11月7日晚間,就在一場(chǎng)為慶祝喬·拜登當(dāng)選美國(guó)總統(tǒng)而舉行的焰火秀盛大舉行之際,天空中突然浮現(xiàn)了一陣流光溢彩,先后拼出他的名字、數(shù)字“46”和一幅美國(guó)地圖。拜登看上去有點(diǎn)驚訝。
這套魔法的背后有何秘密?它其實(shí)是一個(gè)精心設(shè)計(jì)的無人機(jī)群,很像英特爾公司首創(chuàng)的那種用來點(diǎn)亮天空,為科切拉音樂節(jié)和超級(jí)碗中場(chǎng)秀等重大活動(dòng)助興的無人機(jī)群表演。這場(chǎng)獻(xiàn)給拜登的演出甚至讓《華盛頓郵報(bào)》(Washington Post)的科技專欄作家杰弗里·福勒打趣說:“Lady Gaga什么時(shí)候空降進(jìn)來?”
未來幾年,預(yù)計(jì)將有更多的無人機(jī)浮現(xiàn)在天際間。新冠疫情加快了各種利用無人機(jī)的實(shí)驗(yàn)和商業(yè)試驗(yàn)。無人機(jī)的作用遠(yuǎn)不止利用LED燈拼出總統(tǒng)的名字,讓我們?yōu)橹@嘆那么簡(jiǎn)單,它還被用于送貨、農(nóng)作物監(jiān)測(cè)、消防,以及其他上千種工作。行業(yè)領(lǐng)軍企業(yè)DJI大疆、眾多創(chuàng)業(yè)公司,以及谷歌和亞馬遜等科技巨頭都在努力完善飛行硬件、傳感器和軟件。
從5G手機(jī)到5G筆記本電腦,大量新鮮出爐的電子產(chǎn)品源源不斷地涌入位于波士頓郊區(qū)的《財(cái)富》雜志分社。它們大多是制造商或無線運(yùn)營(yíng)商提供的評(píng)測(cè)設(shè)備。偶爾會(huì)有一些產(chǎn)品是我們家自己花錢購(gòu)買的,其中包括我最近入手的大疆新款Mini 2無人機(jī)。(這讓我的太太惠特尼非常失望,因?yàn)樗龍?jiān)決反對(duì)我在臨近節(jié)日送禮季時(shí)自行購(gòu)買商品。)
但我必須告訴你,這款重量?jī)H249克(約合8.8盎司)的迷你無人機(jī)擁有令人驚嘆的性能:電池充一次電,可以飛行半個(gè)多小時(shí),飛行距離最高可達(dá)6英里(約合9公里)。它搭載的攝像頭能夠拍攝相當(dāng)不錯(cuò)的照片,以及更加令人印象深刻的4K視頻。整架無人機(jī)可以折疊起來,小到能夠放在我的手掌或者夾克的口袋里。螺旋槳可能很吵(問問惠特尼就知道了),所以我盡量不打擾鄰居。但從空中鳥瞰世界,并獲得一些絕佳的攝影機(jī)會(huì),絕對(duì)是一件令人興奮的事情:
坐擁如此神奇的技術(shù)能力,商用無人機(jī)也應(yīng)該會(huì)保持強(qiáng)勁發(fā)展勢(shì)頭。在交通部部長(zhǎng)趙小蘭的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)下,即將離任的特朗普政府一直在努力而有序地拓展無人機(jī)的應(yīng)用場(chǎng)景,同時(shí)也非常關(guān)注無人機(jī)涉及的安全問題。并非每一項(xiàng)舉措都切中要害——比如,要求無人機(jī)必須持續(xù)連接互聯(lián)網(wǎng)的規(guī)則,就有些過于苛刻了。但如果即將上任的拜登政府遵循類似的飛行路線,美國(guó)的無人機(jī)群必將展翅高飛。(財(cái)富中文網(wǎng))
譯者:任文科
11月7日晚間,就在一場(chǎng)為慶祝喬·拜登當(dāng)選美國(guó)總統(tǒng)而舉行的焰火秀盛大舉行之際,天空中突然浮現(xiàn)了一陣流光溢彩,先后拼出他的名字、數(shù)字“46”和一幅美國(guó)地圖。拜登看上去有點(diǎn)驚訝。
這套魔法的背后有何秘密?它其實(shí)是一個(gè)精心設(shè)計(jì)的無人機(jī)群,很像英特爾公司首創(chuàng)的那種用來點(diǎn)亮天空,為科切拉音樂節(jié)和超級(jí)碗中場(chǎng)秀等重大活動(dòng)助興的無人機(jī)群表演。這場(chǎng)獻(xiàn)給拜登的演出甚至讓《華盛頓郵報(bào)》(Washington Post)的科技專欄作家杰弗里·福勒打趣說:“Lady Gaga什么時(shí)候空降進(jìn)來?”
