Commercial
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in partnership with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, has developed GALE, its own unmanned aircraft. Measuring 3 feet long and weighing 8 pounds, the $30,000 unmanned aircraft is made of hard composites and powered by an electronic motor. It cruises at about 55 mph
Commercial
Australia's V-TOL Aerospace (V-TOL), a relative new comer to the aviation industry, and the Royal Queensland Aero Club (RQAC), with roots stemming back to 1910, are developing and preparing to teach the first certified Australian unmanned aircraft (UA) training courses through their specialist training organisations. The
Testing
Moller International, Inc. announced the postponement of the first manned untethered flight of its M400X Skycar that had been scheduled for October 11, 2011. "As Moller International moves forward with our new marketing and public relations campaigns, we find ourselves up against compounding deadlines, "said Jah Mackey, Director
Events
The International Micro Air Vehicle Conference (IMAV 2011) which was held in the Netherlands last week, also featured a series of indoor and outdoor competitions. Winner of the KLPD user trophy (Best operational MAV) was the Akaflieg Team from the Academic flight club Bremen, Germany. Full results are available here.
Commercial
The US Geological Survey has just released this video of its Raven flights to monitor river bank erosion on the Lower Brule reservation on the bank of the Missouri River that we reported in August.The Lower Brule Sioux Tribe (LBST) Environmental Protection Office asked the USGS for assistance in
Commercial
A massive fire at White Hall in downtown Grand Junction, Colorado burned for more than three hours this morning. Firefighters tackled it by truck and by hand, but they also got some help from the skies. After a firefighter fell through the floor of the building, crews looked for a
Commercial
In mid-June, as the largest wildfire in Arizona history raged, US Customs and Border Protection Officer David Gasho sent one of the Predator Bs over residential neighbourhoods in search of rogue brush fires. Working from an air-conditioned trailer, his crew aimed an airborne infrared camera through thick smoke
Events
Liam Quigley with Yamaha Rmax Australian UAS distributors continue to pitch to farmers with flying demonstrations of the latest hardware attracting rural interest at a Marburg field day just west of Brisbane. The deployment of these systems is well documented by the military but the spotlight is now focusing on
Commercial
Belgian company Coptermotion unveils its VTOL miniature quadricopter designed especially for professional aerial video purposes and photographers. The Coptermotion design utilises eight main brushless electric engines which allows the aircraft to hover extremely steady in high wind turbulent conditions. The manoeuvrability is unsurpassed by using differential thrust. The thrust provides
Commercial
[youtube z8YeE9fUT7w nolink] Whilst MIT and Boeing are developing their remote iPhone controlled aircraft, Parrot is now offering a free application on the Android Market that can pilot the AR.Drone with an Android phone or tablet. For more information about the free Android application, known as AR.FreeFlight, click
Military
Although the Australian industry is arguably not a major player in the global Unmanned Aircraft Systems marketplace, it nevertheless plays an important role in technology development and support of local programmes. The UAS industry has also been assisted by the Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO) through the government/industry
Commercial
An interesting article in Government Technology magazine identified 5 Emerging Technologies that could soon be introduced to the Government Market – one of these is unmanned aircraft… In two decades, unmanned aircraft plying the skies might be commonplace. Most of us are familiar with unmanned aircraft. But some might wonder why