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2023 Drone Photo Awards fly high as winners are revealed

<p dir="ltr">The winners of the 2023 Drone Photo Awards have been announced, with photographers all around the world recognised for their commitment to aerial photography in the fierce international competition.</p> <p dir="ltr">Thousands of submissions were received for the annual contest across nine different categories: photo of the year, urban, wildlife, sport, people, nature, abstract, wedding, series, and video. </p> <p dir="ltr">The Drone Photo Awards are open to both aerial photography and video, with platforms including “fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles, balloons, blimps and dirigibles, rockets, kites, and parachutes.”</p> <p dir="ltr">The competition’s top award, Photo of the Year, went to a shot by Israeli photographer Or Adar. </p> <p dir="ltr">His submission, ‘Must resist’, presents the image of “protesters holding banners during a demonstration again Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s judicial overhaul plans” from an aerial perspective, capturing the moment in Tel Aviv when “tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets of Israeli cities for the ninth straight week, on Saturday March 4th, to fight a government plan to overhaul the country's court system.” </p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">🏆“𝐃𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐏𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐨 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑” 𝐏𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫 🏆</p> <p>Congrats to Or Adar for his stunning image “Must resist”. 👏👏👏<a href="https://t.co/leaZw2sazu">https://t.co/leaZw2sazu</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/sienawards?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#sienawards</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/dronephotoawards?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#dronephotoawards</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/photocontest?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#photocontest</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/dronephotography?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#dronephotography</a> <a href="https://t.co/pyReGOTMC9">pic.twitter.com/pyReGOTMC9</a></p> <p>— Siena Awards (@SIPAContest) <a href="https://twitter.com/SIPAContest/status/1671458317472866313?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 21, 2023</a></p></blockquote> <p dir="ltr">Polish photographer Sebastian Piórek took home the win in the Urban category for his shot of Chorzów in southern Poland, which was described by The Siena Awards as a photo that “beautifully juxtaposes the colourful ambiance and harmony of the playground against the backdrop of the city.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Indian photographer Danu Paran won the Wildlife category with his shot of a napping elephant, where “the elephant’s grey and wrinkled skin perfectly merges with the natural landscape, creating a harmonious composition that showcases the beauty of wildlife.”</p> <p dir="ltr">French photographer David Machet won for Sport with his photo of tightrope walker Nathan Paulin in the French Alps, as Paulin traversed a ‘highline’ almost 2.5 km in the air. </p> <p dir="ltr">The People category went to British photographer Simon Heather’s picture of people in Portugal enjoying a sunny day by the sea, while the Series award went to American photographer George Steinmetz for his photo series of farmland.</p> <p dir="ltr">Indian photographer Thomas Vijayan took home the Nature award for his photo of Svalbard, with Vijayan sharing that “it was surprisingly sad to see that the ice had already melted in June, and we were able to reach the ice cap with our ship.”</p> <p dir="ltr">The Abstract winner was Spanish photographer Ignacio Medem for a shot demonstrating how drought and poor water resource management has impacted a river in the American West.</p> <p dir="ltr">Polish photographer Krzysztof Krawczyk found success in the Wedding category, with his snap of newlyweds on a boat in the middle of a lake, while “they are enveloped by voluminous clouds and surrounded by thousands of dry leaves, resembling stars and creating gentle waves.”</p> <p dir="ltr">And last but not least, Bashir Abu won the Video category with “Why I Travel the World Alone”.</p> <p><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Z6t4y3A28uA" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p dir="ltr">And for anyone hoping to check the winners out for themselves, Adar’s image - as well as the top photographs from the other winning categories - will be available for viewing in the Above Us Only Sky exhibition set to take place for the first time at Italy’s San Galgano Abbey from July 8 to November 19. </p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: Drone Photo Awards</em></p>

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How satellites, radar and drones are tracking meteorites and aiding Earth’s asteroid defence

