Tag Archives: Verizon

403 BVLOS ARC Final Report

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Public meeting scheduled for BVLOS Aviation Rulemaking Committee Final Report, the MQ-9B STOL, Skyward is closing, bombs dropping from commercial drones, an indoor drone from DJI, Commercial UAV Expo 2022, and drone docking systems.

UAV News

FAA: Unmanned Aircraft Systems beyond Visual Line of Sight Aviation Rulemaking Committee Final Report

The UAS Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC) has scheduled a public meeting for June 22, 2022. Its purpose is to give the public an opportunity to comment on the UAS BVLOS ARC Final Report.

The meeting will be held virtually from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time. On the day of the event, the Livestream can be viewed on Facebook or YouTube. Members of the public who wish to provide written comments and/or oral comments may email 9-FAA-UAS-BVLOS@faa.gov. Meeting minutes and other information will be posted on the FAA webpage.

To see the March 10, 2022, final report, visit Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Beyond Visual Line-of-Sight (BVLOS) Operations Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC).

MQ-9B STOL, first aircraft in its class to offer short takeoff and landing

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. developed a kit for the MQ-9B SeaGuardian giving it short takeoff and landing, or STOL, capability. The kit allows the aircraft to operate from shorter fields (less than 1,000 ft) compared to the roughly 3,500-foot runways it currently requires.

Verizon is closing its Skyward drone management company

Verizon bought the Skyward drone management business in 2017. In a surprise announcement, Verizon now says it will close down Skyward on June 30, 2022, to focus on higher near-term growth activities.

Skyward Is Closing—What Does This Mean for LAANC and for Parrot’s ANAFI Ai?

Skyward launched in 2013 and provided LAANC services starting in 2017. The company conducted a remote drone operation in 2020 without a pilot present in a Washington state wildfire, helped establish Remote ID requirements, and partnered in 2021 with Parrot to provide 4G LTE connectivity for its ANAFI Ai.

Now There’s A Drum Magazine For Dropping Multiple Bombs From Commercial Drones

Reports are unconfirmed that a Dutch company (unnamed) has developed a drum magazine for commercial drones that holds and drops multiple mortar shells. It’s said that prototypes are headed to Ukraine.

DJI may be working a new FPV drone that you can fly indoors

According to leaks, A DJI indoor drone is coming between July and August 2022. Supposedly called Avata, the drone will weigh 500 grams and features ducted propellers, a camera, and “greatly improved” battery life.

Commercial UAV Expo 2022 Program – Vegas Show is Back, and Bigger than Ever

The Commercial UAV Expo is September 6-8, 2022 in Las Vegas. Featured sessions include keynotes, deep-dive vertical market sessions, and industry update sessions. See the 2022 Conference Program.

Advances in Drone Docking Systems

On-demand drone services need a place where drones can land and await the next mission, get their batteries charged, and be protected from environmental conditions. Globe UAV and HEISHA Technology have offerings in this space.

Mentioned

PBIA approved for ‘vertiport’ for electric jet service to connect Florida cities

Lillium

397 CycloTech Cycloidal Rotor

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CycloTech propulsion for eVTOLs, the first autonomous Blackhawk helicopter flight, the little drone carrying meth, universities study Verizon 5G drone applications, a Wisconsin bill to ban government use of DJI, and Navy unmanned underwater vehicles.

UAV News

Markus Steinke on CycloTech’s cycloidal rotor concept

The cycloidal rotor concept uses a large, open, rotating spool with airfoils that run between the ends of the spool. The vehicle has four spools (or rotors), one at each corner. Last year, Austrian company Cyc l oTech conducted the first free flight of their technology demonstrator. The CycloRotor thrust can be directed in a 360-degree direction around the axis of rotation. The design has advantages that are desirable for eVTOL operations, including a smooth transition from vertical to horizontal flight and vice versa, precision maneuvering, and the decoupling of aircraft body attitude from the flight path.

