Drones have taken off in the past decade, and have been used for a variety of applications from wedding photography to national defence. However, drones are not very well equipped to deal with inclement weather, especially in strong winds. Animals Dynamics, led by Alex Caccia, created the Skeeter drone in 2020 that mimics the mobility and stealth of insects - the wings of the dragonfly, in particular, were an inspiration for the Skeeter’s design. The Skeeter has a flat and thin center (almost like the handle of a toothbrush, but silicone) and four propellers, which almost look like paddles, that can adjust and fly even during winds of up to 20 knots (23 mph or 37 km/h), which is generally considered to be speeds of a strong breeze. The fact that the Skeeter can withstand a breeze might not seem that impressive, but typical commercial drones are really only able to fly in the most optimal (ie: non-windy) conditions. The Skeeter is set to enter commercial production soon and is being geared towards defence and communication since it can be fitted with a camera and communication devices. There is a whole set of ethical dilemmas that accompany technology being marketed or co-opted for defence and national security, but this is an interesting leap in drone photography that shouldn’t be discounted.
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Artificial Life, Ecological Monitoring, Monitoring, Regulation
Air Pollution Robot
The dangers of air pollution to human health are well documented, though the traditional methodology of collecting and reporting on sample lags behind the need to keep abreast and regulate air pollution in a meaningful amount of time. The use of drones and robots have been identified by researchers as resources that can be tweaked […]
Artificial Life, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Ecological Monitoring, Industry/Natural Commodities, Lifestyle, Monitoring
Telematic Rivers
Erica Kermani’s artwork seeks to answer a central question: if rivers were seeing an equal, living entity, would humans take issues like climate change threatening them more seriously? In his year-long art exhibition in 2017, Kermani, in collaboration with Diana Salcedo & Jeana Chesnik, created a new forum of interaction between humans and rivers to […]
Climate Change, Ecological Monitoring, Lifestyle, Monitoring, Pollution, Visual Technologies
Co-occupied Boundaries
Art is easily found in nature but rarely is what considered art today inherently natural. The concept of co-occupied mediums that serve to be both functional for nature and aesthetically pleasing to people is being actively explored by Asya Ilgun and Phil Ayres, from the CITAstudio at The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. In […]
Climate Change, Ecological Monitoring, Lifestyle, Monitoring, Pollution, Visual Technologies