Aerial Photography
ESPN will not employ drones to videotape the 2016 X Games in Aspen, according to a spokesman who said the decision is unrelated to the International Ski Federation’s recent ban of the flying devices after one almost hit an Austrian racer during a December World Cup event. The X
Military
In a statement, the Indian Air Force has revealed that "a group of terrorists were detected by the aerial surveillance platforms as soon as they entered the Air Force Station at Pathankot". "The infiltrators were immediately engaged and contained within a limited area, thus preventing them from
Accidents
A recreational drone possibly crashed into a Pacific Gas and Electric Co. overhead conductor Sunday evening, causing a power failure that lasted more than an hour in a small section of San Francisco. A witness, Scott Kurth, was working at his computer when he saw a flash of light and
Weapons Systems / Lasers
General Atomics is to start testing a potentially revolutionary weapon next month: a 150-kilowatt class laser. Several other companies are developing laser weapons and “we’re looking at all of them,” said Lt. Gen. Bradley Heithold, head of Air Force Special Operations Command, in an interview with Breaking Defense.
Business
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the Office of Naval Research have awarded Northrop Grumman Corporation the third phase of the Tern unmanned systems program. Phase three plans to include final design, fabrication and a full-scale, at-sea demonstration of the system. Tern seeks to develop an
Research
Researchers at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Colorado State University, Fort Collins have just published a paper that offers A Systems Engineering Approach and Review of Existing Control Methods to Multiple-Scenario Unmanned Aerial System Control.AbstractThe use of unmanned aerial systems (UASs) in both the public and
DJI has announced version 3.0 of its software development kit, or SDK. To help spur developers into working with its SDK, DJI also creates an annual challenge with a cash prize. This year DJI is partnering with Ford and the United Nations to offer $100,000 to the team
Commercial
The 700-gram Parrot Disco, which the company has been working on for the last two years, is a small fixed-wing consumer drone that looks like a model airplane. It can fly up to 45 minutes and reach speeds of just under 50 mph. The 1080p 14-megapixel camera
Business
Intel has made yet another hardware acquisition to build up its business of integrating its processors and RealSense imaging technology into the next wave of connected devices beyond PCs. The company announced it has purchased Ascending Technologies, a Germany-based startup that makes small drones and the software used to
Regulations
The validity of the FAA’s new drone registry is under challenge in federal court. The hope for these hobby flyers is that if the challenge is successful, they – including children as young as 13 – won’t have to file their names and home addresses in a public database. Many
Business
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc., Poway, California, has been awarded a $338,231,976 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for Predator (MQ1) and Reaper (MQ9) unmanned aerial systems contractor logistic support. Contractor will provide program management, logistics support, configuration management, technical manual and software maintenance, contractor field service representative support,
Research
The Stanford Intelligent Systems Laboratory is just one team of more than 130 working with NASA to solve how to manage drone traffic. The traffic-management system, which will be under development for the next few years, will help drones communicate with each other and avoid potential collisions. “They’re