Video: CycloTech GmbH First Free Flight

Safe, Reliable, and Uninhabited: First Autonomous BLACK HAWK® Helicopter Flight

With the flick of a switch, the DARPA S-70 Blackhawk helicopter goes from piloted to unpiloted. In this first flight, the S-70 autonomously completed a pre-flight checklist, started its engines, spun up its rotors, and took off with no crew on board. The ALIAS system (Aircrew Labor In-Cockpit Automation System) on-board sensors provided real-time obstacle data as the helicopter navigated through a simulated cityscape.

Video: First Uninhabited Black Hawk Flight

A tiny DJI drone smuggled its own weight in drugs over the US border wall

Last October, the US Border Patrol spotted a DJI Mini 2 flying over the 25-foot-high fence. The drone landed in a parking lot and a Mercedes pulled up to retrieve it. An Agent grabbed the drone first. The 249g DJI Mini 2 was carrying 259g of methamphetamine. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) obtained a warrant to search the drone for evidence that might lead to the pilot. It’s not clear if the warrant asks DJI to provide information about the drone flight.

Verizon taps universities for 5G drones, manufacturing

Verizon is working with two universities to develop and demonstrate use cases for low-latency networks. Verizon deployed millimeter wave 5G at the California Institute of Technology and the Pennsylvania State University. The universities will trial using AI to interpret drone data and research ways to improve and automate manufacturing processes.

INTERVIEW: Sen. Roger Roth on bill to ban Chinese-made drones

Wisconsin State Senator Roger Roth represents Senate District 19 and co-sponsored 2021 Assembly Bill 907 (text) restricting state and local governmental acquisition, possession, and use of certain drones. The bill has been referred to the Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety.

This bill prohibits local governmental units and state agencies from acquiring or… possessing or using drones manufactured or distributed by SZ DJI Technology Co., Ltd. … or any entity that is determined by the U.S. Department of Justice to be subject to or vulnerable to extrajudicial direction from a foreign government.
2021 Assembly Bill 907

Navy enhancing sensors, navigation, and autonomy capabilities for growing fleet of unmanned submarines

Huntington Ingalls Industries has been designing and producing underwater drones for the Navy. Their REMUS (Remote Environmental Monitoring UnitS) series of unmanned underwater vehicles (UUV) has been launched from submarines and can explore hazardous areas autonomously. The Navy is looking at small, medium, large, and extra-large UUVs as well as unmanned surface vessels, and unmanned aircraft.

UAV Video of the Week

Video: Watch a drone capture SpaceX Falcon 9’s latest launch and landing!

The NROL-87 mission successfully launched February 2, 2022, from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, and carried a national security payload designed, built, and operated by the National Reconnaissance Office.

358 Insitu Lawsuit

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Boeing settles the Insitu lawsuit; Intel neuromorphic chips in drones; betting on drone races; connected drone delivery from Verizon, UPS, and Skyward; and new drones from Cadillac, Sony, and Autel Robotics.

UAV News

Boeing to pay $25 Million to settle Insitu Lawsuit

In a federal whistle-blower lawsuit, Insitu was accused of fraudulently overcharging the U.S. government. Surveillance drones were sold to the government and billed as new, but Insitu provided used drones. This was on no-bid military contracts that were signed between 2009 and 2017. The Department of Justice accused Insitu of “knowingly submitting materially false cost and pricing data” for contracts to supply surveillance drones to both the U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) and the Navy. Insitu said in a statement that “our disclosures to the government at the time satisfied all requirements.” The company does not admit any wrongdoing.

Intel envisions drones with biological brains and eyes

Intel is installing neuromorphic chips into drones. The “Loihi” chip has 2 billion transistors which simulate 130,000 neurons and 130 million synapses. Intel is initially applying neuromorphic technology to drone cameras. The hope is that Loihi will allow cameras to function more like natural eyes, responding almost instantly to visual change.

DraftKings announces it will now allow betting on drone races in some states

Sports betting company DraftKings has teamed up with the Drone Racing League (DRL). Betting on the races will be allowed for residents of Colorado, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Tennessee, and West Virginia. Regulatory approval is pending for other states.

