Model Airplanes

Soaring overhead, drones across agricultural land in parts of more than a dozen Minnesota counties survey the landscape.

The operators of these unmanned aerial vehicles — University of Minnesota researchers — aren’t looking for enemy combatants or conducting observation for law enforcement. Instead, they’re flying the drones over soybean fields looking for a different kind of adversary: soybean aphids. These insects are known to cause significant damage to farmers’ soybean crops.

The researchers’ use of drones in agricultural research is one way the University is advancing UAV technology, which they say will benefit an industry that the Federal Aviation Administration predicts to be worth $90 billion globally over the next decade.

Currently, the FAA limits drone use to noncommercial organizations like the University. But the FAA is expected to release new safety regulations in the next year, which would open up the skies to commercial operators who hope to cash in on drones.

While a U.S. Department of Transportation audit found it unlikely that the FAA will meet that deadline, Ian MacRae, an entomology professor and a researcher with the project, said the agency must move quickly to establish regulations so the U.S. doesn’t lose its drone research and technology edge.

“We’re probably second to none in the development, but where we’re hurting is the application,” he said. “It’s important we get them incorporated in the national airspace safely.”

While the University researchers’ work highlights the usefulness of drones in a domestic setting, they say some are cautious of drones in U.S. airspace. So they

Article source: http://www.mndaily.com/news/campus/2014/10/27/university-researchers-promote-drone-usage

Just before he climbs aboard the shiny white bus, Tau Pham hands his satchel to the guys loading cargo. Quickly, they stuff it next to dragon fruit, car parts, homemade sticky rice and today’s editions of the Vietnamese newspapers.

Pham thanks them and smooths imaginary wrinkles from the shirt tucked beneath his blazer. He’s been taking the trip north for 13 years now, but he still likes to look sharp.

He settles into his spot in the second row. He always sits where there’s a view.

“I like to see the miles pass by,” Pham says, gazing out the window. “I’ve been on this route ever since they started with a van and just 12 seats.”

For 17 years, the Xe Do Hoang bus line has faithfully shuttled the newly arrived between the nation’s two largest Vietnamese American communities.

A MakerBot 3-D printer prints an object at the University of Louisville J.B. Speed School of Engineering’s rapid prototyping center.

15 photos

Article source: http://www.bizjournals.com/louisville/blog/2014/10/model-hearts-and-airplane-parts-lets-look-u-of-ls.html

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Article source: http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/home/id=1202674269540/Unmanned-Flight-Legal-Challenges-of-Drones?mcode=1202615326010&curindex=1

Article source: http://www.journalnow.com/relishnow/the_arts/visual_arts/latest-annual-show-by-promising-north-carolina-artists-under/article_5b093a66-d2da-56fa-80ea-46e886cb4da6.html