Commercial
With bee populations continuing to decline, farmers, conservationists, and technologists alike are busy searching for a solution to help carry out pollination. A New York-based company recently lent a high-tech hand to assist a local apple orchard pollinate its 300 acres of tasty crops. The Beak & Skiff
Business
Insitu has received a first-of-its kind contract from the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) to provide fire suppression services within the contiguous 48 states and Alaska using its ScanEagle Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS). Per the contract, Insitu will support manned aerial operations Including fire suppression, search
Business
The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has awarded LiquidPiston Inc., an advanced internal combustion engine technology company, an additional $2.5 million to continue development of its 30kW X4 rotary diesel engine prototype, bringing DARPA’s total funding of the engine technology to $6M. LiquidPiston received this
Electronic Sub-Systems
Researchers at MIT, who last year designed a tiny computer chip tailored to help honeybee-sized drones navigate, have now shrunk their chip design even further, in both size and power consumption. The team, co-led by Vivienne Sze, associate professor in MIT's Department of Electrical Engineering and
Video
Model: Big Monster (HJK Speedwings) Speed: 500 Kmh / 308 Mph Engine: Strecker ESC: HV ??? Prop: 12" x 25" Centerpiece: ??? Accu: LiPo 16s Take-off weight: ??? Pilot: Dr. Walter Flögel Event: HJK Speed Day in Mettenheim Germany June 2018 Source: YouTube
Military
The US Marine Corps has shelved several new, small drones – at least temporarily – amid a Pentagon ban and assessment on the cybersecurity of commercial, off-the-shelf, unmanned aerial systems, a service spokesman told USNI News. The USMC has been forced to ground COTS, it has been fielding to infantry
Commercial
Ohio may soon be using unmanned aerial systems to communicate with smart vehicles and transportation infrastructure to monitor traffic and roadway conditions. As drone numbers soar, DriveOhio’s UAS Center is investing $5.9 million for a three-year study on how to safely fit these aircraft into an already
Commercial
Scientists with the New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station at the University of New Hampshire recently analyzed effectiveness of Unmanned Aerial Systems – that’s drones, to you and me – to collect meaningful information about the health and status of forests. “To form comprehensive understanding of natural environments and their patterns of
Business
SRC, Inc., has announced a partnership with Xcel Energy to deploy state-of-the-art drone detection technology to protect critical infrastructure. Under this partnership, SRC and Xcel Energy will collect actionable data on the low altitude airspace not only for a critical energy center, but also for an airport,
Business
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc., Poway, California, has been awarded an undefinitized contract action with a not-to-exceed value of $39,566,023 to provide additional unmanned air system intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance surge support for Marine Corps Task Force Southwest operations in the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM)
Military
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA-ASI) used its second full-scale MQ-9B to conduct successful lightning tests at its facility in Poway, California last month. The test was conducted jointly between engineers from GA-ASI and NTS Pittsfield, a recognized leader in the development of sophisticated lightning protection
Regulations
A bill that would give legal authorities to the U.S. departments of Homeland Security and Justice to counter threats posed by malicious drones in limited instances domestically was approved by a Senate panel Wednesday, but there might be jurisdictional disputes that prevent the legislation from getting to the Senate