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Engineers teach a drone to herd birds away from airports autonomously

techxplore.com

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Re: Engineers teach a drone to herd birds away from airports autonomously

#51

Post by jdminhbg »

mhneu wrote: post #20
inamberclad wrote: post #16

I don't think pilots would be entirely opposed to this kind of tech. While I don't think many pilots trust drone operators to be responsible in any way (I don't, since I don't think many of them know the airspace system or where their nearby airports are), they might be okay with unmanned aerial systems operated by the local airport authority, since they could likely geofence them in such a manner that they'd never c…

Problem is downside risk: drones get hacked, or someone figures out how to make the drones fly into planes, or herd birds TOWARD planes. As a society we've been pretty cavalier about algorithmic control. Which can work well for a lot of things. But probably shouldn't be trusted (without a TON of validation and regulation, as we've done over decades with airliners) with controlling stuff that can injure people or dama…

> Problem is downside risk: drones get hacked, or someone figures out how to make the drones fly into planes, or herd birds TOWARD planes.

All of these things are way harder than simply buying a drone yourself and doing illegal things with it.

Re: Engineers teach a drone to herd birds away from airports autonomously

#52

Post by oh_sigh »

pluto9 wrote: post #48
oh_sigh wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even city-dwelling pigeons have a personal space bubble that they will try to protect if possible. It may be just a foot or two but it is still there.

The smaller that bubble gets, the greater the chance of a drone actually striking a bird, which could become a major legal liability [1]. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Migratory_Bird_Treaty_Act_of_1...

I'd imagine airports could get a waiver to pursue the birds for human safety. Airports are generally well acquainted with working with the government.

Re: Engineers teach a drone to herd birds away from airports autonomously

#53

Post by sandworm101 »

ap3 wrote: post #12
sandworm101 wrote: post #4

>> The passengers on Flight 1549 were only saved because the pilots were so skilled. Of course the engineering and planning that went into the aircraft's construction had nothing to do with it, nor did the countless government regulations dictating safety equipment and training. These sorts of "miracles" happen rather regularly. A plane crashes near a runway totaling the aircraft, but everyone walks away. Piloting is…

all Airbus 320 will have the same safety mechanisms and industry required features, but they would have been useless without the pilotsquick response in the end Human interaction ends up being the wildcard

There are also many natural wildcards. In water landings, where you hit the wave makes a huge difference. On land, it is trees and ground features. A good pilot can maximize the odds, but there is always a huge amount of luck.

Re: Engineers teach a drone to herd birds away from airports autonomously

#54

Post by crazysim »

guelo wrote: post #49

Considering 15 minute flight time, 2 hour battery recharging time, and several miles runway circumference, I guestimate you would need around a 100-200 drone system to maintain constant surveillance around a medium size airport.

You can probably cut that down a bit by doing a robotic battery replacement mechanism.

Re: Engineers teach a drone to herd birds away from airports autonomously

#56

Post by usaphp »

inamberclad wrote: post #16

I don't think pilots would be entirely opposed to this kind of tech. While I don't think many pilots trust drone operators to be responsible in any way (I don't, since I don't think many of them know the airspace system or where their nearby airports are), they might be okay with unmanned aerial systems operated by the local airport authority, since they could likely geofence them in such a manner that they'd never c…

> don't think many of them know the airspace system or where their nearby airports are)

Don’t you think they can’t learn that just like you did?

Re: Engineers teach a drone to herd birds away from airports autonomously

#58

Post by blktiger »

usaphp wrote: post #56
inamberclad wrote: post #16

I don't think pilots would be entirely opposed to this kind of tech. While I don't think many pilots trust drone operators to be responsible in any way (I don't, since I don't think many of them know the airspace system or where their nearby airports are), they might be okay with unmanned aerial systems operated by the local airport authority, since they could likely geofence them in such a manner that they'd never c…

> don't think many of them know the airspace system or where their nearby airports are) Don’t you think they can’t learn that just like you did?

It's not a matter of whether drone operators _can_ learn. It's more a matter of many of them _not_ learning. Why do firefighters still have trouble with drone operators running drones in areas where they are actively fighting fires? Not that all pilots are good about following the regulations all the time even though they should, but the consequences to the individual for not following FAA regulations as a private pilot are generally much higher than they are/should be for drone operators.

Re: Engineers teach a drone to herd birds away from airports autonomously

#60

Post by mbrameld »

guelo wrote: post #49

Considering 15 minute flight time, 2 hour battery recharging time, and several miles runway circumference, I guestimate you would need around a 100-200 drone system to maintain constant surveillance around a medium size airport.

Were those numbers in the article? Consumer drones already beat those numbers by half, I'd be surprised if purpose-built equipment would take a step backwards in battery technology. Also, why would you need that many drones instead of swapping batteries? I feel like I'm missing something, what do you know that I don't?
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