- Știri
The unmanned vehicle was on day 30 of a 40-day mission to explore the Kermadec Trench northeast of New Zealand. It dove to depths ranging from 6,000 to 11,000 meters deep. When it imploded, the vehicle was under pressure as great at 16,000 pounds per square inch.
Built in 2008, Nereus was in its sixth year of service.
„Nereus helped us explore places we’ve never seen before and ask questions we never thought to ask,” Timothy Shank, a WHOI biologist who helped dream up the vehicle said in a statement. „It was a one-of-a-kind vehicle that even during its brief life, brought us amazing insights into the unexplored deep ocean, addressing some of the most fundamental scientific problems of our time about life on Earth.”
Major news outlets call the FAA’s drone restrictions a violation of the First Amendment
You may have heard about farmers, pilots and even real estate agents calling on the Federal Aviation Administration to allow the use of commercial drones in U.S. airspace. But now some of the nation’s largest newspaper companies — The Washington Post, the New York Times, the Associated Press and Gannett, among others — are saying the FAA is restricting free speech by not allowing drones to fly.
The news organizations argue that banning the use of drones amounts to a First Amendment violation, according to court documents filed this week in the case of a filmmaker who was fined by the FAA for using a drone to film an ad.
„This overly broad policy,” the brief reads, „implemented through a patchwork of regulatory and policy statements and an ad hoc cease-and-desist enforcement process, has an impermissible chilling effect on the First Amendment newsgathering rights of journalists.”
The media organizations filed the brief in support of Raphael Pirker, who was fined $10,000 by the agency for using a drone to shoot a commercial at the University of Virginia. A federal judge threw out the FAA’s case in March, encouraging drone advocates, but the FAA is continuing to fight.
„The FAA is appealing the decision of an NTSB administrative law judge to the full National Transportation Safety Board, which has the effect of staying the decision until the board rules,” the FAA said in a statement. „The agency is concerned that this decision could impact the safe operation of the national airspace system and the safety of people and property on the ground.”
Easyjet develops flying robots to inspect aircraft
Easyjet is developing drones to inspect its fleet of Airbus aircraft, and may introduce the flying maintenance robots as early as next year.
The drones will be used to scan and assess Easyjet planes and report damage back to engineers.The flying robots are being developed by a team that includes experts from the University of Bristol.Easyjet is also developing virtual reality video technologyIn addition, Easyjet wants apps to help with maintenance, and the airline is fitting „paperless plane” technology. Durable laptop computers will replace printed navigational charts in planes. „We have examined and assessed cutting edge technology across many different industries and are now applying a range of new technologies to the aviation sector for the first time to help us run our fleet of aircraft more effectively, efficiently and safely,” said chief executive Carolyn McCall.
Easyjet plans to test the drones within coming months.