未來幾年,預(yù)計(jì)將有更多的無人機(jī)浮現(xiàn)在天際間。新冠疫情加快了各種利用無人機(jī)的實(shí)驗(yàn)和商業(yè)試驗(yàn)。無人機(jī)的作用遠(yuǎn)不止利用LED燈拼出總統(tǒng)的名字,讓我們?yōu)橹@嘆那么簡(jiǎn)單,它還被用于送貨、農(nóng)作物監(jiān)測(cè)、消防,以及其他上千種工作。行業(yè)領(lǐng)軍企業(yè)DJI大疆、眾多創(chuàng)業(yè)公司,以及谷歌和亞馬遜等科技巨頭都在努力完善飛行硬件、傳感器和軟件。
從5G手機(jī)到5G筆記本電腦,大量新鮮出爐的電子產(chǎn)品源源不斷地涌入位于波士頓郊區(qū)的《財(cái)富》雜志分社。它們大多是制造商或無線運(yùn)營(yíng)商提供的評(píng)測(cè)設(shè)備。偶爾會(huì)有一些產(chǎn)品是我們家自己花錢購(gòu)買的,其中包括我最近入手的大疆新款Mini 2無人機(jī)。(這讓我的太太惠特尼非常失望,因?yàn)樗龍?jiān)決反對(duì)我在臨近節(jié)日送禮季時(shí)自行購(gòu)買商品。)
但我必須告訴你,這款重量?jī)H249克(約合8.8盎司)的迷你無人機(jī)擁有令人驚嘆的性能:電池充一次電,可以飛行半個(gè)多小時(shí),飛行距離最高可達(dá)6英里(約合9公里)。它搭載的攝像頭能夠拍攝相當(dāng)不錯(cuò)的照片,以及更加令人印象深刻的4K視頻。整架無人機(jī)可以折疊起來,小到能夠放在我的手掌或者夾克的口袋里。螺旋槳可能很吵(問問惠特尼就知道了),所以我盡量不打擾鄰居。但從空中鳥瞰世界,并獲得一些絕佳的攝影機(jī)會(huì),絕對(duì)是一件令人興奮的事情:
坐擁如此神奇的技術(shù)能力,商用無人機(jī)也應(yīng)該會(huì)保持強(qiáng)勁發(fā)展勢(shì)頭。在交通部部長(zhǎng)趙小蘭的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)下,即將離任的特朗普政府一直在努力而有序地拓展無人機(jī)的應(yīng)用場(chǎng)景,同時(shí)也非常關(guān)注無人機(jī)涉及的安全問題。并非每一項(xiàng)舉措都切中要害——比如,要求無人機(jī)必須持續(xù)連接互聯(lián)網(wǎng)的規(guī)則,就有些過于苛刻了。但如果即將上任的拜登政府遵循類似的飛行路線,美國(guó)的無人機(jī)群必將展翅高飛。(財(cái)富中文網(wǎng))
譯者:任文科
President-elect Joe Biden looked a little surprised when his?November 7 night fireworks show was suddenly interrupted by some additional sky art spelling out his name, the number 46, and then a map of the country.
The secret behind the magic? A choreographed drone swarm, much like the ones pioneered by Intel and used to light up everything from Coachella to the Super Bowl half-time show. The Biden display even prompted Washington Post tech columnist Geoffrey Fowler to quip: "When does Lady Gaga parachute in?"
Expect to see a lot more drones in the sky in coming years. The pandemic has accelerated a variety of experiments and commercials trial to use drones for deliveries, crop monitoring, firefighting, and a thousand more jobs beyond wowing us by spelling out presidents' names with LED lights. Industry leader DJI, flocks of startups, and tech giants like Google and Amazon are all working on perfecting the flight hardware, sensors, and software.
Plenty of new gadgets flow through Fortune's suburban Boston bureau, from 5G phones to 5G laptops, mostly supplied as review units by the manufacturers or wireless carriers. The occasional item is bought and paid for by our household, including the recent purchase of DJI's new Mini 2 drone (much to my wife Whitney's dismay, as she takes a strict line against such self-purchases so close to the holiday gift-giving season).
But I have to tell you, the capabilities packed into this tiny 249 gram (8.8 ounce) drone are remarkable. It can fly for more than half an hour on one battery charge and travel a distance of up to six miles from where it takes off. The camera takes decent photos and more impressive 4K videos. And the whole thing folds up small enough to fit in the palm of my hand or the pocket of my jacket. The propellers can be pretty buzzy (just ask Whitney), so I'll try not to annoy the neighbors. But it's quite a thrill getting a bird's eye view of the world and some fantastic opportunities for photography:
With such technical marvels, drones for business should keep their momentum too. The outgoing Trump administration worked hard and orderly under Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao to expand the playing field for drones while keeping an eye on safety and security. Not every move was on target—rules requiring constant Internet connections may be too much, for example. But the incoming Biden administration would do well to follow a similar flight path.