A Drone Will Rescue Three Dogs Trapped By La Palma Volcanic Eruption 43
Three dogs that are trapped near the erupting Cumbre Vieja volcano on the Canary Islands may soon be saved by a drone. Gizmodo reports: The poor, emaciated pups have been stuck in a yard surrounded by lava for a month. The volcano began erupting in September for the first time in 50 years, forcing thousands of people to evacuate, and the eruption is still ongoing. Spanish drone operator Aerocamaras said last Thursday that it had a plan to rescue the dogs. It could fly drones over to the yard with food for the pups and a camera that could help operators on the ground find the best to airlift them. Once the animals had some time to get used to the machines, the drones would drop cargo nets over them to pick them up one by one and carry them to safety.
On Wednesday, Aerocamaras' Jaime Pereira confirmed that the company had officially received permission from authorities to carry out the rescue mission. To get the state's blessing, the firm had to complete a test mission that consisted of a quarter-mile (1.2-kilometer) flight with the drone supporting a load of 33 pounds (15 kilograms), which it did successfully. Still, the mission will be treacherous. "It is very difficult, technically it is the most complicated thing we have done by far," Pereira told the Spanish broadcaster Telecinco. "We are risking a lot."
For one, the cargo net for the rescue mission is designed to hold about 50 pounds (24 kilograms), enough to transport one dog at a time. The operators have to be sure to time their lift-off perfectly to avoid picking up more than one dog and having them fall. Pereira also told Reuters that the drone only has 8 minutes of battery life, meaning the trips will have to be meticulously planned and executed: The operator will have only 4 minutes to get the dog into the net, and another 4 minutes to fly them back to safe ground. "What we don't want is to run out of battery when flying over the lava," he said. The expedition will mark a series of high-stakes first. "It's the first time an animal is being rescued with a drone and the first time it has to be captured," Pereira told Reuters.
On Wednesday, Aerocamaras' Jaime Pereira confirmed that the company had officially received permission from authorities to carry out the rescue mission. To get the state's blessing, the firm had to complete a test mission that consisted of a quarter-mile (1.2-kilometer) flight with the drone supporting a load of 33 pounds (15 kilograms), which it did successfully. Still, the mission will be treacherous. "It is very difficult, technically it is the most complicated thing we have done by far," Pereira told the Spanish broadcaster Telecinco. "We are risking a lot."
For one, the cargo net for the rescue mission is designed to hold about 50 pounds (24 kilograms), enough to transport one dog at a time. The operators have to be sure to time their lift-off perfectly to avoid picking up more than one dog and having them fall. Pereira also told Reuters that the drone only has 8 minutes of battery life, meaning the trips will have to be meticulously planned and executed: The operator will have only 4 minutes to get the dog into the net, and another 4 minutes to fly them back to safe ground. "What we don't want is to run out of battery when flying over the lava," he said. The expedition will mark a series of high-stakes first. "It's the first time an animal is being rescued with a drone and the first time it has to be captured," Pereira told Reuters.
3 dogs? (Score:1)
So, it's a Three Dog Night, eh? [wikipedia.org]
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Excellent, darling!
Re: qwe1234 is depressed and repressed (Score:1)
Lava roasted dog (Score:3)
Survival of the Cutest (Score:2)
Because dogs evolved to stare at humans with sad eyes, put their tails down, and make whimpering sounds. Oinking doesn't have the same emotional punch on humans, so pigs get baconized.
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I don't get why people who have no problem eating pigs and cows get so defensive about dogs.
I have seen people work hard to rescue cattle stranded in a flood, including people with no financial stake.
My neighbor has a friendly potbellied pig named Penelope.
Disclaimer: I don't eat cows, pigs, or dogs. Pass the tofu.
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Gosh, could that possibly be more obvious? Because dogs are man's best friend. We long ago domesticated them as pets and we have been living together for thousands of years. Pets aren't food, as must be blatantly self-evident even before you wrote that.
The ghastly insensitivity of this comment is breathtaking to behold. Someone wants to leave pets to literally die in a fire. Damn, I knew Slashdot could be cold, but not this cold. This is the action of a depraved heart.
