An airport in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou announced Saturday that it uses new technology to control civilian drones and improve flight safety. The "electric fence" technology will cut signal connection between a drone and its remote controller when the unmanned aircraft is closer than 10 kilometers to the airport. The drone will not receive further flying signals and will return to its departure site the way it came. Meanwhile, Amazon has created a new research and development team near Paris, where about a dozen software engineers and developers will build a system aimed at ensuring flying delivery vehicles don't collide with buildings, trees, other drones and -- most unpredictable of all -- birds. Or, to use aviation industry jargon, "non-collaborative flying objects." More here