<p>On July 31 2013 a <a href="https://cneos.jpl.nasa.gov/fireballs/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">constellation of US defence satellites</a> saw a streak of light over South Australia as a rock from outer space burned through Earth’s atmosphere on its way to crash into the ground below.</p> <p>The impact created an explosion equivalent to about 220 tonnes of TNT. More than 1,500km away, in Tasmania, the bang was heard by detectors normally used to listen for <a href="https://www.dfat.gov.au/international-relations/security/asno/Pages/australian-ims-stations" target="_blank" rel="noopener">extremely low-frequency sounds</a> from illegal tests of nuclear weapons.</p> <p>These were two excellent indications that there should be a patch of ground covered in meteorites somewhere north of Port Augusta. But how could we track them down?</p> <p>My colleagues and I who work on the <a href="https://dfn.gfo.rocks/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Desert Fireball Network (DFN)</a>, which tracks incoming asteroids and <a href="https://dfn.gfo.rocks/meteorites.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the resulting meteorites</a>, had a couple of ideas: weather radar and drones.</p> <p><strong>Eyes in space</strong></p> <p>Finding meteorites is not an easy task. There is a network of high-quality ground-based sensors called the <a href="https://gfo.rocks/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Global Fireball Observatory</a>, but it only covers about 1% of the planet.</p> <p>The <a href="https://cneos.jpl.nasa.gov/fireballs/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">US satellite data</a> published by NASA covers a much larger area than ground-based detectors, but it only picks up the biggest fireballs. What’s more, they <a href="https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article/483/4/5166/5256650" target="_blank" rel="noopener">don’t always give an accurate idea of the meteor’s trajectory</a>.</p> <p>So, to have any chance to find a meteorite from these data, you need a little outside help.</p> <p><strong>Weather radars</strong></p> <p>In 2019, Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology started making its weather radar data <a href="https://www.openradar.io/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">openly available</a> to researchers and the public. I saw this as an opportunity to complete the puzzle.</p> <p>I combed through the record of events from the Desert Fireball Network and NASA, and cross-matched them with nearby weather radars. Then I looked for unusual radar signatures that could indicate the presence of falling meteorites.</p> <figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/496384/original/file-20221121-22-iwtkve.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/496384/original/file-20221121-22-iwtkve.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/496384/original/file-20221121-22-iwtkve.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=334&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/496384/original/file-20221121-22-iwtkve.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=334&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/496384/original/file-20221121-22-iwtkve.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=334&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/496384/original/file-20221121-22-iwtkve.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=420&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/496384/original/file-20221121-22-iwtkve.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=420&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/496384/original/file-20221121-22-iwtkve.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=420&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" alt="An annoyed aerial photo showing the locations of the Woomera radar station and the falling meteorites." /></a><figcaption><span class="caption">The Woomera weather radar station captured reflections from the falling meteorites.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Curtin University</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure> <p>And bingo, the 2013 event was not too far from the Woomera radar station. The weather was clear, and the radar record showed some small reflections at about the right place and time.</p> <p>Next, I had to use the weather data to figure out how the wind would have pushed the meteorites around on their way down to Earth.</p> <p>If I got the calculations right, I would have a treasure map showing the location of a rich haul of meteorites. If I got them wrong, I would end up sending my team to wander around in the desert for two weeks for nothing.</p> <p><strong>The search</strong></p> <p>I gave what I hoped was an accurate treasure map to my colleague Andy Tomkins from Monash University. In September this year, he happened to be driving past the site on his way back from an expedition in the Nullarbor.</p> <p>Thankfully, Andy found the first meteorite within 10 minutes of looking. In the following two hours, his team found nine more.</p> <figure class="align-center "><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/496385/original/file-20221121-16-he3p7h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/496385/original/file-20221121-16-he3p7h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/496385/original/file-20221121-16-he3p7h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/496385/original/file-20221121-16-he3p7h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/496385/original/file-20221121-16-he3p7h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/496385/original/file-20221121-16-he3p7h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/496385/original/file-20221121-16-he3p7h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" alt="Photo of several people walking through a desert field looking at the ground." /><figcaption><span class="caption">A field team from Monash University searched for meteorites in the strewn field.