News from CES 2021

The Cadillac personal drone is the Cadillac of personal drones

The Cadillac-branded single-seat eVTOL is a concept study featuring a 90-kilowatt hour electric motor powering four rotors.

Sony offers first glimpse of its Airpeak drone that can carry an Alpha camera on an adjustable gimbal and capture footage and images from the air

The Sony Airpeak quadcopter was designed to carry the Sony Alpha mirrorless camera system. Two landing gear extensions retract upwards during flight. Price and availability were not announced.

Airpeak will support the creativity of video creators to the fullest extent possible, aiming to contribute to the further development of the entertainment industry as well as to improved efficiency and savings in various industries.
Sony statement.

Verizon, UPS, and Skyward announce connected drone delivery at CES 2021

The collaboration between Skyward, A Verizon company, and UPS Flight Forward™ plans to deliver retail products with drones connected to Verizon 4G LTE. 5G testing and integration will also be conducted. Deliveries of retail products via connected drones will start at The Villages in Florida.

Video: Building the New Smart City | CES 2021 | Verizon

Verizon at CES 2021

Autel Robotics releases the new Dragonfish VTOL and EVO 2 RTK series at CES

Aute l Robotics released two new drones at CES. The Dragonfish VTOL has autonomous capability, a maximum flight time of 120 minutes, an 18.6-mile video transmission range, and a deployment time of under four minutes. The EVO 2 RTK series drones use Real-Time Kinematic technology to improve the accuracy of GNSS data, allowing sub-inch accuracy.

Videos of the Week

Drone Captures Stunning Scenes After Snowstorm Hits Central Idaho

Breathtaking aerial video of Washington’s snowy mountains

346 The Longest Organ Delivery Flight by UAS

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Long-distance organ delivery flight, a survey-grade micro drone, a UK drone zone, research on multi-fuel drones, heavy-lift drones, a UAV landing at a commercial airport, locating pregnant dolphins, Verizon’s wildfire drone waiver, and a former FAA Administrator lands a new job.

UAV News

Mission Go completes longest organ delivery flight via UAS in Las Vegas

In this MissionGO and Nevada Donor Network collaboration, two successful test flights were made. The first flight delivered research corneas from Southern Hills Hospital and Medical Center to Dignity Health – St. Rose Dominican, San Martín Campus. The second flight delivered a research kidney from an airport to a location outside of a small town in the Las Vegas desert. This was the longest organ delivery flight in UAS history.

IdeaForge Raises The Bar With The Launch Of RYNO UAV

The RYNO UAV is a survey-grade micro-drone from IdeaForge, a drone manufacturer in India. RYNO is designed for high accuracy mapping applications and delivers centimeter-level accuracy. The drone has a flight time of over 40 minutes and a range of up to 4 km. The performance of the RYNO UAV is claimed to be comparable to more expensive categories of drones.

U.K. has plans to create aerial drone zone superhighways to contain UAV traffic

The U.K. is establishing a commercial drone corridor called the “Arrow Drone Zone.” Airspace will be available to any fully automated drones, including flying beyond visual line-of-sight (BVLOS). The zone will be located in the town of Reading, to the west of London, and managed by Altitude Angel with their GuardianUTM O/S platform.

US Army funding research to allow drones to run on multiple fuel sources

The Army awarded the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign a four-year, $8 million contract to research multi-fuel chemistry and investigate advanced propulsion technologies for high-speed air launches. Researchers will study the ignition chemistry of fuels using machine learning algorithms and develop materials for novel ignition assistant technologies for flexible-fuel drones.

Volocopter teams up with Schenker to deploy heavy lift drones

The two companies want to gain practical flying the VoloDrone before the VoloCity air taxi enters service. The drone Is remote-controlled, can lift up to 200 kilograms (440 lbs.), and has a range of 40 kilometers (25 miles). Volocopter CEO Florian Reuter said, “The logistics opportunity in the urban market is just as big as the passenger market.”

Israeli Company Carries Out Historic First-Ever UAV Landing at a Commercial Airport

The landing was conducted by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) with their Heron reconnaissance UAV. The landing at Ben Gurion International Airport was entirely remote-controlled. This is reported to be the first time a UAV was operated alongside commercial flights in civilian airspace.

