Extinction Rebellion threatens to use drones in 10-day Heathrow airport shutdown in third runway protest May 31, 2019 Climate protest group Extinction Rebellion has threatened to shut down London’s Heathrow airport for as long as 10 days this summer in protest at plans to build a third runway. Read more: Police charge 71 in relation to Extinction Rebellion protests The climate change activists will protest at the airport on 18 June before a [...]
Oil prices tick up as Opec signals it will keep production down in second half of the year May 20, 2019 Oil prices rose this morning as traders returned to work after Saudi Arabia said Opec still plans to decrease its inventories of crude oil. Saudi energy minister Khalid al-Falih said the oil-producing cartel had discussed rolling over production cuts into the second half of the year. Read more: Exxon decision to evacuate staff from Iraq [...]
Gatwick Christmas drone attack was possible inside job, says airport’s response chief April 14, 2019 A drone attack at Gatwick airport which brought 140,000 people’s Christmas travel plans to a standstill was an inside job, according to its chief operating officer. Read more: After Gatwick, how do we prevent future drone chaos? Chris Woodrofe, who led the airport’s response to the attack, told the BBC: “It was clear that the [...]
After Gatwick, how do we prevent future drone chaos? April 8, 2019 Last year’s disruption at Gatwick airport is estimated to have cost over £50m. The incident points to the urgent need for significant action to ensure that drones are used safely and securely in the UK. The government has begun to regulate the sector: it is currently an offence to endanger aircraft, drone pilots are not permitted [...]
Drones, Gatwick, and the future: how this new aerial technology can benefit the UK economy and the public good April 7, 2019 New technologies always stir emotion, and as we’ve seen with the drone incidents at Heathrow and Gatwick, they can even result in new legislation. Following the announcement by the government and Civil Aviation Authority regarding an extended no-fly zone and stop-and-search powers for police, it is clear that the time is right to increase our [...]
iSmash on rivalling Apple for tech repairs and launching more stores in a dying high street March 25, 2019 Many will be familiar with the trauma: you drop your smartphone and the screen shatters into a modern-day mosaic. You either learn to live with shards of glass jabbing your fingers, wait a week for a phone company to fix it, or pay for a bodge job at a corner shop. Except those are no longer [...]
MPs launch inquiry into drone risk after Gatwick travel chaos March 7, 2019 MPs have launched an investigation into the ethical and safety implications of drones in the wake of travel chaos at UK airports. The Science and Technology Committee (STC) has launched a probe into the use of civilian drones across the UK ahead of the government’s so-called Drone Bill, which is expected this year. Read more: [...]
Fedex creates Segway-inspired delivery robot with Pizza Hut and Walmart February 28, 2019 Fedex has unveiled a pizza delivery robot that will hit the streets this summer. Read more: What’s on your tech radar for 2019? Pizza Hut and Walmart are both on board, with trials set to begin soon in cities across the US, including in Fedex’s hometown of Memphis. The autonomous bot, which is powered by an [...]
‘No-fly zones’ around airport runways extended following Gatwick and Heathrow drone chaos February 20, 2019 Drones and similar model aircraft will be banned from flying within a five kilometre radius from airport runways following the havoc they wreaked at the Gatwick and Heathrow runways last year. The extended "no-fly zone" for drones and similar aircraft has been extended from one kilometre to five kilometres following recent episodes of disruption. Over [...]
Quit nostalgic navel-gazing and get excited for the future February 11, 2019 The thing about the 1970s – if you lived through them – is that they were for the most part dull and dour years, devoid of political and economic energy. And as for the fashion, don’t even go there. Yet there seems to be no shortage of fresh-faced tweets proclaiming those years to be something [...]