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Monash University</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure> <p>The technique of finding meteorites with weather radars <a href="https://ares.jsc.nasa.gov/meteorite-falls/how-to-find-meteorites/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">was pioneered</a> by my colleague Marc Fries in the US. However, this is the first time it has been done outside the US NEXRAD radar network. (When it comes to monitoring airspace, the US has more powerful and more densely packed tech than anyone else.)</p> <p>This first search confirmed there were lots of meteorites on the ground. But how were we going to find them all?</p> <p>That’s where the drones come in. We used a method developed by my colleague Seamus Anderson to <a href="https://gfo.rocks/blog/2022/03/14/First_Meteorite_Found_with_Drone.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">automatically detect meteorites from drone images</a>.</p> <p>In the end we collected 44 meteorites, weighing a bit over 4kg in total. Together they form what we call a “strewn field”.</p> <figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/496386/original/file-20221121-13-qssltc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/496386/original/file-20221121-13-qssltc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/496386/original/file-20221121-13-qssltc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/496386/original/file-20221121-13-qssltc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/496386/original/file-20221121-13-qssltc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/496386/original/file-20221121-13-qssltc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/496386/original/file-20221121-13-qssltc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/496386/original/file-20221121-13-qssltc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" alt="An aerial view of a desert field with a black dot (a meteorite) highlighted by a yellow square." /></a><figcaption><span class="caption">A machine-learning algorithm identified meteorites from drone photos.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Curtin Uni</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure> <p>Strewn fields <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/maps.13892" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tell us a lot</a> about how an asteroid fragments in our atmosphere.</p> <p>That’s quite important to know, because the energy of these things is comparable to that of nuclear weapons. For example, the 17-metre asteroid that exploded over Chelyabinsk in Russia in 2013 produced an explosion 30 times the size of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945.</p> <p>So when the next big one is about to hit, it may be useful to predict how it will deposit its energy in our atmosphere.</p> <p>With new telescopes and better technology, we are starting to see some asteroids <a href="https://skymapper.anu.edu.au/news/great-balls-fire/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">before they hit Earth</a>. We will see even more when projects such as the <a href="https://www.lsst.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Vera Rubin Observatory</a> and the <a href="https://atlas.fallingstar.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS)</a> are up and running.</p> <p>These systems might give us as much as a few days’ notice that an asteroid is heading for Earth. This would be too late to make any effort to deflect it – but plenty of time for preparation and damage control on the ground.</p> <p><strong>The value of open data</strong></p> <p>This find was only made possible by the free availability of crucial data – and the people who made it available.</p> <p>The US satellites that detected the fireball are presumably there to detect missile and rocket launches. However, somebody (I don’t know who) must have figured out how to publish some of the satellite data without giving away too much about their capabilities, and then lobbied hard to get the data released.</p> <p>Likewise, the find would not have happened without the work of Joshua Soderholm at Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology, who worked to make low-level weather radar data openly accessible for other uses. Soderholm went to the trouble to make the radar data <a href="https://www.go-fair.org/fair-principles/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">readily available and easy to use</a>, which goes well beyond the vague formulations you can read at the bottom of scientific papers like “data available upon reasonable request”.</p> <p>There is no shortage of fireballs to track down. Right now, we’re on the hunt for a meteorite that was spotted in space last weekend before <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/19/science/fireball-asteroid-toronto-new-york.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">blazing through the sky over Ontario, Canada</a>.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/194997/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /></p> <p><em>Writen by Hadrien Devillepoix. Republished with permission from <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-satellites-radar-and-drones-are-tracking-meteorites-and-aiding-earths-asteroid-defence-194997" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.</em></p> <p><em>Image: NASA</em></p>

