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Ukraine needs small drones to combat Russian forces—and is bootstrapping its own industry at home.
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Tag: drones
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Inside Ukraine’s Killer-Drone Startup Industry
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The Dangerous Rise of GPS Attacks
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The disruption to GPS services started getting worse on Christmas day. Planes and ships moving around southern Sweden and Poland lost connectivity last December 25 as their radio signals were interfered with. Since then, the region around the Baltic Sea—including neighboring Germany, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania—has faced persistent attacks against GPS systems.
Tens of thousands of planes flying in the region have reported problems with their navigation systems in recent months amid widespread jamming attacks, which can make GPS inoperable. As the attacks have grown, Russia has increasingly been blamed, with open source researchers tracking the source to Russian regions such as Kaliningrad. In one instance, signals were disrupted for 47 hours continuously. On Monday, marking one of the most serious incidents yet, airline Finnair canceled its flights to Tartu, Estonia, for a month, after GPS interference forced two of its planes to abort landings at the airport and turn around.
The jamming in the Baltic region, which was first spotted in early 2022, is just the tip of the iceberg. In recent years, there has been a rapid uptick in attacks against GPS signals and wider satellite navigation systems, known as GNSS, including those of Europe, China, and Russia. The attacks can jam signals, essentially forcing them offline, or spoof the signals, making aircraft and ships appear at false locations on maps. Beyond the Batlics, war-zone areas around Ukraine and the Middle East have also seen sharp rises in GPS disruptions, including signal blocking meant to disrupt airborne attacks.
Now, governments and telecom and airline safety experts are increasingly sounding the alarm about the disruptions and the potential for major disasters. Foreign ministers in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania have all blamed Russia for GPS issues in the Baltics this week and said the threat should be taken seriously.
“It can not be ruled out that this jamming is a form of hybrid warfare with the aim of creating uncertainty and unrest,” Jimmie Adamsson, the chief of public affairs for the Swedish Navy, tells WIRED. “Of course, there are concerns, mostly for civilian shipping and aviation, that an accident will occur creating an environmental disaster. There is also a risk that ships and aircraft will stop traffic to this area and therefore global trade will be affected.”
“A growing threat situation must be expected in connection with GPS jamming,” Joe Wagner, a spokesperson from Germany’s Federal Office for Information Security tells WIRED, saying there are technical ways to reduce its impact. Officials in Finland also say they have also seen an increase in airline disruptions in and around the country. And a spokesperson for the International Telecommunication Union, a United Nations agency, tells WIRED that the number of jamming and spoofing incidents have “increased significantly” over the last four years and interfering with radio signals is prohibited under the ITU’s rules.
On the Upswing
Attacks against GPS, and the wider GNSS category, come in two forms. First, GPS jamming looks to overwhelm the radio signals that make up GPS and make the systems unusable. Second, spoofing attacks can replace the original signal with a new location—spoofed ships can, for example, appear on maps as if they’re at inland airports.
Both types of interference are up in frequency. The disruptions—at least at this stage—mostly impact planes flying at high altitudes and ships that can be in open water, not people’s individual phones or other systems that rely upon GPS.
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Roundtables: Inside the Next Era of AI and Hardware
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Recorded on April 30, 2024
Inside the Next Era of AI and Hardware
Speakers: James O’Donnell, AI reporter, and Charlotte Jee, News editor
Hear first-hand from our AI reporter, James O’Donnell, as he walks our news editor Charlotte Jee through the latest goings-on in his beat, from rapid advances in robotics to autonomous military drones, wearable devices, and tools for AI-powered surgeries.
Related Coverage
- An OpenAI spinoff has built an AI model that helps robots learn tasks like humans
- Watch this robot as it learns to stitch up wounds
- A new satellite will use Google’s AI to map methane leaks from space
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Review: DJI Avata 2 Drone
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If I need to stop suddenly, I can tap the brake button and it’ll bring the drone back to a safe hover. That doesn’t mean it’s impossible to crash, and I managed to bring the drone down once by steering it directly into the post of the aforementioned fence. It dropped about 8 feet onto the stones of a beach, but was fine to resume flying, without a visible mark on it. This thing is impeccably built, and while I don’t doubt repeated high-speed crashes will damage it eventually, it’s clearly designed to withstand some punishment.
But what of those mind-bending aerial stunts on YouTube? Sadly, you can’t really pull them off with the motion controller. The drawback to its user-friendly simplicity is that it doesn’t work in the same way as a twin-stick controller. Think of it as a controller with training wheels. If you stop flying—to dive for instance—it will eventually stop moving and hover in place. Clever, but limiting.
