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This photographer turns aerial photos into dream-like composites

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Being able to turn your vivid imagination into art is not an easy task. It takes skill, time, and of course – the imagination, of course, above all else.

Photographer Darren Wilden is an imaginative artist, passionate about flying a drone and working in Photoshop. He brought his two passions together in a magnificent series of images. Darren takes aerial shots, and then turns them into creations that look like they came straight out of a dream. In his artistic world, anything is possible, and his imagination seems like it has no limits.

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This is what happens when your drone gets struck by lightning

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Chances are, if there’s thunder and lightning happening, it’s usually raining, too. Drones generally don’t mix well with water. So, flying your drone probably isn’t going to be on your list of priorities. But, it’s been known to happen. Storm chasers, and those trying to get some insane weather footage will take the risk.

But what would happen if your drone was struck by lightning? Well, YouTuber Tom Scott went to visit the University of Manchester’s High Voltage Laboratory to find out. They flew a couple of DJI Phantom 3 drones in the lab, and put 1.4 million volts through them. The results were interesting, to say the least, if not particularly surprising.

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NASA simulates DJI Phantom airflow to improve quadcopter design

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NASA has used computer models to simulate airflow for decades. It lets them test to see how aircraft will react to drag, friction and countless other forces. All important factors when it comes to designing the next generation of vehicles. At NASA’S Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, the technique was recently used to check out the airflow around quadcopters. Specifically, the DJI Phantom 3.

Unlike NASA’s typical rocket powered aircraft, quadcopters rely on four spinning motors with propellers to generate thrust. This thrust needs to generate enough lift to raise both the quadcopter and its payload (perhaps a gimbal and camera) off the ground. The simulations show just how complex the air motions are from the propellers, due to interactions with the X-shaped frame during flight.

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This is why drones and balloons don’t like to play together

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We’ve had this video submitted to us by a videographer who wishes to remain anonymous and I can understand why. Even though he followed all regulations (like height, distance from venue and so one) he still got nuked!

The short of the story is that a DJI Phantom Pro 3 got taken down by a balloon (kinda like playing pong, but in reverse). But I think that there is much more to the story than a fallen drone.
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DJI Phantom 3 & Inspire 1 Add Auto Flight Modes Via Firmware Update

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When I talk to videographers who fly drones (dronists? I donno…) and the issue of DJI vs. 3D robotics comes up, the main point is always how the Solo from 3DR can do clever things autonomously while the DJIs need some babysitting.

DJI’s new firmware update closes that gap and adds some pretty clever flight modes to the company’s DJI Phantom 3 & Inspire 1. They are calling it Intelligent Flight.

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Guy Uses New Drone to Rescue Lost Drone from Neighbor’s Roof

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Drunken friends:  We’ve all had at least one, but chances are not all of us have had ones that lost our quad copters on neighbors’ roofs.  That is not the case for Harrison Howe who’s roommate drunkenly lost his Syma X5C on an inaccessible roof down the street.  Without being able to actually get onto the roof (imagine THAT conversation with a neighbor!), the drone sat there for two months until Harrison devised a plan for an aerial rescue.

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More Drones: DJI Announces The Phantom 3 Drone

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If I had to pick one topic that I get pitched about the most with regards to NAB, it will have to be DRONES. With a Capital D. And it does seem that they will be a hot topic during 2015.

One of the first birds to arrive is the new DJI Phantom 3 announced today from Chinese company DJI.

Unlike their GoPro line, this Drone from DJI comes with its own integrated camera. There are two versions to this new drone: The Professional version showing off golden stripes, which shoot up to 4K at 30 fps, and an Advanced version (silver striped) that shoots at 1920 x 1080 resolution at up to 60 fps.

The price tag of both will not make you drop, and range between $999 (advanced) to $1,259 (pro).

Features wise, it seems like this drone is a natural evolution from the DJI Phantom 2 Vision+ with a similar 3 axis integrated gimbal.

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