Drone Technology

The absolute bleeding edge of drone technology explained by Raffaello D'Andrea at TED (video below). Drone technology is moving at a rapid pace, so much so that the course in near ground earth observation (known as the drone course) that I recently completed feels out of date already.

Having a single rotor drone flying was impressive to see, as was the quad copper that had a failure in two of its rotors but could still fly and be controlled. Raffaello's work is focused on the creation of systems that leverage technological , scientific principles, advanced mathematics, algorithms, and the art of design in unprecedented ways, with an emphasis on advanced motion control. His hope is that these creations inspire us to rethink what role technology should have in shaping our future. The link to his site is above and is well worth checking out, the work he is doing is very impressive.

I also spotted a report on the BBC today about the length of battery times being increased from 20-30 minutes to over an hour using Hydrogen fuel cells. Intelligent Energy's range extender offers several hours of drone flight time and reduces the downtime to a couple of minutes for recharging. The increase in the length of flights will be useful for many industries, however at this point it is cost prohibitive for the hobbyist. Hydrogen is an extremely explosive gas, I worry about the first terrorist attack that uses a drone powered with hydrogen, especially in the wake of the recent attacks in Brussels.

The United States Federal Aviation Authority announced a mandatory registration process for drones in December (2015) that applies to hobbyist drones from 0.25kg and 25kg which basically means that everyone needs to register. It costs $5. and requires you to mark on your drone your unique registration number. Interestingly you have to be 13 to register which I take to mean that you have to be at least 13 now to fly a drone. The registration process only applies to recreational use at this point, but the business rules are forthcoming from the FAA.

Registering your drone with the authorities, another blow for privacy. Am sure Mr Cameron will follow suit shortly, of course the charge for registration in the UK will be about the same cost as the drone.

Icy Starts

I recently read an interesting article in the New York times titled "The benefits of getting an icy start to the day". The New York Times is the obvious daily paper to read when you live in Edinburgh. The article is written around someone that has started taking ice cold showers first thing in the morning. The author starts by having a normal shower and when finished getting washed turns the water temperature all the way down to cold (as possible). I realise to most people this sounds like madness.

The first time I read about having cold showers in the morning it was in a book called the four hour body, by Tim Ferris. His mixture of no-carbs, protein diet is mainly for weight loss and muscle building and he also discusses the merits of having a cold shower each day.

What are these merits? Well, apparently it can enhance your mood (as an anti-depressant), make you more aware, increase your circulation, reduce your stress and stimulate weight loss.

I have just completed day 8 of these cold showers. There is no doubt in my head whatsoever that it certainly makes you more aware, as soon as the cold hits you your heart rate plummets until you accept that this is happening and you start breathing again ;-) It's not an easy thing to do.

It reminds me of my field trips to Greenland. Due to the camp location you had to cross a river every morning and every afternoon on the way back. Doesn't sound to bad until you get in and the water is actually glacial meltwater and that it takes around 20-30 minutes to cross the river. You cannot feel your feet by the time you arrive at the other side. Doing this twice a day is not easy.

Back to the article in The Times, the article also included a recording of Carl Richards (the author of the article) talking about cold showers and the virtues of doing hard things first. Apparently if you do something hard first thing in the morning then you are more likely to tackle problems better during the rest of the day. I find the idea interesting.

If you don't read the article or listen to the audio, I think this is the most important take awayfrom it:

"The world is full of hard and scary things. We are at our best when we can tackle them bravely and confidently, not when we are accustomed to shying away. Set your alarm for two minutes earlier, get in the shower and before you turn it off, put it on cold. Think of it, quite literally, as stepping out of your comfort zone. It may be really hard, but just remember that most good things are."

Stance Socks

I purchased some Stance socks last year after seeing the video about their HQ building in San Clemente, California. If ever there was a way to run a company that we should aspire to it's probably this. I can almost hear the captains of (bygone) industries roll over in the grave right now. Of course 1/3 work 2/3 play sounds amazing and you wonder how they do it, how they are still expanding and growing all without someone with GIS (I checked their careers page).

Who knew socks were so interesting?

Have a look at the video anyway, it's interesting and fairly short and try their socks, they are super comfy.

The Panic Monster

An amazingly good TED talk by Tim Urban. He is one of the authors on a blog called Wait but why. He is a self confessed procrastinator and his talk is an excellent kick up the ass for upcoming deadlines and how he has handled them in the past. I can identify with his narrative on The Panic Monster and the Procrastination Monkey, I would like to think that perhaps I am getting better though...

Needless to say it is a funny informative talk. He also blogged about how he "prepared" for this talk, which is also extremely funny. I think both the video and the story may be useful for those of us who may have an upcoming deadline, you know, say in August...

Pi Day

I usually remember Pi Day but it escaped my notice until I was walking home after practical class today! My second to last assessment was handed in this morning and my last assessment was handed out this afternoon, for further spatial analysis. It looks interesting, cluster analysis.

It was a cold clear day in Edinburgh which made for a great magic hour at dusk. I also deviated from my usual way home and snapped a shot which I added to the Edinburgh gallery. I actually shot a lot on the way home but this was the only one I was happy with. It reminded me to try and walk places in a different way everyday so that there is a chance to see new locations and original ways to compose photographs.

This photograph was taken at the back of the Edinburgh University College of Art. I like the scene with the corroding sign on the wall and the back of the castle in the background.

It seems that the academic year is passing very fast with my last class being next Monday afternoon. After that I will be working full time on my dissertation which currently has the title "Identifying the potential for Glacial Lake Outburst Floods in north-western Nepal". It's a pity there isn't any fieldwork allowed... Perhaps I'll go after the course finished.