Business
Romania's army has a new quadrotor capability following the arrival of four UAV Solutions Phoenix 30 unmanned air vehicles. The aircraft were delivered via the US Foreign Military Sales programme, which also includes the company’s Dragon View combined electro-optical/infrared stabilised camera, a ground control system,
Commercial
Australasian insurer IAG announced Friday it had used drones — in what it said was an Australian first — to inspect the catastrophic damage caused by bushfires along Victoria's Great Ocean Road. In an emailed statement, IAG said the drones allowed the insurer to take a look at burnt properties
Payloads
Phase One Industrial announced two 100 MP CMOS-based medium format metric cameras for aerial mapping and other demanding applications. The development of the Phase One iXU 1000 and the iXU-R 1000 camera systems marks a shift toward higher value for the aerial data acquisition market. These systems, which
Commercial
What next for Solar Impulse if the plane completes its round-the-world flight this year? One idea is to develop solar drones to replace satellites, joining Facebook and Google in this experimental field. Solar Impulse pilot André Borschberg touched on his future plans in a recent blog post, “After
Commercial
“One rarely experiences moments in which it becomes crystal clear how important and rewarding it can be to defy all the naysayers, to steadfastly pursue a vision and to work unwaveringly for years to bring it to fruition.” That’s how Horst Hörtner, director of the Ars Electronica Futurelab, summarized
The Walt Disney Co. is seeking an exemption from the Federal Aviation Administration so it can possibly use drones for its nightly fireworks show at Disneyland and at Walt Disney World. It’s unclear exactly how Disney would incorporate the special drones, called Flixels, in the nightly shows. But in
Accidents
An MQ-1B Predator remotely piloted aircraft crashed during an Operation Inherent Resolve sortie supporting operations over central Iraq last week, Air Force Central Command officials announced. Controllers lost contact with the RPA during mid-flight at approximately 12:50 p.m. local time on Jan. 7, and were unable
Research
The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), in collaboration with the Air Vehicle Intelligence and Autonomy (AVIA) Lab at Pennsylvania State University (PSU), completed testing of cooperative autonomous soaring algorithms used to keep unmanned sailplanes aloft for sustained flight duration's — demonstrating the concept of shared soaring data between
Control Stations
uAvionix Corporation and Draganfly Innovations Inc. a wholly owned subsidiary of Trace Intelligent Systems, have announced the successful integration of uAvionix’ Ping ADS-B receiver with Draganfly’s auto-pilot and Surveyor ground station. Integrated on the vehicle itself, the system presents new ways to improve drone and aviation safety
Regulations
As technology continues to blur the lines between privacy and security, the Homeland Security Department has several suggestions to help agencies consider civil rights and liberties issues when setting up their respective unmanned aircraft system programs. The DHS Unmanned Aircraft Systems Privacy, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Working Group, which
The US Air Force in now jumping into the counter-drone game, following other service branches such as the Army as well as civilian agencies that include the Bureau of Prisons, to combat potentially dangerous, expendable aerial bombs deliver by small unmanned aerial systems. The Air Force is looking for
Commercial
At least six IT professionals and two students who allegedly took aerial visuals of the Tiruvannamalai hill using an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) were arrested by the police on Sunday. The UAV was seized by the Tiruvannamalai Taluk police who released the accused on bail. Flying UAV without prior permission