Amazon unveils vision-guided delivery drone
In a video presented by former Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson, Amazon (Seattle, WA, USA;www.amazon.com) unveiled its latest autonomous unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), or drone, that is designed to deliver small packages in less than 30 minutes.
The drone is designed to rise vertically at an altitude of up to 400ft then transition into a horizontal flight path, where it can travel at speeds of up to 55mph at distances of up to 15 miles.
To navigate safely, Prime Air is equipped with "sense and avoid" technologies, although Amazon has not released any details on the vision components that may be used.
In the simulated delivery situation, Clarkson notes that after a product is purchased and the drone is deployed, the buyer will receive a push notification on a tablet or smart phone that the package is about to arrive. At this point, the drone is deployed in vertical mode and scans the landing area for potential hazards. The drone then lowers itself to the ground and drops off the package.
In time, said Clarkson, there will be a whole family of Amazon drones, with different designs for different environments. No particular launch date for the service is announced, since Amazon seems to be still ironing out the design and details for its airborne delivery vehicle.
As it currently stands, commercial operation of drones in U.S. airspace is illegal without a Section 333 exemption. By law, any aircraft operation in the national airspace requires a certificated and registered aircraft, a licensed pilot, and operational approval. Section 333 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (FMRA) grants the Secretary of Transportation the authority to determine whether an airworthiness certificate is required for a UAS to operate safely in the National Airspace System (NAS).
This authority, according to the FAA, is being granted on a case-by-case authorization for certain UAVs to perform commercial operations prior to the finalization of the Small UAS Rule, which will be the primary method for authorizing small drones, once it is complete.
The Section 333 Exemption process provides operators who wish to pursue safe and legal entry into the NAS a competitive advantage in the UAS marketplace, thus discouraging illegal operations and improving safety. It is anticipated that this activity will result in significant economic benefits, and the FAA Administrator has identified this as a high priority project to address demand for civil operation of UAS for commercial purposes.
Earlier this year, Amazon was granted a Section 333 exemption from the FAA. However, Amazon still awaits regulatory support, with the FAA anticipating that it will announce its rules for legal, commercial operation of drones by summer.
Researchers develop method to prevent overexposed images
Researchers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT; Cambridge, MA, USA;www.mit.edu) and the Singapore University of Technology and Design (Changi, Singapore; www.sutd.edu.sg) have developed a technique based on computational photography which enables camera sensors to reset when there is an excess of light in the field of view, thereby protecting the image from the effects of overexposure.
Traditional high dynamic range (HDR) photography falls into two categories: multi-capture and single-capture fusion. In multi-capture fusion, several images are taken at different exposure levels, and then fused together. With this method, imaging moving objects can be difficult and any movement of the camera can lead to poor results.
Single-capture fusion requires a camera that has different exposure time from pixel to pixel. This technique has been adopted by Sony (Tokyo, Japan;www.sony.com) and Fujifilm (Tokyo, Japan; www.fujifilm.com) with a number of camera models, but even though it is possible to obtain an HDR image in a single shot with this technique, there are often a number of over- or underexposed pixels. As a result, the spatial resolution is negatively affected.
The technique used by MIT and the Singapore University of Technology and Design involves resetting the sensor capacitors whenever they get full, with each pixel of the camera sensor having a reset controller. During exposure time, when a sensor capacitor is filled, a reset signal is sent to discharge the capacitor of the pixel. With this method, the pixel is always active during exposure.
The research team consisted of Hang Zhao, Christy Fernandez-Cull and Ramesh Raskar at MIT and Boxin Shi and Sai-Kit Yeung at the Singapore University of Technology and Design.
Commercial drones add infrared capabilities
FLIR Systems (Wilsonville, OR, USA;www.flir.com) and DJI Innovations (Shenzhen, China; www.dji.com) first joint product, the DJI Zenmuse XT will combine DJI's Zenmuse stabilized micro-gimbal technology with FLIR's Tau 2 thermal imaging camera core.
The system features two of the three available Tau 2 imaging cores: the Tau 640 (640 x 512), and the Tau 336 (336 x 256). Both of these models are based on uncooled micro-bolometer infrared detectors with a pixel size of 17μm. The 640 model runs at 30fps, while the 336 model can reach 60fps. Both cameras are sensitive in the 7.5-13.5μm range.
FLIR and DJI expect that the product will be deployed in such applications as search and rescue, firefighting, agriculture, wildlife protection, and the inspection of energy infrastructure, bridges, and buildings. Additionally, integration with DJI's Lightbridge live video downlink system and the DJI GO app provides drone operators real-time control and recording during flight.
Distant galaxy captured by NASA's Hubble telescope
NASA's Hubble telescope has captured an image of Markarian 820, a type of galaxy known as a lenticular galaxy that is about 300M light years from Earth.
Galaxies such as Markarian 820 are in the transition zone between ellipticals and spirals and lie right where the fork divides. A closer look at the galaxy reveals hints of a spiral structure embedded in a circular halo of stars. The image was captured by Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS).
The ACS system features two active channels, each of which are optimized for specific scientific tasks: the wide field channel (WFC) and solar blind channel. The WFC is an optical and near infrared camera that features two 2048 x 4096 CCD detectors from Scientific Imaging Technologies with a 15μm x 15μm pixel size. The WFC camera features a 202 x 202 arcseconds FOV and a 350-1050nm spectral response. ACS also has a solar blind channel, which features a 1024 x 1024 multi-anode micro-channel detector array with a 25μm x 25μm pixel size and a 115-180 nm spectral response.
The image reveals a sampling of other galaxy types surrounding Markarian 820, including ellipticals and spirals. Most of the smears and specks are distant galaxies, but the prominent bright object at the bottom is a foreground star called TYC 4386-787-1. Astronomer Judy Schmidt submitted a version of the image to the Hubble's Hidden Treasures image processing competition.
