Commercial
Widely recognized as a pioneer of drone painting, KATSU merges public art and technology to progress the development of drone technology in art and activism. After years of research and development, KATSU and Tsuru Robotics have developed the first for-sale smart painting drone, dubbed the “KATSURU BETA.” The semi-
Business
Parrot officially launches the Parrot SDK Partner Program and announces its first major partner Kittyhawk. Its new SDK Partner program expands its offerings to help both enterprise and start ups create new applications, software and hardware to seamlessly integrate with Parrot ANAFI and ANAFI Thermal drones. Parrot’s SDK program
A US Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) report has highlighted the importance of UAVs in Iran’s defence strategy, and the possibility of new fighter buys when United Nations sanctions end in 2020. “UAVs are Iran’s most rapidly advancing air capability,” says the report. “Iran uses these versatile platforms for
Flexdrone is in talks with the Ugandan government on a deal to deliver blood packages, drugs and medical equipment to public health facilities. A deal could see Uganda join a small number of other African countries, such as Ghana and Rwanda, that have deployed unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to help
Commercial
Terra Drone Indonesia has conducted visual inspections of onshore flare stacks for energy major Chevron (PT Chevron Pacific Indonesia). The inspection was done in Duri field, one of the largest production fields in Rokan PSC, Sumatra. Using a multirotor drone equipped with high-resolution RGB and thermal cameras, Terra Drone
Accidents
One Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) belonging to the Indian Air Force (IAF) crashed on Saturday evening at Bokajan under Salonibari police station in Assam’s Sonitpur district at around 6:30 pm. The Sonitpur deputy superintendent of police (headquarters), Dr. Rashmi Rekha Sharma said, “Till 8:30 pm, the UAV
Software
SimActive Inc., a developer of photogrammetry software, announces a new LiDAR workflow integrated in its Correlator3D product. The capability allows to import a point cloud in the software and to perform registration with an image dataset. Using LiDAR as control eliminates the need for traditional ground control points (GCPs) when
Testing
A Chinese technology firm is testing a new attack drone specifically designed to help ground troops in street-to-street combat and hopes to sell it abroad, according to reports. Engineers recently completed a successful air-to-ground test firing exercise for the mini quadcopter named Tianyi, Modern Weaponry reported.
Business
Australia has selected the General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc (GA-ASI) MQ-9B SkyGuardian unmanned aircraft system (UAS) to fulfil its requirement for an armed medium-altitude, long-endurance (MALE) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), Defence Minister Linda Reynolds announced on 28 November. The next phase will focus on developing the
Commercial
WavDrone, Ltd. a wholly-owned subsidiary of Universal Power Industry Corporation announced that they will begin comprehensive flight testing of its carbon-nanotube drones and drone intercept technologies at Griffiss International Airport, formerly Griffiss Air Force Base in Rome, N.Y. Griffiss International Airport is one of just seven FAA-
Drone Racing
Pilot selection for the upcoming 2019 FAI World Drone Racing Championship Grand Final has been finalised. A total of 112 pilots will compete over four days in Xiangshan Ningbo, China, 11-14 December 2019 for the title of FAI World Drone Racing Champion. FAI Secretary General Susanne Schödel said: “This
Business
Kazakhstan Engineering announced that its subsidiary Kazakhstan Aviation Industry will start assembling Israeli unmanned aerial vehicles from 2020 at a rate of four systems per year. The announcement comes following a previous agreement with Elbit Systems for the purchase of UAVs, with the Kazakh army operating a variant of the