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Designing homes to accept deliveries by drones, a Smellidrone, Virginia partners with a UAS company, launching smallsats, refreshments delivered to golfers, a passive perching mechanism for micro drones, contract awards for loyal wingman prototypes, a long-range medical test flight in South Korea.

UAV News

Drones are poised to reshape home design

If delivery drones become prolific, that might have implications for the way homes are designed to accept deliveries by drone. That includes the location where deliveries are made and how they are are made.

Tech startup Valqari is developing drone-delivery mailboxes where the top of the mailbox acts as a landing pad, the drone activates a retractable door, and space opens to accommodate packages. These mailboxes could be mounted on rooftops and windowsills of homes, or be part of a neighborhood bank of mailboxes.

The Paramount Miami Worldcenter condo building in Florida was designed to include a “skyport” platform on the roof. The platform could accommodate VTOL vehicles for residents or a package delivery area.

Walmart submitted a patent application for a delivery chute mounted onto an apartment building. Drone deliveries would be dropped through the chute and onto a conveyor belt, then packages would be carried to the building’s mailroom for distribution.

‘Smellicopter’ drone sniffs its way around its surroundings

Researchers from the University of Washington are using live moth antennas on an autonomous drone. Use cases include detecting chemicals in the air, gas leaks and explosives, locating disaster survivors, and narcotics detection. Most human-made sensors are not sensitive enough or fast enough. Professor Thomas Daniel, a biologist at the University of Washington says, “Cells in a moth antenna amplify chemical signals. The moths do it really efficiently – one scent molecule can trigger lots of cellular responses, and that’s the trick. This process is super-efficient, specific, and fast.”

Drone company to invest millions, build new headquarters in Virginia

Silent Falcon UAS Technologies intends to invest $6 million for its new East Coast headquarters for research, development, and manufacturing at the Front Royal-Warren County Airport. The company manufactures UAS components and sensors for the security, military, and commercial markets. The partnership with Virginia will create 250 jobs for the area. The Unmanned Systems Lab at Randolph-Macon Academy will act as part of a pre-professional pathway initiative for students.

Aevum unveils smallsat-launching drone aircraft

Huntsville, Alabama startup Aevum unveiled its Ravn X drone. The aircraft will become the first stage of its smallsat launch system. The company wants to provide a fast-response service using autonomous aircraft that can take off from any mile-long runway.

One of the many perks at Michael Jordan’s Grove XXIII golf club? Drones deliver drinks and snacks

At The Grove XXIII in Hobe Sound, Florida, Michael Jordan’s golf club, drones are delivering beer and food to players on the course. Video shows a multirotor lowering a bag to a thirsty golfer on the course. 

Mechanical gripper allows drones to hang from objects

Engineers at Colorado State University have developed a gripper for micro air vehicles (MAVs). The gripper is intended to mount on the top of third-party MAVs so they can rest and save batteries when they don’t need to be flying. The gripper has a vertical plunger-like pad in the middle that is mechanically linked to two diagonally raised folding arms. The MAV flies up against the underside of a horizontal object and the force of impact pushes the pad down, engaging the two arms to clasp the object.

Video: Passive Perching for Flying Robots with Bistable Grippers

These Three Companies Will Build Drones To Carry The Air Force’s “Skyborg” AI Computer Brain

Boeing, General Atomics, and Kratos were all awarded 24-month contracts. The three will build prototypes that will be “missionized prototypes with the ability to fly in experimentation events while teaming with manned aircraft.” The Air Force says it expects all three companies to deliver an initial batch of prototypes no later than May 2021. Speculated aircraft are the Kratos XQ-58 Valkyrie drone or variants, the General Atomics Avenger drone or a version of the Predator C, and the Boeing loyal wingman-type design from its Australian division.

PABLO AIR succeeds in simultaneous delivery using two drones in a 50-mile circular flight

In a recent test flight, Korean UAV company PABLO AIR shipped medical supplies to two islands with two drones. The roundtrip journey was 50 miles and the mission took one hour and twenty minutes. This was the longest drone flight made in Korea and took place in inclement weather with VTOL) drones.