For those that want to graduate to trickier manual flight, DJI sells the $199 console-style Remote Controller 3, which allows you to fly the drone in manual mode. Here, the training wheels are off and the slightest error can result in an embarrassing and potentially costly crash. You can also perform incredible tricks, if you know how.
For me, who’s keen to return the Avata 2 sample back to DJI in one piece, the RC Motion 3 feels like enough for now. It’s allowed me to capture some wonderful footage using the Avata 2’s electronically stabilized camera, which records video at 4K/60 fps or 2.7K/120 fps. There’s also the option to use a 10-bit D Log M color profile for more postproduction color grading too. The drone comes with 46 GB of built-in storage for videos and 12 MP photos, plus a microSD slot for those requiring more space.
My First FPV
Ultimately, the Avata 2 is the latest in a long line of DJI drones that makes it easy for amateurs to achieve great results. In this case, it makes FPV flying incredibly simple and intuitive, and its camera allows you to create some thrilling, smoothly cinematic sequences with very little effort.
There’s also very little in the way of comparable products on the market, with most FPV drones being kits built by enthusiasts, rather than consumer-friendly designs. As a result, the main alternative to the Avata 2 is the original DJI Avata. And for those who own the first-generation model, I’d say, aside from the Goggles 3, which aren’t retro-compatible, the improvements here don’t really warrant an upgrade.
Photograph: DJI
But if you’re new to the FPV game, I strongly advise you to choose the latest version. It is only $179 more, but there are improvements across the board, with enhanced flight performance, longer flight time, intelligent flight modes, and advanced safety features. If you’re looking for a gateway to FPV fun, they don’t come any more accessible than the Avata 2.
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How Israel Is Defending Against Iran’s Drone Assault
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On Saturday, Iran launched more than 200 drones and cruise missiles at Israel. As the drones made their way across the Middle East en route to their target, Israel has invoked a number of defense systems to impede their progress. None will be more important than the Iron Dome.
The Iron Dome, operational for well over a decade, comprises at least 10 missile-defense batteries strategically distributed around the country. When radar detects incoming objects, it sends that information back to a command-and-control center, which will track the threat to assess whether it’s a false alarm, and where it might hit if it’s not. The system then fires interceptor missiles at the incoming rockets that seem most likely to hit an inhabited area.
“All of that process was designed for defense against low-flying, fast-moving missiles,” says Iain Boyd, director of the Center for National Security Initiatives at the University of Colorado. Which also makes it extremely well-prepared for an onslaught of drones. “A drone is going to be flying probably slower than these rockets,” Boyd says, “so in some ways it’s an easier threat to address.”
Things get more complicated if the drones are flying so low that the radar can’t detect them. The biggest challenge, though, may be sheer quantity. Israel has hundreds of interceptor missiles at its disposal, but it’s still possible for the Iron Dome to get overwhelmed, as it did on October 7 when Hamas attacked Israel with a barrage of thousands of missiles.
US officials have said that so far Iran has launched a total of 150 missiles at Israel. The Iron Dome has already been active in deflecting them, although a 10-year-old boy was reportedly injured by shrapnel from an interceptor missile.
While the Iron Dome is Israel’s last and arguably best line of defense, it’s not the only factor here. The UAVs in question are likely Iran-made Shahed-136 drones, which have played a prominent role in Russia’s war against Ukraine. These so-called suicide drones—it has a built-in warhead and is designed to crash into targets—are relatively cheap and travel at a maximum speed of a little over 100 mph. That means the unmanned aerial systems (UAS) have traveled for several hours before they reach their intended destination, leaving ample opportunities to intercept them.
“Because there’s so much indication of warning in advance of the UAS, presumably there’s going to be a lot of fixed-wing, manned aircraft that are looking at these things, tracking these things, and presumably trying to engage these things,” says Tom Karako, director of the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a policy think tank.
Some of that work has fallen to the US military, which has confirmed that it has shot down an unspecified number of Iranian drones and will continue to do so. The UK has said it will provide backup for US planes that have been diverted from their existing missions, and that it will intercept UAVs as well.
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The 9 Best Drones (2024): Budget, Toys, Professional Video
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It’s no exaggeration to say that drones have changed the way we view the world. They’ve taken once difficult and expensive moviemaking techniques and made them accessible to anyone. Videos that once required a camera crew, expensive cranes, and hours of filming can now be done in minutes by the best drones with the tap of a single Auto Takeoff button.
Drones aren’t just flying cameras, though; they’re also the modern version of remote-controlled vehicles. Again, they’ve made flying easier and more accessible, thanks to intelligent collision sensors that protect your investment from mishaps. There are a dizzying array of drones available, but there is a basic division to be aware of—cheaper drones, while fun, will never fly as well or deliver the kind of video and photo results possible with more expensive models. You get what you pay for. That said, if you’re not worried about wowing YouTube with your sweeping panoramic masterpiece, you don’t have to spend a fortune to get a good, fun drone. Here are the best drones I’ve tested for every budget.