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Its all relative.
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Why not use a helicopter with a line and winch? (Score:1)
Just based on the article, their plan sounds dumb.
Re:Why not use a helicopter with a line and winch? (Score:4, Interesting)
You mean the article that says helicopters can't fly there because the volcanic gasses can damage their rotors? That article?
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Like drone rotors?
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No, not at all like drone rotors.
helicopter rotors don't just burr around like a fan, they change angle and pitch. not by motors but by hydraulics.
Drone rotors on the other hand DO burr around like a simple fan, on a simple motor, and don't have any fine control at all beyond that motor and its speed.
The drones fine angle control comes from the fact there are six independent simple rotors where each has their speed adjusted independently. All by electric control, no hydraulics.
The complexity in helicopter
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Delicate mechanical piece (Score:2)
I can understand not placing humans at too much risk to rescue dogs, but I am curious what the actual risks of flying over lava would be. The article does say about 'volcanic gasses damaging the rotors,' but what the hell does that mean.
In addition of the throttle that will make the engine go fast or slower (and isn't used that intensively in a helicopter: usually the propellers in a helicopter turn at a fixed optimal speed so the throttle is mostly used one at the beginning to attain the desired rotation speed and left in position), helicopters have a lot of other controls:
mostly controls that change the angle at which the blades of the rotor attack the air, so they vary their lift. This is both for the total lift of each rotor (two "coll
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A helicopter is far more expensive to operate than a drone.
A helicopter produces a powerful downdraft that can knock a grown man off his feet. The dogs would likely be terrified and attempt to flee.
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I've worked with helicopters before. It was awhile ago, but I'm sure they haven't changed. They don't have to land and probably won't be as bad as a drone that can pick up 50 pounds. Most dogs freak out around vacuum cleaners. A big freakin' drone landing right beside them won't be winning prizes.
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That is probably why TFS describes letting them get acclimated to the drone. Starving dogs get used to things that bring them food and don't hurt them.
At least think of possible problems that are not already answered in the there short paragraphs, or have answers that are painfully obvious.
there may be a timing problem (Score:5, Funny)
"...the drone only has 8 minutes of battery life, meaning the trips will have to be meticulously planned and executed: The operator will have only 4 minutes to get the dog into the net, and another 4 minutes to fly them back to safe ground."
Ok! That's four minutes to get there, four minutes to capture the dogs, and four minutes to fly them back out. What could possibly go wrong?
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It appears that the Gizmodo article invented the "8 minute battery life" claim:
Pereira also told Reuters [reuters.com] that the drone only has 8 minutes of battery life, meaning the trips will have to be meticulously planned and executed: The operator will have only 4 minutes to get the dog into the net, and another 4 minutes to fly them back to safe ground. “What we don’t want is to run out of battery when flying over the lava,” he said.
As you can see from the linked article, Pereira did NOT say anything about 8 minutes in his quotes to Reuters. That was Gizmodo's (silly) assumption.
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Either the BBC (I think) or possibly another TV source I saw yesterday said it would have 8 minutes to pick them up. It's very possible I misunderstood, but I thought that meant they had 8 minutes for the dog to get caught in the net before it had to get back to safety.
Also, there was some disagreement as to whether it was 3 or 4 dogs. I think they said a Spanish news source was reporting 4 dogs.
1.2km is three quarters of a mile (Score:1)
better idea (Score:1)
Re: better idea (Score:1)
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So drop off some thumbs. Geez, do I have to think of everything?!
Rescue drones. (Score:5, Funny)
It went down well.
Next Week... (Score:2)
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Barbecue special at the taco truck!
not anymore (Score:2)
the dogs already been rescued by locals https://www.palmerus.es/post/l... [palmerus.es]
POC for "Drone" hunting (Score:2)
I feel like this may be the inadvertent invention of "drone hunting". Soon, hunters around the world will start using drones to locate, kill, and retrieve game. They won't even need to leave their remote "hunting" cabins. Jack Daniels and Budweiser may even help fund the tech knowing the more the hunters aren't hunting, the more they'll be drinking.