Awesome Drones

Claire & Max shot footage of abandoned locations (no, that’s NOT the real Eiffel Tower) with their drone, then flipped it on its head to make for a truly surreal viewing experience. The Danny Elfman-esque music really sets the mood.

Good Morning America and DJI used the Inspire 1 drone to stream live footage of Bardarbunga, an active volcano in Iceland. The reporter blabbered all through out, but to be fair she seemed genuinely amazed at what they were doing.

The military version of Amazon Prime Air. The Autonomous Aerial Cargo/Utility System is a US Navy program that aims to convert helicopters into drones, which can the be summoned for supply drops via a user-friendly mobile app.

The guys from Corridor Digital orchestrated this battle between a motley assortment of remote-controlled racers, joined by an army of flying drones equipped with deadly weapons. Many toys were harmed in the making of this film.

With the crazy amount the U.S. East coast this week, James Grimaldi decided to send his drone out for a flight to capture the early winter wonderland from a unique perspective over his neighborhood in West Seneca, NY. Shot in 4K.

A landing pad that doubles as a charger for drones and other multicopters, including the Parrot AR.Drone, DJI Phantom and Aibotix X6. It uses a battery plug-in and gold-plated contacts to charge as fast as conventional chargers.

Corridor Digital pays tribute the style of top-down video games like Metal Gear Solid, and Hotline Miami in their latest action-packed short film. Be sure to watch in HD and see how they made it here. DJI S900 drone FTW.

The pilots wearing video goggles and their R/C drones equipped with cameras, these guys get to live out their dreams of stunt flying without the danger or cost of owning an actual airplane. Can you imagine flying these with an Oculus Rift?

YouTuber Christopher Schmidt was flying his quadcopter at Magazine Beach Park in Cambridge, Massachusetts when a hawk spotted the drone and thought to itself, “Not in my house.” A one-hit kill followed.

Nixie is a concept for a small and flexible camera-equipped quadcopter. The idea is that you’ll wear it as a bracelet, then when you want it to take a picture it’ll fly off your wrist, snap a shot and then come back to you.

(NSFW: Language) Last Week Tonight talks about the United States’ use of armed drones. The practice is shrouded in what appear to be unsettling and vague guidelines where targets are presumed guilty.

Cirque du Soleil teamed up with ETH Zurich and Verity Studios to create this short film titled Sparked, which combines Cirque’s trademark whimsy with an impressively choreographed drone flight. Go behind the scenes here.

Redphive was playing around with his new DJI Phantom 2 drone, when he realized the battery was running low. But instead of sending his $1200 UAV to a watery grave, he makes a last second save. His wallet, on the other hand…

Like Amazon’s Prime Air, Project Wing is a concept for a drone delivery service. The current prototype features a small tail-sitter that automatically flies to the delivery zone and lowers its package using a winch. More here.

Team BlackSheep shares its awesome footage of the luxurious city of Dubai, taken with the group’s Discovery Pro quadcopter. They became the first to fly a UAV over the Burj Khalifa and the Burj Al Arab.

KMel Robotics talented team of flying drones shows off their musical prowess, playing drums, keyboards, bells, and strings. Sure, it’s all a little odd sounding, but you try being in a band with no hands or arms while hovering in the air.

Firefight Films shot this awesome footage inside and around some incredible ice caves in Alaska, using a GoPro HERO3+ Black Edition and a DJI Phantom drone. The behind the scenes reel is loaded with amazing shots as well.

YouTuber Shaun O’Callaghan used a DJI Phantom quadcopter to take a close look at the mouth of Mount Yasur, an active volcano on Tanna Island, Vanuatu. Fortunately the drone and the camera survived the trip.

Team BlackSheep takes their eye-in-the-sky drone into the air over Macau, showing the stark contrast from ancient structures outside the city to the modern metropolis that is now Asia’s Las Vegas. The track is Inner Peace by CloZee.

This quadcopter is so tiny that it can fit in the palm of your hand – along with its remote! It measures just 2.5in. from rotor tip to rotor tip, and weighs just 0.4oz. Buzzes around for 5 to 10 minutes per charge. Also available on Amazon.

A test flight of Amazon Prime Air, a concept for a drone delivery service that would get packages into customers’ hands in just 30 minutes after ordering. Amazon hopes to offer it in the US as early as 2015. More on 60 Minutes.

Lexus commissioned KMel Robotics to build and choreograph an army of custom flying drones to create this amazing and entertaining flying robot ballet. It’s too bad they had to cheat with VFX. Learn how they did it here, here and here.

Ever wanted to travel to the Alps, but didn’t have the time or money to take the journey? Well sit back for the next 22 minutes and enjoy a 7.5 mile flight to an altitude of over 7,000 feet in a 3-foot-wide Microdrones MD4-1000 UAV.