Video: Heron UAV Landing at Ben Gurion Airport

Dolphin reproductive research aided by UH Drones

The University of Hawaii is collaborating with Dolphin Quest on a study to better understand the health of dolphin populations. A Ph.D. student has been operating a drone over a pregnant bottlenose dolphin at the Dolphin Quest facility. The goal is to detect pregnancy in female dolphins in the open ocean.

Verizon deploys remote network-connected drone during Big Hollow Wildfire

The FAA granted a special temporary waiver to Skyward, A Verizon company, that allows civilian operations to inspect critical communications infrastructure in the U.S. Company pilots can fly the Percepto Sparrow drone from their homes to inspect critical communications infrastructure near the Big Hollow wildfire in Washington. The waiver permits operations 24 hours a day, with less than 3 miles of visibility, and no pilot or observer on site. Skyward spent nearly a year testing and proving that it could safely fly without onsite personnel.

Former Head of Federal Aviation Administration Michael Huerta Joins D-Fend Solutions’ Advisory Board

The former top Federal Aviation Administration executive brings airspace management and airport safety expertise to the D-Fend counter-drone technology company.

UAV Video of the Week

Colors of Vermont Fall Foliage Captured in Drone Footage

Vermont photographer John Rowe captured drone footage of the fall colors at Norton Pond.

UAV201 Telecommunication Drone

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Telecommunication drone tests from MIT and Verizon, flying near firefighters, pipeline inspection, drone registration refunds for recreational operators, and the UAS Identification and Tracking Aviation Rulemaking Committee.

American Aerospace Technologies Inc. RS-20

Testing the RS-20 as a telecommunications drone. Courtesy American Aerospace Technologies Inc.

UAV News

MIT Develops Gas-Powered UAV That Can Stay Aloft for Five Days

This fixed-wing, long-endurance UAV was developed to provide temporary telecommunications service for disaster areas, or possibly for environmental monitoring. With a 24-foot wingspan and a 15,000 feet ceiling, the GPkit software modeling tool was used to evaluate different aircraft parameters.

Verizon explains flying-cell-site drone-project

Verizon, American Aerospace Technologies Inc., and Cape May County in New Jersey collaborated to test an AATI RS-20 fixed-wing aircraft flying BVLOS and broadcasting a Verizon Airborne LTE signal. Verizon has been building a suite of tools with “barnyard” names, including: cell on wheels (COW), generator on a trailer (GOAT), and cell on light truck (COLT).

Drone Photographer Arrested for Impeding Forest Fire Rescuers

54-year old Gene Alan Carpenter was arrested after flying his drone over an Arizona wildfire. He is charged with felony endangerment and unlawful operation of an unmanned aircraft in violation of Arizona law that makes it illegal for drones to impede emergency or law-enforcement activities. In response to the drone flight, officials were forced to ground all the aircraft in the area.

Yale Student Invents Drone to Solve $2.5 Trillion Corrosion Problem

A Yale School of Management team has founded Arix Technologies to bring robotics and data analytics to the expensive and labor intensive problem of pipeline corrosion inspection.

FAA is now issuing a drone registration refund

In light of the court ruling that the FAA violated section 336 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 when it implemented drone registration for recreational operators, the FAA is offering a refund. Recreational drone operators can expunge their registration information and get their $5 registration fee back from the FAA by mailing a form [PDF]. See the FAA Registration Deletion page for more details.

FAA’s New UAS Committee Holds Inaugural Meeting

The first meeting of the UAS Identification and Tracking Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC) was held June 21-23, 2017. This group of 74 unmanned aircraft stakeholders [PDF] was chartered [PDF] to investigate technologies for remote identification and tracking of UAS. The ARC will recommend solutions that meet the requirements of security and public safety organizations.

Mentioned

Sky Locals – Amazing drone photos on Instagram and videos on YouTube.

UAV191 A Mountain Search and Rescue Drone

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A drone for high altitude mountain search and rescue, a package delivery plan for Singapore, a “flying cell site” using a long endurance drone, and a growing market for anti-drone products.

