Category: Hardware patents
Balanced Gimbal with Props, Rather than the Inverse
The principle of a gimbal gets a new twist with this invention: The camera hardware is tethered on a balanced “bridge” straddling the flying hardware, and looks essentially like a teeter-totter. The part that does all the flying can move freely, and the bridge is balanced horizontally to maintain a steady shot. Further advantages are the orientation of the props, away from the edges of the machine, and its seemingly minimalist framework, which is claimed […]
Aquacopters Presents a Waterproof, Indestructible Drone
If there is anything I’ve learned from my failures to land, it’s the fragility of cheap consumer drones. Aquacopters to the rescue! This thing is basically a sealed fortress, waterproof and shockproof. It can fly in bad weather, land and take off in water, and still take more punishment. The specification says it can be made of Kydex, so you know it’s got ‘tude. There is also known the Game of Drones (gameofdrones.com), which lets […]
Parrot’s Bebop Prop Patent
Parrot, the French company that gave us the precursor consumer drone, has filed for a patent application on propeller mounting means. I know first-hand the frustration of seeing a prop fly off a spindle in mid-air, where it goes nobody knows, but it’s somewhere in the lawn. The bird in question is the new Parrot Bebop (http://www.parrot.com/ca/products/bebop-drone/) and it is fabulous. This invention at hand offers the following advantages: 1) Weight distribution of the prop […]
Disney’s Flying Eye Will Eavesdrop and Talk Back
Title: “Aircraft, Methods for Providing Optical Information, Method for Transmission of Acoustic Information and Method for Observing or Tracking an Object” US Patent Application Publication No: 20150078620 Filed (PCT): April 19, 2013 Published: March 19, 2015 Details: Did you know that Disney has a worldwide network of research facilities? Their Zurich branch has access to 21 Nobel laureates via the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zürich (ETH). As it happens, Disney Research and ETH are […]