Andrew Bennett, Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Olin College, is leading a project to develop firefighting drones. Bennett, who calls himself “a long-time robot geek,” has worked at his share of big names - from MIT AUV Lab to Disney’s Imagineering to iRobot. When NASA approached some friends
Military
The Iranian Air Force (IRIAF) has unveiled a new indigenous drone named “Mohajem (Attacker) 92” with a range of 500 kilometers. The drone was shown to the public in the Aerial Exhibition, which commenced last week. The Drone ‘Mohajem 92’ enjoys 6-hour flight endurance and is able to fly
Accidents
Four aircraft have been involved in potentially fatal near-misses with drones close to major British airports in the past month, The Times has learnt. Ministers are considering taking action against the use of unmanned aircraft after a surge in the number of drones being flown only a few metres
Business
AeroVironment Inc., said the U.S. Department of Defenses' Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has decided not to go forward with a Phase III contract with the company. Simi Valley-based Aerovironment said DARPA’s decision came after a competition for the Phase III contract following successful Phase
Commercial
Using quadrocopters and some rope, researchers have woven together a bridge strong enough to walk across. Made at the ETH Zurich Flying Machine Arena in Switzerland, the bridge joins two scaffolds, and is the first full-scale load-bearing structure autonomously built by flying machines. The feat represents one more
Commercial
Two Northwest Nazarene University assistant professors have been awarded a NASA grant to support their research on wildfire monitoring and assessment technology. Assistant professor of computer science Dale Hamilton and associate professor of computer science Barry Myers weer awarded a NASA EPSCoR (experimental program to stimulate competitive research) Undergraduate Research
Testing
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. has introduced a new sonobuoy capability for its MQ-9 Guardian maritime unmanned air vehicle which, alongside a number of other developing technologies, could make it a contender to help fill the UK’s maritime patrol gap. A concept was presented at the Royal Navy’
Business
Sagem (Safran) and Egyptian manufacturer AOI-Aircraft Factory have signed an exclusive commercial and industrial collaboration agreement concerning the Patroller surveillance drone system, to address the requirements of the Egyptian Ministry of Defence. According to the terms of this agreement, AOI-Aircraft Factory could handle final assembly of Patroller drones
Earlier this year, FLIR Systems Inc. introduced the FLIR Vue thermal imaging camera—a compact, affordable thermal imaging solution designed for use on small unmanned aerial vehicles. Now, FLIR has made a new, professional-grade version of the camera available, featuring expanded capabilities. Like the standard FLIR Vue, the Vue
Business
Elbit Systems Ltd. announced that it was awarded a contract from a customer in the Latin American region, in an amount of approximately $70 million, for the supply of intelligence integrated systems, for homeland security applications. Under the contract, to be supplied within less than a year, Elbit Systems will
Commercial
The National Football League can use drones to shoot films, documentaries and television segments, becoming the first major sports league to receive such permission from the Federal Aviation Administration.The exemption, which precludes filming games, comes three months after the FAA said it was probing NFL teams, including the Dallas
Mapping & Surveying