HyDrone 1550, courtesy MMC.

UAV News

Hydrogen Drone, HyDrone 1550, Successfully Tested at High Altitudes

The MMC hydrogen-powered HyDrone 1550 has been tested at altitudes over 14,000 feet in cold and mountainous Yunnan Province, China. The HyDrone 1550 can operate in environments where other drones cannot, making it good for mountain search and rescue.

Airbus and Singpost testing last-mile drone package delivery

Singapore Post signed a memorandum of understanding with Airbus Helicopters to conduct research and testing for drone package delivery. SingPost becomes a partner under the Airbus Helicopter Skyways package delivery project for urban environments. A trial at the National University of Singapore (NUS) is planned for early 2018 where autonomous drones will fly in pre-defined routes and drop off packages across the campus. More at the Airbus Future of Urban Mobility webpage.

Verizon Tests New Drone To Deliver 4G LTE Service

Verizon conducted an engineering flight test of Airborne LTE in order to find the size of the wireless coverage area that can be created by a drone. The “flying cell site” was conducted with an American Aerospace RS-20 long endurance drone at Woodbine Municipal Airport in New Jersey.

Anti-Drone Market Analysis By Mitigation Type (Destructive, Non-Destructive), By Defense Type (Detection & Disruption, Detection), By End-Use (Military & Defense, Commercial, Government), By Region And Segment Forecasts, 2014 – 2024

Grand View Research, Inc. reports that they expect the global anti-drone market to reach USD 1.85 billion by 2024. As UAVs are becoming stealthier, faster, smaller, and cheaper, threats and nuisance are expected to increase. Anti-drone technology is receiving a lot of investment in areas such as acoustic signature and visual identification, and electronic countermeasures. The full report is available for purchase.

Why drones could be a better solution than a wall on the US-Mexico border

What is less expensive and more effective, a wall or a lot of drones?

UAV Video of the Week

Lilium shows maiden flight of world’s first working prototype of an electric VTOL jet

https://youtu.be/ohig71bwRUE

Mentioned

Drone targets Singapore Airlines A350

A drone reportedly came within 300 feet of a Singapore Airlines A350.

UAV183 An Autonomous Taxi Drone

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Dubai plans to address traffic problems with a taxi drone, the Drone Advisory Committee looks at UAS tasks, a concept for very large racing drones forms in Australia, a tower trade organization issues a UAS guidance document, investing in drone technology, an NDVI data gathering solution for growers, a Microsoft UAS simulation platform, and Amazon looks at controlled descent of ejected packages.

Ehang 184 Autonomous Taxi Drone

UAV News

Dubai To Launch Flying Drone Taxis In July

By the year 2030, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) wants 25 percent of all passenger trips in Dubai to be provided by autonomous vehicles. The head of Dubai’s Roads & Transportation Agency says they have been experimenting with the Ehang 184 as an autonomous taxi drone.

The single-seat taxi drone has a 30-minute flight time with a 50-kilometer range. The passenger selects the destination on a touchpad, and the drone flies there autonomously. Flights would be monitored remotely at a control room.

See the video: EHANG 184 Flight Test, published on Dec 28, 2016, and also Dubai is buying 200 Tesla vehicles as part of its ambitious self-driving taxi plan

Drone Advisory Committee Builds Consensus

At the second meeting of the Drone Advisory Committee (DAC) on January 31, 2017, three draft tasking statements were reviewed:

The roles and responsibilities of federal, state, and local governments in regulating and enforcing drone laws.
Technological and regulatory mechanisms that would allow drone operators to gain access to the airspace beyond what the agency currently permits under the Small UAS Rule.
Funding to offset the cost of supporting unmanned aircraft integration into the nation’s airspace.

Giant drone racing is here, and it’s just as awesome as it sounds

Australian Chris Ballard thinks he has a better idea for the sport of drone racing. He founded startup Freedom Class Giant Drone Racing and is designing, building, and testing giant racing drones. Ballard says he’s “looking to achieve the Formula 1 of the drone-racing world.” See the video: Freedom Class Giant Drone – Initial Flight Test – January 2017.