Technology

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Drones are now delivering groceries in Canberra – how does it work?

<p>Major Australian supermarket Coles yesterday announced <a href="https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7641084/supermarket-to-offer-drone-delivery-for-grocery-items-in-canberra/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" data-type="URL" data-id="https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7641084/supermarket-to-offer-drone-delivery-for-grocery-items-in-canberra/">the launch of its partnership</a> with drone delivery service <a href="https://wing.com/en_au/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" data-type="URL" data-id="https://wing.com/en_au/">Wing</a> to bring drone-delivered groceries to customers in Canberra.</p> <p>The battery-powered <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/technology/robotics/drones-for-good/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" data-type="URL" data-id="https://cosmosmagazine.com/technology/robotics/drones-for-good/">drones</a> have a one-metre wingspan, weigh about 4.8 kilograms, and are equipped with both fixed wings and hover propellers, allowing them to behave as miniature versions of both aeroplanes and helicopters. They can travel at speeds of more than 110 km/h and carry packages of up to 1.2 kilograms.</p> <p>According to Simon Rossi, General Manager at Wing Australia, the drones typically require less energy to make a delivery than a kettle does to boil. </p> <p><strong>So how does drone delivery work? </strong></p> <p>Products can be ordered using the Wing app. Coles is currently offering delivery of more than 250 of its most popular grocery items, including bread, fresh produce, healthcare items, and toilet paper. </p> <p>When the order is received, the products are packed and loaded onto a drone, which ascends to its flying altitude of about 45 metres above ground and sets off for the delivery location. The drone will follow a route planned by Wing’s unmanned traffic management (UTM) software. </p> <p>“The aircraft automatically monitors its systems to make sure it is safe to fly and will prevent take-off or automatically take contingency actions if a problem is detected,” Rossi explains.  </p> <p>“Our trained remote aircraft pilots oversee everything to make sure the system is operating smoothly.” </p> <p>Once arrived, the drone descends to its delivery height of about seven metres above ground and hovers as it lowers the package to the ground on a tether. The package is automatically released, and the drone returns to the delivery facility. </p> <p>Customers can track the progress of their delivery on the Wing app. According to Wing, the company’s fastest delivery time to date is two minutes and 47 seconds from order to delivery. </p> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"> <div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> <div class="entry-content-asset"> <div class="embed-wrapper"> <div class="inner"><iframe title="Wing's drone delivery service in action in Australia" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4xrCuPACmq8?feature=oembed" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></div> </div> </div> </div> </figure> <p><strong>Is drone delivery catching on?</strong></p> <p>Wing has existing drone delivery partnerships with several businesses in both Canberra and Logan, Queensland. The service also has a presence in the US and Finland. </p> <p>According to Rossi, the company completed more than 100,000 drone deliveries in Australia in 2021, and 30,000 in the first two months of 2022. </p> <p>Early feedback from customers on the partnership with Coles in Canberra has been positive, he says. </p> <p>“Customers are ordering a range of items including pantry staples like bread, eggs, and milk, fresh produce and convenience meals, as well as health care items like over-the-counter cough medicine and bandages.”</p> <p><strong>Are there any risks to drone delivery? </strong></p> <p>Adding large numbers of unmanned flying machines to the air would seem to have the potential to be disruptive. </p> <div class="newsletter-box"> <div id="wpcf7-f6-p183733-o1" class="wpcf7" dir="ltr" lang="en-US" role="form"> </div> </div> <p>“Perhaps Wing’s most interesting feature is its airspace integration and deconfliction,” says Pauline Pounds, an associate professor in information technology and electrical engineering at the University of Queensland. </p> <p>“Balancing the needs of CASA [the Civil Aviation Safety Authority], commercial aviation operators and other drone operators requires some care.”</p> <p>Because they fly in a zone between ‘ground clutter’ and manned aviation traffic, the drones are likely to remain comparatively safe. This also helps explain why flying drones are increasingly integrated into our everyday lives, while driverless cars languish on the sidelines. </p> <p>“It’s far easier to build a robot to fly in clear air where obstacles are rare, rather than on roads where pedestrians and human drivers may behave erratically,” says Pounds. </p> <p>However, the drones’ airspace won’t be completely risk-free. </p> <p>“A collision between a drone and a bird is unlikely to be a pleasant experience for either,” Pounds admits. </p> <p><strong>Is drone delivery the future of grocery shopping?</strong></p> <p>Unfortunately, a drone can’t yet do your entire weekly grocery shop for you, and Rossi emphasises that this isn’t the service’s intention. </p> <p>“Rather, it is to enable customers to quickly order small grocery and convenience items, coffees, and snacks which they may need in a hurry,” he says. </p> <p>But could it be done one day?</p> <p>“Scaling drones to carry heavier payloads is a fundamental challenge: the more the drone carries, the shorter its flight will be,” says Pounds. </p> <p>“Drones are optimised for specific payload-range characteristics. Improving performance requires more energy-dense batteries, more efficient propulsion systems; the same limitations that hold back flying cars. </p> <p>“However, a distributed network of mini-aerodromes allowing packages to make many short hops – like a drone ‘Pony Express’ – could allow these systems to scale without limit, much like mobile phone base station cells.” </p> <p>Coles frames the new partnership with Wing as part of its strategy to become Australia’s most sustainable supermarket, as drone delivery options could reduce the need for cars and trucks. </p> <p>Wing also emphasise their green credentials, describing drone delivery as “one of the fastest, safest and most environmentally friendly modes of delivering goods when compared to a truck or car”. </p> <p>But with the drones only able to carry a kilo or two, would environmentally-conscious supermarkets be better off investing in electric cars and trucks instead? </p> <p>“Flying is innately energy-intensive and will always be more demanding than a comparable electric vehicle rolling the same distance, but drones fly directly point to point and do not require detours or stop at traffic lights,” says Pounds. </p> <p>“However, both drones and wheeled electric vehicles also have differing manufacturing, maintenance and disposal costs; whether autonomous cars or drones turn out to be more energy efficient over their lifetimes has yet to be seen.”</p> <p><img id="cosmos-post-tracker" style="opacity: 0; height: 1px!important; width: 1px!important; border: 0!important; position: absolute!important; z-index: -1!important;" src="https://syndication.cosmosmagazine.com/?id=183733&amp;title=Drones+are+now+delivering+groceries+in+Canberra+%E2%80%93+how+does+it+work%3F" width="1" height="1" data-spai-target="src" data-spai-orig="" data-spai-exclude="nocdn" /></p> <div id="contributors"> <p><em><a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/technology/robotics/drone-delivery-groceries-canberra/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">This article</a> was originally published on <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cosmos Magazine</a> and was written by <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/contributor/matilda-handlsey-davis" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Matilda Handsley-Davis</a>. Matilda is a science writer at Cosmos. She holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Science (Honours) from the University of Adelaide.</em></p> <p><em>Image: Wing (Facebook)</em></p> </div>

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Tourist sentenced to eight years in prison over a drone flight

