I'm here in Nepal, still.
My work involves teaching critical care skills to nurses and doctors. In the Kathmandu Valley, 800 professionals had taken this training, and I'm told that it was put to very good use by the people on the scene (and it still is!)
Today I have a day off from teaching and I have been browsing YouTube. I really am speechless to learn more about the destruction.
Some of the videos were shot by unmanned drones..... and my mind went on a tangent.....
Soon after the earthquake, small unmanned drones took video of Kathmandu and environs.
Here is the link to a very short video.
There is another one making the rounds on FaceBook, from UNICEF Australia.
Until now, whenever I saw these, they seemed blurry. These recent videos are in HD, crisp and crystal clear. the drones can hover, focus on a specific place, and change elevation. they fly at slow speed at rooftop level.
I am astounded. I admit, I never thought of the military (or police) applications until now. Search and rescue, or terrain assessment, is one thing.
but - wow.
If I find the YouTube of the five-minute long video from UNICEF Australia, I will post it.
Tue May 05, 2015 at 7:54 PM PT: UPDATE: the video that blew me away was on Vimeo, not YouTube. here is the link https://vimeo.com/...