Propulsion
Researchers from the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory’s chemistry and tactical electronic warfare divisions completed the first flight of the Ion Tiger unmanned air vehicle with a new hydrogen-powered fuel cell built in-house. The NRL team designed and built a custom fuel cell system capable of up
Research
A West Virginia University mathematics researcher has developed an algorithm to mobilize unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in team missions. The new technology allows a team of UAVs to fly autonomously to complete complex coordinated missions. "The technology is not bypassing the ground station, not taking over the flight plan.
Commercial
Kansas State University's Polytechnic Campus and Kansas-based power company Westar Energy are propelling the electric utility industry forward by innovating inspection and maintenance methodologies with drone technology. With a focus on increasing reliability for customers, improving employee safety and reducing costs, Kansas State Polytechnic's unmanned
Test Ranges
Barcelona Drone Center has become a strategic drone test site for the European Space Agency – Business Incubation Centre (ESA-BIC) The announcement was made by the Government of Catalonia represented by the Presidency Minister, Neus Munté, the Secretary of ICT Governance, Jordi Puigneró, the General Manager at the European Space
Business
The Norwegian Governments’ Agency for Railroad Services – Jernbaneverket - has signed nationwide framework agreements for drone services with the Iris Group on 8 December 2016. The mapping and observation of avalanches, landslides or flooding is the most important of several areas where this new technology can be used effectively. Climate change
Accidents
Following an official investigation into the crash landing, America's National Transportation Safety Board found that wind and turbulence caused part of the wing to snap during flight. "On June 28, 2016, at 0743 mountain standard time, the Facebook Aquila unmanned aircraft, N565AQ, experienced an in-flight structural
Commercial
Vodafone is considering a move into the business of managing drone traffic, after meeting European aviation safety authorities about adapting its network to track and identify unmanned aircraft.Vodafone’s proposal was made in response to the publication of prototype regulations this summer by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA)
Commercial
The French General Directorate of Civil Aviation (DGAC) has authorized DPDgroup, an international express subsidiary of Groupe La Poste, to deliver parcels by drone on a regular commercial line in the Var. After the testing phase, we now undertake the experimental phase on this 15 km line in the Var.
In 2016 there have been 33 reported shark attacks across Australia, two of which were fatal. Both of these tragic events took place in Western Australia. It is somewhat fitting, therefore, that two key Perth- based consultancies have teamed up to create safer beaches with the latest technology and—crucially—
Commercial
The Government of Malawi and UNICEF have announced the establishment of an air corridor to test potential humanitarian use of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). The corridor is the first in Africa and one of the first globally with a focus on humanitarian and development use. It will run for a
Business
The US Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) has issued a request for information (RFI) for a new long-endurance Group 2 unmanned aircraft system (UAS) for use by the US Marine Corps (USMC). The RFI, posted on the Federal Business Opportunities website on 14 December, is for a 'small&
Regulations
PrecisionHawk has released its Phase 2 Pathfinder Results as part of UAS TAAC (Unmanned Aircraft Systems Technical Analysis and Applications Center) in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The Pathfinder program is an FAA-led initiative to facilitate the early introduction of low-altitude operations for small, unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) into