IEEE Spectrum January, 2015 - 4

BacK StorY_
Editor in chiEf

Susan Hassler, s.hassler@ieee.org
ExEcutivE Editor

Glenn Zorpette, g.zorpette@ieee.org
Editorial dirEctor, digital

Harry Goldstein, h.goldstein@ieee.org
Managing Editor

Elizabeth A. Bretz, e.bretz@ieee.org
SEnior art dirEctor

Mark Montgomery, m.montgomery@ieee.org
SEnior EditorS

Stephen Cass (Resources), cass.s@ieee.org
Erico Guizzo (Digital), e.guizzo@ieee.org
Jean Kumagai, j.kumagai@ieee.org
Samuel K. Moore (News), s.k.moore@ieee.org
Tekla S. Perry, t.perry@ieee.org
Philip E. Ross, p.ross@ieee.org
David Schneider, d.a.schneider@ieee.org
dEputy art dirEctor Brandon Palacio, b.palacio@ieee.org
photography dirEctor Randi Klett, randi.klett@ieee.org
aSSociatE art dirEctor Erik Vrielink, e.vrielink@ieee.org
aSSociatE EditorS

Ian Chant, i.chant@ieee.org
Rachel Courtland, r.courtland@ieee.org
Celia Gorman (Multimedia), celia.gorman@ieee.org
Eliza Strickland, e.strickland@ieee.org
aSSiStant Editor Willie D. Jones, w.jones@ieee.org
SEnior copy Editor Joseph N. Levine, j.levine@ieee.org
copy Editor Michele Kogon, m.kogon@ieee.org
Editorial rESEarchEr Alan Gardner, a.gardner@ieee.org

Selfies on Steroids
from operating even the smallest drones for business purposes in the United States, with few exceptions. Journalism
is not among them. So how do you test a selfie-taking multicopter, the subject of one of the stories in our Top Tech 2015
special report?
One way is to send the reporter to France, which is exactly
what we did. There, drone regulations allow you to test and
demo such products, as long as you follow some sensible guidelines.
So Senior Editor David Schneider went to Grenoble, where he visited
Squadrone System, makers of the Hexo+, a self-following video drone
that garnered US $1.3 million in Kickstarter funding last year. Backers
won't be receiving their drones until May and are no doubt curious
about how development is progressing. We figured that an on-thescene report, along with a discussion of the burgeoning activity in this
realm, would please them.
After conducting formal interviews, Schneider accompanied three
members of the Hexo+ team to a grassy park on the outskirts of Grenoble
for a demo. At that time, the hardware for the company's six-bladed
multicopter was still in development, so he was shown what could be
done with the Hexo+ software installed on a 3D Robotics Iris quadcopter.
While running away from the little drone, Schneider, a Hitchcock
fan, immediately recalled Cary Grant being chased by a crop duster in
North by Northwest. "Trying to dodge the drone so reminded me of that
scene, I couldn't help but take a dive at one point for dramatic effect,"
says Schneider. "It was completely stupid-and I ended up losing my
phone-but I just couldn't resist."
Next time we send Schneider on such an assignment, we'll have to
remind him to wear a gray suit. n

Jan 2015

north american

SPectrUm.ieee.orG

Sharon Basco
Francesco Ferorelli,

adMiniStrativE aSSiStantS

Ramona Foster, r.foster@ieee.org
Nancy T. Hantman, n.hantman@ieee.org
intErn Neel V. Patel
contributing EditorS

Evan Ackerman, Mark Anderson, John Blau, Robert N.
Charette, Peter Fairley, Tam Harbert, Mark Harris, David
Kushner, Robert W. Lucky, Paul McFedries, Prachi Patel,
Richard Stevenson, Lawrence Ulrich, Paul Wallich
dirEctor, pEriodicalS production SErvicES Peter Tuohy
Editorial & WEb production ManagEr Roy Carubia
SEnior ElEctronic layout SpEcialiSt Bonnie Nani
SpEctruM onlinE
product ManagEr, digital Shannan Brown
WEb production coordinator Jacqueline L. Parker
MultiMEdia production SpEcialiSt Michael Spector
Editorial adviSory board

Susan Hassler, Chair; Gerard A. Alphonse, Francine D. Berman,
Jason Cong*, Sudhir Dixit, Limor Fried, Kenneth Y. Goldberg,
Bin He, Robert Hebner, Chenming Hu*, Grant Jacoby,
Christopher J. James, Norberto Lerendegui, John P. Lewis,
Steve Mann, Jacob Østergaard, Umit Ozguner, John Rogers,
Jonathan Rothberg, Umar Saif, Gaurav Sharma, Takao Someya,
Sergio Verdú, Jeffrey M. Voas, Kazuo Yano, Larry Zhang*,
Yu Zheng, Kun Zhou
* Chinese-language edition
Editorial / advErtiSing corrESpondEncE

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01.15

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Squadrone SyStem

he feder a l av i ation a dministr ation prohibits people

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Spectrum January, 2015