<p><em>Image: News.com.au</em></p> <p>A French tourist has been sentenced to more than eight years in a notorious Iranian prison after he was arrested on spying charges, all because of a drone.</p> <p>Benjamin Briere, 36, was arrested in May 2020 after taking pictures in a national park near the Iran-Turkmenistan border with a recreational drone.</p> <p>This week, the French citizen was sentenced to eight years in prison and was handed an additional eight-month sentence for propaganda against Iran’s Islamic system, his Paris-based lawyer Philippe Valent said in a statement.</p> <p>Mr Briere’s family and his lawyer have accused Iran of holding him as a political “hostage”.</p> <p>“This verdict is the result of a purely political process and … devoid of any basis,” Mr Valent said.</p> <p>Calling the trial a “masquerade”, Mr Valent said that Mr Briere “did not have a fair trial in front of impartial judges” and noted he had not been allowed to access the full indictment against him.</p> <p>The French foreign ministry described the verdict as “unacceptable”, saying Mr Briere was a “tourist”.</p> <p>He is one of more than a dozen Western citizens held in Iran and described as hostages by activists who say they are innocent of any crime and detained at the behest of the powerful Revolutionary Guards to extract concessions from the West.</p> <p>Mr Briere is being held in Vakilabad Prison in the eastern city of Mashhad. A prison which has reportedly undertaken hundreds of secret executions within the facility.</p> <p>In September last year, an unidentified political prisoner in the same prison, described life in the facility, saying it is “overcrowded” and “full of bedbugs and lice” with poor hygiene and terrible food. The unnamed prisoner said: “If coronavirus does not kill me, the fights inside the prison will kill me.”</p> <p>The verdict against Mr Briere comes as Iran and world powers seek to reach agreement at talks in Vienna on reviving the 2015 deal over the Iranian nuclear program. Nationals of all three European powers involved in the talks on the Iranian nuclear program – Britain, France and Germany – are among the foreigners being held.</p> <p>“It is not tolerable that Benjamin Briere is being held a hostage to negotiations by a regime which keeps a French citizen arbitrarily detained merely to use him as currency in an exchange,” Mr Valent said.</p> <p>Mr Briere’s sister Blandine told AFP her brother is a “political hostage” subjected to a “parody of justice”.</p> <p>Iran insists all the foreigners held are tried in line with domestic law but has repeatedly expressed readiness to prisoner swaps.</p>

Travel Trouble

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How to use drones responsibly in Kakadu

<div class="copy"> <p>Drones have transformed conservation and land management over the past decade, making it easier than ever to collect high-quality data. But like all new technologies, they come with new ethical quandaries – particularly when used on country managed by Indigenous Australians.</p> <p>A group of researchers, Jawoyn Traditional Owners, and Indigenous Rangers, have addressed this with an Indigenous-led project to develop guidelines for responsible drone use in Kakadu National Park.</p> <p>The group first began to develop these guidelines while thinking about ways to monitor the ecology at Kakadu.</p> <p>“While we were there, we were working out ways for how we might monitor indicators of healthy country before and after management actions,” says Dr Jennifer Macdonald, a postdoctoral researcher at Charles Darwin University and the CSIRO, and lead author on a paper describing the protocols <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23299460.2021.1964321" target="_blank">published</a> in the <em>Journal of Responsible Innovation</em>.</p> <p>“We started talking about using drones to see how country was responding before and after cool early season fire management. And through these conversations, we realised that there was a need to make sure that the drones were used in a way that ensured that Traditional Owners had control over when and where [they] were being used and how they could best benefit local people.”</p> <p>While drones (and other technologies like motion sensors and video cameras) can be a useful supplement to Indigenous land management, they can also be used disrespectfully or irresponsibly.</p> <p>“Traditional Owners were really keen to use drones, they could see some great potential particularly for young people to learn skills,” says Macdonald. “There were young people really excited by the thought of using this technology and were keen to see the kind of data that we could collect.</p> <p>“But they were also concerned about some things. There were some concerns raised about where the drones fly and the fact that they might be able to see some restricted sites, especially gendered sites.”</p> <p>The researchers (who represented CDU, the University of Western Australia and CSIRO), have spent several years working with Traditional Owners to manage research done in Kakadu (forming the Indigenous-led Kakadu Indigenous Research Steering Committee).</p> <p>As part of this, the Jawoyn Traditional Owners spent a two-day workshop with the researchers at Jarrangbarnmi in 2019, where they worked out protocols for drone management.</p> <p>“We had a number of informal workshops that were led by Traditional Owners to make sure that everyone was welcome on country, and then we had a number of conversations where we talked through things like drone regulation, how the technology works, and then a workshop where we developed the protocols together,” says Macdonald.</p> <p>The protocols are described in full in the paper, but fall under three aims: (1) empowering Indigenous governance, (2) developing ethical and trusted research relationships, and (3) enabling ongoing Indigenous-led technological innovation.</p> <p>“Traditional Owners should be on country when drones are being used, and they should determine where they fly and what drones look at,” says Macdonald, in summary. “And young people should be able to use the drones to get benefit out of the use of that technology on their country. And in the future, the data that the drones are collecting needs to be cared for and governed by Traditional Owners.”</p> <p>The researchers believe that the guidelines, while Kakadu-specific, could be used as a framework for developing guidelines in other places.</p> <p>“People could see if the rules that we’ve come up with resonate with how they’re hoping to regulate drones as well,” says Macdonald.</p> <p>The project was funded by the Northern Australia Environmental Resources Hub of the Australian Government’s National Environmental Science Program.</p> <em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></div> <div id="contributors"> <p><em>This article was originally published on <a rel="noopener" href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/people/ethics/kakadu-jawoyn-drones-ethics-protocols-technology/" target="_blank">cosmosmagazine.com</a> and was written by Ellen Phiddian. </em></p> </div>

