Undefined Technologies发布新品“沉寂”无人机，运行噪声仅70分贝

Undefined Technologies Shares New Footage of Its Silent Drone That Generates only 70 DB

五月份，Undefined Technologies的Silent Ventus系列安静无人机问世，以制造较小噪音在市场中盛行。

Back in May, Undefined Technologies introduced the world to its quiet,Silent Ventus drone, whose goal is to make itself heard on the market by making less noise than its competitors. 

根据美国航空航天局的一项研究记载，无人机的一大令人厌恶的特点即是其制造的噪音，其噪声比道路交通运行中产生的还要遭人愤恨。这也是为什么美国只允许噪声水平在50分贝到70分贝，在商业区和住宅区飞行的无人机。问题是市面上最热销的递送无人机噪声极大，在85-96分贝之间。

According to a NASA study quoted by Undefined Technologies, one of the most disliked things about drones is the noise they generate, which is deemed even more annoying than the one made by road traffic. It is why the U.S. only allows for noise levels between 50 dB and 70 dB, in both commercial and residential areas. The problem is that most commercial delivery drones on the market today are louder than that, with a noise footprint between 85 dB and 96 dB.

Undefined Technologies承诺将带来全电子无人机，噪声特征最小。该公司一直在做的Silent Ventus系列无人机噪声低于70分贝。该飞机由离子推进提供动力，不使用螺旋桨。

What Undefined Technologies promises to bring to the table is a fully electric drone with minimum noise signature. The so-called Silent Ventus, which is the product the company has been working on for some years now, claims it can generate noise levels that are below 70 dB. The aircraft is powered by ion propulsion and doesn’t use propellers. 

该公司一直在改善其降噪无人机，刚开始开发的无人机仅能在空中停留25秒，噪声分贝90，后面渐渐地对两个方面进行了改善，降低噪声分贝，增长飞行时间。

Undefined Technologies has continuously improved its silent drone, starting with prototypes that could only stay in the air for 25 seconds and generated 90 dB and gradually managing to both reduce the noise level and increase the flight time. 

近日，他们在YouTube发布的最新视频向我们展示正在飞行中的Silent Ventus， 能在持续飞行4.5分钟，噪声指数低于75分贝。这是公司的一个重要的里程碑，但是Undefined Technologies表示他们有更大的目标，计划在2023年末将飞行时间增长至15分钟，噪声指数降低至70分贝以下。

The latest video published recently on the company’s YouTube channel shows us the Silent Ventus in action, succeeding to achieve a flight time of four and a half minutes and noise levels below 75 dB. It was a significant milestone to hit, but Undefined Technologies says it has even bigger goals than that, aiming to achieve 15-minute flights and noise levels below 70 dB by the end of 2023. 

Undefined Technologies首席航空工程师Thomas Benda Jr解释道，“为了增长无人机原来仅4.5分钟的飞行时间，必须要对电池的化学成分进行改进，这样才能提供更高的能量密度。此次改进也是为了生产更轻质的无人机。”

In order to increase the drone’s flight time to four and a half minutes, advancements had to be made in the chemical composition of the batteries that can now provide higher energy densities, as explained by Thomas Benda Jr, Lead Aerospace Engineer at Undefined Technologies. He also added that this improvement is part of the company’s efforts to target lighter weights. 

Undefined Technologies也向我们展示了其实验室，解释了他们专有技术是如何运作的。该技术在无人机周围形成一个离子云，可以使空气向下流而提供向上的推力。

Undefined Technologies also gave us a peek into the lab where all the magic happens, explaining how its proprietary technology works. The technology generates an ion cloud surrounding the drone, which then pushes air downward to provide upper lift. 

降噪无人机将于2024年投入批量生产。

The serial production of the silent drone should kick off in 2024. 

Source: Modern Shipper

来源：Modern Shipper

沃尔玛公司计划结合机器人和无人机交付

Walmart wants to combine robot and drone delivery

沃尔玛已经尝试了无人机投递、食品运输机器人和全自动箱式卡车等解决方案。然而，一个新专利的出现能够将三者结合起来。

Walmart has experimented with solutions like drone delivery, food delivery robots and fully autonomous box trucks. A new patent, though, seeks to combine all three. 

上周，已向美国专利商标局提交了专利申请，该专利是有关结合无人驾驶技术和递送无人机和机器人的解决方案。根据该提案，沃尔玛将使用遵循预定路线的自动导引车（AGV）。但是如果车辆遇到任何障碍，他们能够启动无人机完成递送。

The patent, filed last week with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, describes a solution that combines driverless technology with delivery drones and robots. Under the proposal, Walmart would use automated guided vehicles (AGVs) that follow a predetermined route. But if they run into any obstacles, they would automatically release a drone to complete the delivery. 

“我们在不断探索新兴技术是如何塑造未来购物体验的，我们也在一直试验新想法。有些想法最终变成了我们为客户提供的产品或服务，而有些则用作测试、创新和学习。”

“We’re continuously exploring how emerging technologies may shape future shopping experiences and are testing new ideas all the time. Some ideas become products or services that make it to customers. And some we test, iterate and learn from,” Walmart said in an email statement to Modern Shipper. 

在专利提案中提到无人机是作为一个“后备机制”，以防自动引导车不能按计划运行。

The patent filing described drones as the “back-up mechanism” in cases in which deliveries using AGVs don’t go as planned. 

专利提案中写道，“近日，为了完成客户的递送订单，正努力调配自动引导车。但是自动引导车因其弊端而面临挑战。具体来说，自动引导车在驾驶过程中经常会遇到路障，让运输无法完成，如机动车辆、人、动物、道路建设、路缘和紧闭的大门。”

“Recently, efforts have been made to deploy autonomous ground vehicles to complete deliveries to customers. The use of autonomous ground vehicles, however, presents its own challenges,” the patent reads. “More specifically, autonomous ground vehicles will often encounter obstacles that may prevent them from completing the delivery, such as, for example, motor vehicles, people, animals, road constructions, curbs and closed gates.” 

机器人会装载单个或多个传感器——专利中提到的激光、超声、光学和红外线传感器作为备选项。当那些传感器发现自动引导车被路障阻拦停止，安装在机器人顶部的无人机将飞行完成剩余的路线。

The robots would be equipped with one or more sensors — the patent mentions laser, ultrasound, optical and infrared sensors as potential options. When those sensors determine that the AGV has been stopped by an obstacle, in certain cases, a drone mounted on top of the robot will fly the rest of the route. 

那些状况包括自动引导车停止运行，没有足够的电能；不能在预计时间内通过路障；系统无法找到替代的地面路线；自动引导车没有在计划的递送时间内送达。

Those include situations in which the AGV is stopped and does not have enough battery power, the obstacle does not move within a given amount of time, the system cannot find an alternative ground-based route, or the AGV will not arrive by the scheduled delivery time.