Technology

The folks at Spectrum have found a truly cool project for quadcopter pilots. Ita spinning sensor that will stop the rotors if your finger gets too close to the blades, thereby preventing you & or your kids & from getting cut.

Researchers at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia created so-called Safety Rotor to help prevent accidents with more powerful quadrotor drones. The system constantly senses for a &finger& & in this case a hot dog & and then slams the rotor to a stop within 0.077 seconds. A cage around the propellers spins more slowly than the propellers and is constantly on the lookout for biological material approaching the blades.

The measured latency [of the Safety Rotorbraking response] was 0.0118 seconds from the triggering event to start of rotor deceleration. The rotor required a further 0.0474 s to come to a complete stop. Ninety percent of the rotational kinetic energy of the rotor (as computed from angular velocity) was dissipated within 0.0216 s of triggering, and 99 percent of the rotational kinetic energy of the rotor was dissipated within 0.032 s.

The safety functionality of the safety system was tested on the bench using a processed meat &finger& proxy to trigger the hoop, and also applied to an open rotor (without hoop) for comparison. The rotor was spun at hover speed (1100 rads−1) and the finger proxy was introduced into the hoop at 0.36 ms−1 … The rotor and finger motion were captured using a shutter speed of 480 Hz. The rotor came to a stop within 0.077 s, with only light marks on the finger proxy from the impact of the hoop. The rotor was completely stopped by the time the finger reached the rotor plane. In contrast, the tip of the finger proxy introduced to an open rotor was completely destroyed.

The kit adds $20 and about 22 grams to the drone so itnot particularly expensive or difficult to implement. It could be, as they note, a real lifesaver if you tend to put your juicy, blood-filled digits into copter blades.

TechCrunch Disrupt is coming back to Berlin this winter, and you can already buy tickets. It will feature technologists, investors, entrepreneurs and media outlets; Startup Alley, where over 400 pre-Series A companies exhibit; Startup Battlefield, our premier startup pitch competition where a curated group of techtop early-stage startups will compete for the $50,000 grand prize, the coveted Disrupt Cup and intense media and investor interest.

Disrupt Berlin will feature workshops, world-class networking and after-parties. Ittime to place buying Disrupt Berlin tickets at the top of your priority list. Our two-for-one Innovator pass promotion goes live in just 48 hours with a limited number of passes, and it won&t last long. Sign up today.

We&re also beginning to announce our first speakers, and we&re delighted that Saul Klein, Founding Partner at Localglobe, will be joining us.

Localglobe is a new-ish seed fund focussed on helping Londongreat most ambitious founders build game-changing businesses. Previously, Saul was a Partner at Index Ventures from 2007 until May 2015. In 2012 David Cameron appointed Saul to be the UKfirst tech envoy to Israel and a Technology Business Ambassador.

Saul is a serial entrepreneur with two decades of experience building and exiting companies in the US, Israel and Europe. He has a passion for working with seed and early-stage businesses. Most recently Saul co-founded Kano and Seedcamp, as well as a co-founder and original CEO of Lovefilm International (acquired by Amazon). He was also part of the original executive team at Skype (acquired by eBay).

We love Berlin. Itthe epicenter of Europevibrant startup scene, and we can&t wait to see what the continenttech titans and rising stars will bring to Disrupt Berlin 2018 on November 29-30. These two action-packed days offer tremendous value at full freight but, on this Wednesday, May 30 at 12pm CEST / 6am EDT we&re offering a limited number of two Innovator passes for just €695. Simply sign up for our newsletter and we&ll notify you when to jump online and grab some for you and a friend.

Budget-minded startup fans take heed — this limited-time offer won&t stick around forever. Just imagine how much better you&ll feel knowing you got the best deal possible. And letface it, if you want to showcase your company, products and ideas in front of the international tech startup community, Disrupt Berlin 2018 is the place to do it.

Consider this: At Disrupt Berlin 2017, we hosted 2,600 attendees — including technologists, investors, entrepreneurs and media outlets. And those attendees made a bee-line to explore Startup Alley, where 416 pre-Series A companies exhibited the very best up-and-coming tech and talent.

Don&t forget about Startup Battlefield, our premier startup pitch competition. A curated group of techtop early-stage startups will compete for the $50,000 (or about €42,600) grand prize, the coveted Disrupt Cup and intense media and investor interest. Just ask the folks at Lia Diagnostics, the winner of last yearStartup Battlefield at Disrupt Berlin.

Disrupt Berlin offers so much more, including workshops, world-class networking opportunities and after-parties. Your Innovator pass provides access to all that, along with: speakers on The Main Stage, The Next Stage and The Q-A Stage, full use of the Disrupt attendee list, use of the Disrupt Mobile App to contact conference attendees and, after the conference, access to the Disrupt Berlin event video library.

Ittime to place buying Disrupt Berlin tickets at the top of your priority list. Our two-for-one Innovator pass promotion goes live in just 48 hours with a limited number of passes, and it won&t last long. Sign up today.

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