Technology

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Robots and drones: The new age of toys

<p>I’m a geek. And as a geek, I love my tech toys. But over time I’ve noticed toys are becoming harder to understand.</p> <p>Some modern toys resemble advanced devices. There are flying toys, walking toys, and roving toys. A number of these require “configuring” or “connecting”.</p> <p>The line between toy, gadget and professional device is blurrier than ever, as manufacturers churn out products including <a href="https://www.t3.com/features/best-kids-drones">drones for kids</a> and <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Hidden-Spy-Nanny-Camera-Wi-fi/dp/B07P7BCYZT">plush toys with hidden nanny cams</a>.</p> <p>With such a variety of sophisticated, and sometimes over-engineered products, it’s clear manufacturers have upped their game.</p> <p>But why is this happening?</p> <p><strong>The price of tech</strong></p> <p>Toys these days seem to be designed with two major components in mind. It’s all about the smarts and rapid manufacture.</p> <p>In modern toys, we see a considerable level of programmed intelligence. This can be used to control the toy’s actions, or have it respond to input to provide real time feedback and interaction – making it appear “smarter”.</p> <p>This is all made possible by the falling price of technology.</p> <p>Once upon a time, placing a microcontroller (a single chip microprocessor) inside a toy was simply uneconomical.</p> <p>These days, they’ll <a href="https://au.rs-online.com/web/c/semiconductors/processors-microcontrollers/microcontrollers/">only set you back a few dollars</a> and allow significant computing power.</p> <p>Microcontrollers are often WiFi and Bluetooth enabled, too. This allows “connected” toys to access a wide range of internet services, or be controlled by a smartphone.</p> <p>Another boon for toy manufacturers has been the rise of prototype technologies, including 3D modelling, 3D printing, and low cost CNC (computer numerical control) milling.</p> <p>These technologies allow the advanced modelling of toys, which can help design them to be “tougher”.</p> <p>They also allow manufacturers to move beyond simple (outer) case designs and towards advanced multi-material devices, where the case of the toy forms an active part of the toy’s function.</p> <p>Examples of this include hand grips (found on console controls and toys including Nerf Blasters), advanced surface textures, and internal structures which support shock absorption to protect internal components, such as wheel suspensions in toy cars.</p> <p><strong>Bot helpers and robot dogs</strong></p> <p>Many recent advancements in toys are there to appease our admiration of automatons, or self operating machines.</p> <p>The idea that an inanimate object is transcending its static world, or is “thinking”, is one of the magical elements that prompts us to attach emotions to toys.</p> <p>And manufacturers know this, with some toys designed specifically to drive emotional attachment. My favourite example of this is roaming robots, such as the artificially intelligent <a href="https://www.anki.com/en-us/vector.html">Anki Vector</a>.</p> <p>With sensors and internet connectivity, the Vector drives around and interacts with its environment, as well as you. It’s even <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Vector-Robot-Anki-Hangs-Helps/dp/B07G3ZNK4Y">integrated with Amazon Alexa</a>.</p> <p>Another sophisticated toy is Sony’s Aibo. This robot pet shows how advanced robotics, microelectronics, actuators (which allow movement), sensors, and programming can be used to create a unique toy experience with emotional investment.</p> <p><span class="attribution"><a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/ho-chi-minh-city-vietnam-apr-1095006827" class="source"></a></span><strong>Screens not included</strong></p> <p>Toy manufacturers are also leveraging the rise of smartphones and portable computing.</p> <p>Quadcopters (or drones) and other similar devices often don’t need to include their own display in the remote control, as video can be beamed to an attached device.</p> <p>Some toys even use smartphones as the only control interface (used to control the toy), usually via an app, saving manufacturers from having to provide what is arguably the most expensive part of the toy.</p> <p>This means a smartphone becomes an inherent requirement, without which the toy can’t be used.</p> <p>It would be incredibly disappointing to buy a cool, new toy - only to realise you don’t own the very expensive device required to use it.</p> <p><strong>My toys aren’t spying on me, surely?</strong></p> <p>While spying may be the last thing you consider when buying a toy, there have been several reports of talking dolls <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2016/12/20/506208146/this-doll-may-be-recording-what-children-say-privacy-groups-charge">recording in-home conversations</a>.</p> <p>There are similar concerns with smart-home assistants such as Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and Apple’s Siri, which store <a href="https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2018/may/31/ro-khanna/your-amazon-alexa-spying-you/">your voice recordings in the cloud</a>.</p> <p>These concerns might also be warranted with toys such as the Vector, and Aibo.</p> <p>In fact, anything that has a microphone, camera or wireless connectivity can be considered a privacy concern.</p> <p><strong>Toys of the future</strong></p> <p>We’ve established toys are becoming more sophisticated, but does that mean they’re getting better?</p> <p><a href="https://www.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/gartner-top-10-strategic-technology-trends-for-2020/">Various</a> <a href="https://www.accenture.com/us-en/insights/technology/technology-trends-2019">reports</a> indicate in 2020, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning will continue to be pervasive in our lives.</p> <p>This means buying toys could become an even trickier task than it currently is. There are some factors shoppers can consider.</p> <p>On the top of my list of concerns is the type and number of batteries a toy requires, and how to charge them.</p> <p>If a device has <a href="https://theconversation.com/nearly-all-your-devices-run-on-lithium-batteries-heres-a-nobel-prizewinner-on-his-part-in-their-invention-and-their-future-126197">in-built lithium batteries</a>, can they be easily replaced? And if the toy is designed for outdoors, <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-batteries-have-started-catching-fire-so-often-68602">can it cope with the heat?</a> Most lithium-ion batteries degrade quickly in hot environments.</p> <p>And does the device require an additional screen or smartphone?</p> <p>It’s also worth being wary of what personal details are required to sign-up for a service associated with a toy - and if the toy can still function if its manufacturer should cease to exist, or the company should go bust.</p> <p>And, as always, if you’re considering an advanced, “connected” toy, make sure to prioritise your security and privacy.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/127503/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: http://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/andrew-maxwell-561482">Andrew Maxwell</a>, Senior Lecturer, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-southern-queensland-1069">University of Southern Queensland</a></em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/robots-ai-and-drones-when-did-toys-turn-into-rocket-science-127503">original article</a>.</em></p>