NATE Unveils 2nd Edition of Unmanned Aerial Systems Safety Resource

The National Association of Tower Erectors (NATE) has released the 2nd Edition of the resource document NATE Unmanned Aerial Systems Operations Around Vertical Communications Infrastructure. [PDF] The document is intended to address UAS operations around wireless infrastructure, cellular towers, broadcast towers and utility structures. The 2nd Edition incorporates updates associated with the FAA Part 107 rules for the commercial operation of UAS.

How to Invest in Drone Technology

With DJI commanding a large market share, what other options do investors have? There are large companies in the industry, such as Lockheed Martin, GoPro, Boeing, Amazon, United Parcel Service, and Intel. There is even an exchange-traded fund. But drone component companies are another option.

Sentera Adds TrueNDVI™ to DJI Phantom 4 Pro Drone

Sentera produces sensors that image Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) data to help growers manage crop health. Now Sentera has announced they can convert a DJI Phantom 4 Pro drone into a system that collects TrueNDVI™ crop health data. A single flight can capture visual-band RGB, near-infrared (NIR), and NDVI data.

Aerial Informatics and Robotics Platform

Microsoft’s open-source Aerial Informatics and Robotics platform addresses “the large data needs for training, and the ability to debug in a simulator.” The system “provides realistic simulation tools for designers and developers to seamlessly generate the copious amounts of training data they need. In addition, the platform leverages recent advances in physics and perception computation to create accurate, real-world simulations.”

Amazon considers parachutes for drone delivered packages

Amazon has a patent for “Maneuvering a package following in-flight release from an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).” Now we have the possibility of delivery drones that land, those that lower their package, and those that eject their package. The descent of ejected packages could be controlled by a parachute, landing flaps, or compressed air canisters.

Verizon Acquires Skyward to Simplify Drone Operations and Reduce Complexity for Businesses

Verizon announced a deal to buy Skyward for an undisclosed sum. The maker of drone operations software says, “Skyward’s drone operations management platform combined with Verizon’s network, reliability, trusted brand, and expertise in building enterprise solutions will help [Skyward] deliver the solutions our customers need faster than ever before.”

UAV Video of the Week

Screen capture from the TF1 television newscast of 12 February 2017.

The eagles: new anti-drone weapons

The French Armed Forces are using birds of prey to capture drones in flight. The video shows how the birds are trained and how they take down drones.

Mentioned

Papa John’s Commercial 2017 Drones

Patrick sent us this commercial where pizza delivery drones run amuck.

UAV166 DJI Mavik Hands-On Review

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A review of the new DJI Mavik folding quadcopter, Verizon drone tests continue, India looks at ATC towers and civil UAS, drones for flood control, and drones for flood rescue.

Guest

Formation flight (top to bottom): DJI Matrice 600, Inspire 1 Pro, Phantom 4, Mavik Pro. Photo by Brandon Remler.

Parker Gyokeres got his hands on the new DJI Mavik and gives us his observations after flying the quadcopter.

Parker notes that the price, performance, features, light weight, and ultra-compact size makes the Mavik an ideal “gateway drug” to flying drones. The small size, when folded, makes it easy to take with you, and the fast setup time makes it more likely that you’ll actually fly the quadcopter and shoot video.

Parker is the owner of Propellerheads Aerial Photography, LLC, an FAA Part 107 licensed business providing aerial photography and medium/heavy lift cinematography, thermal imaging, NDVI multispectral and 3F photogrammetry.

News

Verizon Forges Ahead with New LTE Drone Project

Verizon Communications wants to outfit drones with 4G LTE and use its ThingSpace IoT platform for industrial surveillance missions and other applications. This is part of their Airborne LTE Operations (ALO) initiative which has been testing since 2014. Verizon brought in American Aerospace Technologies Inc. (AATI) in a test to connect a 17-foot wingspan UAS and their 4G LTE network.

