Regulations
The Yamaha RMAX unmanned helicopter has become the first drone to be certified for flight in New Zealand under Part 102 of the Civil Aviation Rules. Civil Aviation Rule Part 102 came into effect on the 1st August 2015 and establishes a framework for the safe operation of unmanned craft
Commercial
Remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) present new opportunities for helicopter operators and some industry representatives in Europe suggest operators supplement their fleets with these aircraft, which can fill roles that rotorcraft cannot. Reaction to the idea among operators is mixed. One says it found the idea to be more complicated
Business
Aero Kinetics announces its partnership with GridMeNow to incorporate their mobile, real-time tracking solutions into Aero Kinetics’ newest multi-rotor vertical takeoff and land (VTOL) unmanned aircraft system (UAS). This combined effort is a significant step forward for the industry where dispatching now has the ease and efficiency necessary
Commercial
The U.S. Forest Service is highly interested in new technologies and believes there is potential to use Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) to support a host of natural resource management activities, including forest health protection, wildfire suppression, research, recreational impacts, and law enforcement. The agency has been exploring the potential
Business
HUVRData LLC, a drone-based data analytics startup, has completed a $2 million Series A round of funding from angel investment organizations including Central Texas Angel Network (CTAN), Houston Angel Network (HAN) and the Texas HALO Fund. In the past 1.5 years, HUVR has built out its technology, secured
Commercial
Washington State University is partnering with Digital Harvest Corp. to test an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that could provide a safer, less expensive means to blow rainwater off cherry orchards to avoid fruit losses. Rain can cause splits in the skin of cherries and similar fruits, rendering them susceptible to
Commercial
The National Science Foundation has awarded Oklahoma State University and three partner universities $6 million to collaboratively develop an integrated unmanned aircraft system (UAS) to improve weather forecasting through the study of atmospheric physics. The four-year grant will support the collaboration led by OSU and including the universities of
Commercial
Launching its ScanEagle unmanned aircraft from Oliktok Point at the North Slope of Alaska, Insitu conducted flight operations for the U.S. Coast Guard 13-15 July. The successful demonstration was part of the Coast Guard Research and Development Center's Arctic Technology Evaluation 2015 Search and Rescue exercise
Commercial
Private drone operating firm, Australian UAV, announced this week the opening for business of its New South Wales offices. With over 1400 safe and successful flights for commercial and government clients, Australian UAV is fast establishing itself as one of the country’s most experienced civilian unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)
Commercial
The National Agricultural Aviation Association (NAAA) has launched a UAV safety campaign to raise awareness and prevent accidents between UAV operators and low-altitude manned aircraft. The first public outreach tool in the safety campaign is a UAV "safety stuffer" designed for aerial applicators to share with farmers
Commercial
During the first two weeks of July, Meteomatics performed a drone measurement campaign for meteorological soundings in the eastern part of Switzerland. Over 450 sounding flights were conducted with drones flying on five locations simultaneously: Altenrhein, Amlikon, Bad Ragaz, Oberriet and Schänis. During the campaign, the self-developed Meteodrone
Commercial
Within the natural gas industry, gas leak detection is one of the crucial tasks in order to operate safely and economically. The high demand for an easy and cost-efficient method to address this issue led Pergam to the development of the Laser Methane Copter (LMC). The gas sensor is