Technology

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This popular tourist item must be banned

<p>I hate drones. And not just because the military-owned ones kill people. The smaller, peace-loving drones are still one of the teeth-gratingly annoying things becoming too-common at tourist sites.</p> <p>Buzzing about, ruining what's left of the ambience and the chance to grab a nice picture. Always just a stone's throw away – or just beyond a stone's throw, as I never seem to hit them.</p> <p>And it seems I'm not alone, just last week the authorities that look after New York City's Statue of Liberty joined a growing list of haters of drones.</p> <p>Officially, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) says the move to ban them within 400ft of the iconic statue and also at Mount Rushmore, was due to a request from the US defence department citing "security concerns", but I'm willing to throw it out there that a couple of New York pen-pushers had just about had enough of the constant buzz of a swarm of tourist drones that poor Lady Liberty couldn't just swat away.</p> <p>The FAA and New York City join the many destinations trying to clear the air of drone activity.</p> <p>In Santorini over the summer I stumbled upon a number of signs telling tourists to keep their drones in their backpacks – and seeing the prices on the menus at bars and restaurants whose main selling point is the sunset view, I can understand why local businesses don't want drone footage of their town clogging up the internet.</p> <p>Other landmarks keen to delete the drones include England's Stonehenge, Westminster Abbey and Italy's Colosseum. The latter made headlines recently for fining one unlucky tourist more than 100,000 euro ($165,980) for breaking the strict rule.</p> <p>You could argue it's easier to outsource your photography to some little flying robot taking a holiday snap every half second. But some results of this new habit of tourism videography don't back that up.</p> <p>A 2015 study from Dinhopl and Greztel in Information Technology and Tourism found that rather than outsourcing our footage-gathering tasks to machines (such as drones and wearable GoPros) and relaxing, tourists' "performances for photo-and video-recording moments became … much more deeply embedded in the experience than less".</p> <p>Basically, the owners become obsessed with curating footage. Well, they might be but what about us extras just lurking amongst the crowd?</p> <p>Having a drone buzzing about has, in some tourist spots, created a modern day Foucault Panopticon, or prison watch-tower, effect. You can see a recording device suspended in mid-air near some tourist trap; you have no way of knowing whether it's recording or not; you assume it is and perform accordingly. And – like when your friend catches you on camera and tells you to do something funny – it turns out a bit forced.</p> <p>Obviously, throughout my travels I've been awkwardly making faces in the background ruining a few tourist photographs, but it's a whole other matter to societally sign off on some stranger recording your family day at the beach from a drone perched above the waves.</p> <p>So what's behind their rise?</p> <p>That high-angle, long-range drone footage is a bit of a tourist marketing board's dream – because any park, beach, or cityscape can look alluring when you see it from bird's eye view. We are ground-dwelling mammals, easily impressed when each heavily-edited shot we see is from a high angle and often from vantage points that we could never recreate.</p> <p>I don't know about you but I'm not yet filthy rich enough to see every landmark or secluded beach by private helicopter tour so it seems a touch exaggerated to entice us with footage so unattainable: the result of which is not a spike in private helicopter tours, but just another drone added to the swarm to get the exact same footage as the last tourist clip they saw on YouTube.</p> <p>Bring on the bans so I don't have to keep droning on about it.</p> <p>Do you think drones should be banned?</p> <p>Written by Josh Martin. First appeared on <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Stuff.co.nz</span></strong></a>.</p>

