Drones are terrific at a great many things, but recording audio isn’t one of them (unless you’re into giant, hyper-mosquito impersonations). New Zealand’s Dotterel wants to change that.
Drone See ‘N Say
The Auckland, New Zealand company has developed a microphone that filters out drone rotor and other mechanical noise to pick up clear, uncluttered human or ambient audio. The technology is based on an array of small, tightly grouped microphones. That design hones in on the targeted sound, which is then fed through an onboard processor.
The unit runs the audio through an algorithm that cuts out unwanted propeller or other background noise. That cleaned-up sound is streamed in real time to the ground station for immediate use, or for post-processing in recorded form.
Two-way rescue drones
Equipping drones with ears in that fashion has natural appeal to clients in TV and movie production, security, and…
