VTOL
Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. has announced that the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has awarded the company an $8 million contract for Phase 1 of the Aircrew Labor In-Cockpit Automation System (ALIAS) programme. The objective of DARPA's ALIAS programme is to develop and insert new automation into existing
Commercial
UAS Directions is a startup bent on thinking from unexpected directions. Over the past 16 months they have pored their unique design philosophy into developing their 3D multi-rotor uni-bodies.They believe the launch of their first "frameless" concept will put an end to framed multi-rotors, or as they
Aerial Photography
ING Robotic Aviation, Canada’s leading provider of robotic aircraft solutions, has just completed its two week mission to Canada’s North on board Fednav’s ice-breaking cargo ship MV Arctic. Primarily a research and development initiative, this project (led by Enfotec) was designed to assess various operational and technical
VTOL
At IDEX’s new unmanned system exhibit, UMEX, AEE Technology Co, Ltd. promoted its F100 and F50 quad-copters used by the Chinese military. Both drones cruise at speeds of about 30 miles an hour, according to company information.The larger F100 weighs 16 pounds, and has a 50-minute battery life
Military
An U.S. Air Force RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aircraft system flew in for display at the Australian International Air Show at Avalon Airport, Australia, on Feb. 21. This is the first time the aircraft has flown in for display at an international air show and the first time it
Commercial
VTOL Technologies Ltd was founded in 2002 with the goal of developing and subsequent sales and operational service provision of long-endurance, lightweight, portable, Beyond Visual Line Of Sight [BVLOS] Remotely Piloted Aerial Systems [RPAS] targeted at network-based industries, initially targeting the energy sector, providing a new, automated, much lower cost
VTOL
In a demonstration aboard a former U.S. Navy ship, a small quadrotor developed by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute and spin-off company Sensible Machines flew autonomously through dark, smoke-filled compartments to map fires and locate victims. The demonstration, part of an Office of Naval Research
Testing
A quadcopter built by a Nagoya-based company has completed a trial run to see if unmanned aircraft can be used to transport goods from Kagawa Prefecture to an island in the Seto Inland Sea. “In the long run, we would like to use drones to transport emergency medical supplies and
Testing
A restaurant chain in Singapore has demonstrated flying helicopter drones being used to deliver food and drinks from the kitchen, right to customers' tables. Timbre, a live music bar and restaurant chain that was the first restaurant in Singapore to roll out iPads at every table to speed up
Accidents
The Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe has lost contact with a Schiebel S-100 Camcopter unmanned air vehicle that was carrying out surveillance missions over Ukraine. The OSCE confirms that on 3 February the Ukrainian Special Monitoring Mission lost contact with the vehicle 16km (10 miles) north of Mariupol
Commercial
DJI recently an update that added some new safety features, including GPS geofencing that stops the drone flying about near sensitive places: like the White House. However, it has paused the roll-out of the update after a few reports that "unanticipated flight behaviour after updating" to Phantom firmware
Training
CybAero signed a framework agreement with a company belonging to the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) on July 2. The framework agreement entails a commitment by AVIC to purchase at least 70 of CybAero's unmanned helicopter systems over the next eight years. The framework agreement is expected