Drones future of search and rescue

[taniwha 1,448]

Watched this on T.V last night....Check out this awesome news clip...

Homegrown unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) - or drones - are set to change the face of search and rescue in New Zealand.

http://www.3news.co.nz/UAV-drones-changing-the-face-of-Search--Rescue-NZ/tabid/367/articleID/338164/Default.aspx

[taniwha 1,448]

Dropping life-rafts instead of bombs, saving lives instead of taking them. I like this way of thinking.

Waging war against death.

Edited April 1, 2014 by taniwha

[taniwha 1,448]

Seriously though these guys know their stuff. I would love to have one or build one. Those wing shapes look great.

But alas at least one drone enthusiast wants government regulation over commercial blade drones as they become more readily available to the amateur

New Zealand's military involvement with drones is modest; the army's locally made Kahu UAV is a 3.9kg drone that can fly for up to two hours with a range of 25 kilometres.

Aucklander Michael Packer, in his pursuit for better pictures, became a quad expert and says tighter controls are needed to regulate how high they can go and their use in crowded urban areas.

"The Government's response is that until there is an accident we don't need to do anything."

While a Blade drone is mostly plastic, its danger comes from its lithium polymer batteries, which are prone to catching fire and exploding. It would be worse than a bird in a jet engine.

You can read more here and watch the video...

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/9650496/Eye-spy-disaster-in-the-city-sky

I dont mean to sound like a killjoy Mr Packer but drones dont kill people, people kill people lol

So what exactly is the NZ Armies UAV?

...The Kahu UAV is a mini (2 metre class) fully composite airframe specifically designed to minimise drag and therefore maximise both endurance and the environmental operating envelope. The aircraft incorporates a 1200 W electric motor and novel cooling mount and incorporates the DTA pitot static sensor for measurement of air data, even in light rain. Kahu airframes are constructed from the DTA designed production aluminium moulds...

http://www.kahunet.co.nz/kahu-uav.html

No doubt the exact same tech is deployed with the search and rescue drones.

Edited April 1, 2014 by taniwha

[taniwha 1,448]

Applying the same tech as the NZ armies Kahu UAV, drones are now at the forefront of, you guessed it, PEST control....

http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/drones-used-in-possum-hunt-video-5709075