Be sure to check out our many other buying guides, including the Best Action Cameras, Best Compact Cameras, and Best Mirrorless Cameras.
Updated March 2024: We’ve added DJI’s Air 3, Mavic 3 Pro, and Mini 4 Pro, plus the Ryze Tello toy drone.
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DJI Air 3 Drone Review: Serious Video Chops
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DJI’s drones dominate the market to such an extent that you barely hear any other brands mentioned. They’re not quite competing with themselves, but the DJI Air 3 does fill a gap between the professional-grade Mavic series and the pocket-size Mini range. It’s the first new Air model since 2021’s Air 2S, and DJI has done it again, with a drone that offers enhanced video performance and mercifully stress-free flying.
I’ve been flying the DJI Air 3 for the past few months, comparing it with a range of other drones, including its main competitor, the superb Air 2S. The biggest improvement over its older cousin is a multi-camera setup previously exclusive to the much pricier Mavic models, but there are notable boosts to battery life and flight safety too.
Twice as Nice
The headline feature for the DJI Air 3 is the two cameras mounted on its front gimbal. There’s a “standard” wide-angle camera offering a 24-mm-equivalent field of view (broadly similar to the camera on the Air 2S) and a medium-telephoto camera offering a 70-mm-equivalent field of view. The latter gives the drone a brand-new creative option, with the angle allowing for a narrower framing of smaller subjects and the ability to isolate them against the background in an all-new, dramatic way. A tighter field of view might not sound all that exciting, but in practice it’s a significant upgrade.
Photograph: DJI
Both cameras use a 1/1.3-inch Quad Bayer CMOS sensor with 48-megapixel resolution. What I like about these sensors is that they both capture video at the same quality, making it easier to give footage a unified, harmonious look when editing, no matter which parts were captured by which camera.
The DJI Air 2S had a single 1-inch 20-megapixel sensor, which might make the Air 3’s smaller 1/1.3-inch sensors sound a little disappointing. But it doesn’t feel like too much of a loss. I understand DJI’s justification; two larger sensors would add weight and take up space. But all told, I think the image quality is better on the Air 3, with wider dynamic range and less noise.
The Air 3 does lose the ability to record video at a 5.7K resolution, being restricted to 4K on both cameras, but in all honesty, I don’t think anybody will mind all that much. For the majority of casual users, 4K will be more than enough detail.
4K can be captured at up to 60 frames per second in the standard video mode, 100 fps in slow-motion mode, and 30 fps in the new night mode, which ekes out extra detail after the sun goes down. I found the flat D Log M color profile a joy too, as it let me do my own color grading and correction in postproduction and achieve the results I wanted.
Photos (which can be captured in JPEG or DNG RAW) look excellent too, and while the Air 3 can’t match the WIRED-recommended Mavic 3’s Four Thirds Hasselblad camera, it’s not far off, while being smaller and substantially cheaper.
Fly Safer for Longer
Buzzing around the beaches and headlands of Britain’s southeast coast, I found the Air 3 to be even more forgiving and enjoyable to fly than its (already forgiving and enjoyable) predecessor. This is thanks to a bigger battery (46 minutes as opposed to the Air 2S’s 31—although real-world use numbers are marginally lower for both drones) and a full omnidirectional anti-collision sensor setup that makes crashes very unlikely. The Air 3 now has sensors facing forwards, backwards, upwards, downwards, and laterally on both the left and right sides, and in good light these will spot hazards and stop your drone from careering into them. These sensors become less reliable the darker the conditions are, but it’s an invaluable feature that could save your blushes and bank balance.
Like all DJI drones, the Air 3’s flight controls are wonderfully intuitive and loaded with practical automated functions. For instance, you can tap a button on the controller to take off, and another to bring the drone back from wherever it is and land. You can also define waypoints for fully automated flight, and set the Air 3 to track a static or moving subject, keeping its cameras trained on it at all times.
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DJI Mini 4 Pro Drone Review: The Best Small Drone Available
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Even as a relatively experienced pilot, I love how difficult it is to to crash a DJI drone. This is thanks to its full omnidirectional vision sensor array, which is drone jargon for sensors facing forwards, backwards, downwards, upwards, and to both sides. It’s the first time this level of disaster avoidance tech has been seen on an ultralight DJI drone, and I love it. If the Mini 4 Pro senses an imminent collision it will stop immediately in the sky. You’ll struggle to even deliberately crash this drone, which is just as it should be.