Travel Tips

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Couple create breathtaking honeymoon video with drone

<p>This couple have brought their “selfie” game to a whole new level by using a drone to capture the magical moments from their round-the-world honeymoon.</p> <p>Kaz and Mariko are taking a year long trip around the world and have been to 45 countries so far, documenting their travels on <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://www.facebook.com/honeymoontraveler/" target="_blank">Honeymoon Traveler</a>.</strong></span> The couple admitted that they usually shy away from photos, but they knew that they would have t to make an exception for such a special trip. Their solution was to really capture the scope of where they are in the world, by using a drone to focus on themselves for only a few seconds before zooming out on the landscape.</p> <p>See a compilation of the incredible videos above from <a href="https://www.facebook.com/1555001014792858/videos/1559129257713367/" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Trickology.</strong></span></a> Where would be your favourite place to capture a video like this? Let us know in the comments below.</p> <p><strong> Related links:</strong></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="/news/news/2016/06/15-incredible-photos-of-baby-animals-in-the-womb/"><em>15 incredible photos of baby animals in the womb</em></a></strong></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="/travel/international-travel/2016/06/10-of-the-best-travel-photos-from-2016-so-far/"><em>10 of the best travel photos from 2016 so far</em></a></strong></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="/travel/international-travel/2016/06/peek-into-lindsay-walker-travel-photography-book/"><em>A peek into an over-60’s travel photography book</em></a></strong></span></p>

International Travel

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Drone captures footage of fireworks display mid-air in this spectacular video

<p>We’re generally used to watching fireworks from some distant vantage point, but have you ever wondered what it would be like to be flying in amongst them as they explode mid-air?</p> <p>Before you invest in that jet-pack you saw online, check out the above video! In it, a photographer attaches a camera to his drone and flies it right into the middle of New Year’s Eve fireworks. The results are mesmerising.</p> <p>The drone flies through the fireworks exploding mid-air, with sparks shooting inches past the camera lens.</p> <p>And while we probably wouldn’t volunteer our camera for this video, it’s interesting to see fireworks from a whole new perspective!</p> <p>You can watch the entire video above. </p> <p><em>Video credit: Youtube / Dronehub</em></p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><a href="/news/news/2015/12/champagne-helps-prevent-dementia-and-alzheimers/"><strong>Champagne helps prevent dementia and Alzheimer’s</strong></a></em></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><a href="/news/news/2016/01/tips-to-make-dairy-products-last-longer/"><strong>7 tips to make dairy products last longer</strong></a></em></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><a href="/news/news/2016/01/spot-the-panda-hidden-in-this-vintage-school-photo/"><strong>Spot the panda hidden in this vintage school photo</strong></a></em></span></p>

News

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10 spectacular drone photos taken in 2015

<p>We don’t ever remember getting shots like this with disposable cameras.</p> <p>Dronestragram, a social network set up specifically for sharing drone photography, has released a selection of the 10 most popular photographs taken by drones in 2015.</p> <p>And the range is absolutely stunning. From an awe-inspiring image that captures Christ the Redeemer (from a bird’s eye view perspective) to a stunning shot of Mont Saint Michel in Normandy, these are photos that are only made possible through the use of drones.</p> <p>“Drones are becoming an increasingly accessible way to get a new perspective on the world,” Eric Dupin, CEO of Dronestagram, said in a statement. “There literally are no physical limits as to where a shot can take place anymore.”</p> <p>Say what you like about drones, but there’s no denying they can take some spectacular images. Scroll through the gallery above to see them all.</p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><a href="/travel/travel-tips/2015/12/funny-way-to-avoid-losing-luggage/"><strong>One man’s genius way to avoid losing your luggage</strong></a></em></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><a href="/travel/travel-tips/2015/12/random-act-of-airport-kindness/"><strong>Stranger buys stranded traveller a flight to see her dying mother</strong></a></em></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><a href="/travel/travel-tips/2015/12/6-details-fine-print-plane-tickets/"><strong>6 hidden details in the fine print of plane tickets</strong></a></em></span></p>

Travel Tips