The New York Times Magazine recently published an article intriguingly entitled "32 Innovations That Will Change Your Tomorrow". We tend to rewrite the histories of technological innovation, making myths about a guy who had a great idea that changed the world. In reality, though, innovation isn’t the
Events
The UAS Technical Analysis and Applications Center (TAAC) is holding its 14th annual conference on December 4 - 6, 2012, at the Tamaya Hyatt Regency, located on the Santa Ana Pueblo, north of Albuquerque, NM. The conference will begin with an evening reception on December 3, and features three days of
This month, the US Army planned to deploy to Afghanistan unmanned helicopter programmed to use high-tech cameras to monitor vast amounts of territory. But now the Army has moved to shut down production — possibly ending the programme forever. The aircraft is the A160 Hummingbird, which the Army planned to
Business
Prioria Robotics, Inc. announced that it has received $5.5 million in funding to advance the growth of its unmanned aircraft system platforms for military and civilian applications. Investors included Athenian Venture Partners , Advantage Capital Partners and Florida Gulfshore Capital . Gainesville-based Prioria Robotics focuses on unmanned systems designed to
Commercial
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is conducting a demonstration off Oahu's North Shore this week of a small unmanned aircraft the agency hopes will improve ocean monitoring and aid environmental research in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. The Puma AE, which has a 10-foot wingspan and weighs
Testing
Project officials at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center are hailing the success of recent flights tests of a miniature automatic ground collision avoidance system (Auto-GCAS) for small unmanned aircraft, after the smartphone-assisted system repeatedly executed pull-ups or sharp turns of the test aircraft to avoid
VTOL
The Tanan 300 vertical takeoff and landing tactical unmanned aircraft system (VTOL Tactical UAS) from Cassidian was shown at recently at Eurosatory in Paris. The Tanan rotary UAS has been in development for around four years, which includes work conducted on the original programme. Perhaps unusually, despite Cassidian being an
Commercial
Speeding over Arctic sea ice, small remote-controlled aircraft snag video footage and high-definition shots of endangered Steller Sea Lions in their natural habitat. Gregory Walker, the manager of the unmanned aircraft applications programme at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute, has been putting UAS to good use,
Military
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. has announced the recent deployment of the first full company of Gray Eagle UAS, F/227. “Gray Eagle will provide F/227 with 24/7 RSTA [Reconnaissance, Surveillance, and Target Acquisition], precision attack, and communications relay capabilities,” said Frank W. Pace, President, Aircraft Systems Group,
Insitu Pacific, the Australia-based subsidiary of Insitu Inc., announced that it will employ its ScanEagle unmanned aircraft system on behalf of the Queensland Government for the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) for the first Siam weed detection trials using UAS. “These UAS trials are an important step
Business
The Indian defence ministry has announced that a total of 95 mini UAS will be purchased in the near future. The equipment will improve the aerial surveillance capabilities of the Indian air force and navy, which should receive 60 and 35 systems, respectively. According to a request for proposals issued
Commercial
After quietly testing Predators over the Bahamas for more than 18 months, the Department of Homeland Security plans to expand the unmanned surveillance flights into the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico to fight drug smuggling, according to U.S. officials. The move would dramatically increase American UAS flights in