These sensors also allow the drone to circumvent obstacles when using its autopilot-like ActiveTrack 360 system. Just draw a box around an object—a boat or car for instance—on the controller’s touchscreen and the Mini 4 Pro will autonomously follow it as it moves around, keeping it framed in the camera. I found it useful for making cinematic shots of me riding my bike, and also, impressively, keeping pace with a speedboat through the wake, and it was reassuring to know that the Mini 4 Pro had the brains to stay safe as it tracked.
The vision system isn’t totally foolproof, though. It doesn’t work when flying the drone in its fastest, most responsive Sport setting, which is fair enough, but you’ll also have to exercise some additional care after dark.
Night Moves
But it’s worth brushing up on your sundown flying skills, however, thanks to the significant upgrades lavished on the gimbal-stabilized camera. The Mini 4 Pro has the same 1/1.3-inch 48-megapixel Quad Bayer image sensor as the Mini 3 Pro, but processing has been greatly improved. It now matches the Mini 3 Pro’s 4K/60-frames-per-second performance but can also capture super-smooth slow motion in 4K at 100 fps.
Even better, it now has the option to record 10-bit D-Log M video, allowing for greater grading potential in postproduction. I’m still learning when it comes to color grading and correction of drone footage, but I was able to turn my 10-bit aerial footage into something really dynamic and engaging. It’s definitely the best footage I’ve ever seen from an ultralight drone, even if it doesn’t quite hit the levels of detail offered by the larger sensors on the likes of the DJI Mavic 3 or Air 3.
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Flying drone can roll on the ground to save energy over long distances
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This drone rolls most of the time but can fly over obstacles when needed
Ruibin Zhang et al./Zhejiang University, Hangzhou
An autonomous drone with wheels can roll along the ground, only flying when needed to clear obstacles, which helps its battery last seven times longer, according to its developers.
Rolling robots are efficient and can travel long distances, but cannot traverse big obstacles, while flying drones can get past large obstructions, but have limited range. Now, Ruibin Zhang and his colleagues at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, China, have attempted to combine the benefits of both types…
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EVs With Built-In Camera Drones Have Already Landed in China
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Chinese automakers are starting to equip electric cars with camera drones. For now, this drone integration is aimed at content creators who want to collect videos of themselves driving. These systems typically enable one-click filming of a moving vehicle, with the action viewable live on the car’s interior display as well as recorded for posterity. The flights can also be voice-controlled by the (distracted) driver.
The $150,000 Yangwang U8 plug-in hybrid SUV from BYD, the world’s largest maker of electric vehicles, sports a DJI drone stored and charged in a dedicated roof space capped with a Thunderbirds-style slide-away panel.
Geely-owned Lynk & Co has updated the operating system on its $24,000 06 EM-P compact SUV so that its cockpit screen can control a hood-launched drone, again from DJI.
The $98,000 M-Hero 917 SUV from the state-owned Dongfeng can be equipped—for an extra $14,000—with the commercial S400 drone from GDU Tech. (Both DJI and GDU Tech are Shenzhen-based.) Launched from the 917’s roof for autonomous flight or controllable by touchscreen from within this Hummer-shaped off-roader, the S400’s camera array has motion detection and face recognition for creepy but precise target tracking.
Content creators will have little use for the S400’s power line fault-finding laser, although the drone’s ability to schlepp 3-kilogram payloads could come in handy, delivering emergency cans of Red Bull for heavy social media sessions. (Ukraine could use such drone-equipped quasi-military vehicles—and grassroots crowdfunding efforts, or dronations, could buy a fleet of them.)
“As a content creator myself, drone integration with cars is interesting,” says Shanghai-based automotive journalist Mark Rainford of Inside China Auto. “I have plenty of experience in shooting cars with drones in China, and it is a fraught and difficult task since street furniture in the country often involves trees alongside the street and cables that cross it. To avoid these, you need [the drone’s] obstacle-avoidance turned on, which limits the speeds at which you can record.”
Most consumer drones can’t exceed 27 mph when flying autonomously. Nevertheless, Rainford predicts that more Chinese automakers will integrate drones into their new cars. “Competition is tough, so collaborations like these can set a product apart—no matter how useful it is in real life,” he says.
Hero shots of EVs traveling at slow-poke speeds won’t set the world alight, but marketers might instead hope that coupling drones with cars will soon allow eye-in-the-sky monitoring of traffic snafus, although aviation authorities worldwide would no doubt take their sweet time to sanction such use.
So far, Chinese automakers have only highlighted the content creation potential of these onboard drones.
BYD’s Unmanned Aircraft System integrated into a Yangwang U8 SUV.
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