Dr. Kam Leang hosted ARCS members, guests, U of U Mechanical Engineering students and faculty for a talk on drones. Dr. Leang explained that over the last decade, drone technology has advanced significantly, due in part to innovations in small mobile devices including cell phones, tablets, and other personal electronics. Drones are now smaller, faster, and less expensive, and this trend is likely to continue. Although the term ‘drones’ has a negative connotation in many minds, the rapid increase in potential high-impact and game-changing non-military applications has attracted significant attention from the average do-it-yourselfer to tech giants that see the technology as disruptive. His talk highlighted key emerging applications for consumer drones, including drone-assisted emergency response and environmental monitoring, and it will highlight some of the challenges ahead and the technology’s impact on society and the quality of life. After the talk, Dr. Leang and his students took attendees on a tour of his lab and provided demonstrations of drones in action.