India sets up ATC towers upgradation committee for UAVs

The Indian government has created a government/civil committee to determine infrastructure and technical requirements for air traffic control towers. In the past year, India experienced five near-miss incidents involving commercial aircraft. At least 40 ATC towers need upgrades to mitigate safety and security risks. The Indian government is still working on rules that would allow civil use of UAVs.

How Drones Can Save the Flood Control District Thousands of Headaches

County Flood Control District workers and contractors in Texas currently have to monitor hundreds of miles of bayous and channels, as well as tens of thousands of acres of detention basins. By using drones, they could significantly reduce their inspection costs. So far, in a limited trial with Austin, Texas company HUVR, they’re using a drone to check up on mowing done by contractors.

Video of the Week

Drone, social media make flood rescue happen in real time

Chris Williams and his dog were trapped for 14 hours in their attic. He texted his parents, and they told his brother 1,300 miles away in Texas, who tried but couldn’t get through to authorities.

Meanwhile, Quavas Hart sent his drone out and posted some photos of the flooded area on Instagram, which the brother of the trapped man saw. As a joke, he sent the photo to his brother saying, “at least you’re not this guy.”

Except, that he was that guy. The brother was eventually able to tweet Hart, the drone operator, who “used his drone to attract the attention of a FEMA search-and-rescue boat crew in the neighborhood.” They then rescued the trapped man. “The entire operation was captured by the camera on Hart’s drone.”

UAV097 Drone Lawyer Jonathan Rupprecht

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Conversation with drone lawyer Jonathan Rupprecht, a NASA and Verizon UAS tracking system, the Google Internet HALE drone crashes, and Boeing patents a drone charging concept.

Guest

Jonathan Rupprecht, Esq. In December 2014, Jonathan Rupprecht formed Rupprecht Law, a firm providing legal services for operators of unmanned aerial vehicles.

Jonathan authored a book on the law in the United States pertaining to unmanned aircraft called Drones: Their Many Civilian Uses and the U.S. Laws Surrounding Them. He later was an advisor for one of the amicus briefs for the Huerta v. Pirker case.

We talk with Jonathan about the state of drone law, areas that need to be figured out (like export control, frequency allocation, federal versus local jurisdiction), and what lawyers can offer (such as support for building the business plan.) Jonathan discusses how issues like privacy might already be covered under existing laws, the open issue of navigable airspace, and the notice and comment process. We also consider building safety awareness among the general drone-flying public.

Jonathan Rupprecht is a commercial pilot for single and multi-engine aircraft ratings and also a flight instructor for airplanes and instruments. He obtained a Bachelor of Science in Professional Aeronautics from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Magna Cum Laude, and a Juris Doctor from Florida International University School of Law.

The first book led into him being requested to be a co-author on an American Bar Association book called Unmanned Aircraft in the National Airspace: Critical Issues, Technology, and the Law. Jonathan wrote on administrative law, the FAA rule making process, and the special rule on unmanned aircraft.

News

NASA Developing Unmanned Aerial System Traffic Management

NASA and Verizon plan to monitor US drone network from phone towers

The NASA Unmanned Aerial System Traffic Management system, or UTM, is a cloud-based concept to manage air traffic operated beyond visual line of sight at low altitudes. UTM Principal Investigator Dr. Parimal Kopardekar says, “We need a way to organize the UAS traffic, whether that’s by crisscrossing or with a bike lane or HOV lane kind of construct. The system can make these things happen based on demand. UTM is a virtual system.”

To learn more, the Guardian filed a Freedom of Information Act request for documents and learned that last year telecom company Verizon signed an agreement with NASA “to jointly explore whether cell towers … could support communications and surveillance of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) at low altitudes.”

Google’s High-Flying Internet Drone Crashed in New Mexico Weeks Ago

The Solara 50 drone built by Google-owned Titan Aerospace crashed shortly after takeoff. The solar powered, 50 foot wingspan drone is designed to linger at 65,000 feet and provide Internet connectivity. The NTSB is investigating.

Boeing patents system for airborne drone charging

The Boeing patent is titled, “Autonomous aircraft with disconnectable tether” and describes a system where drones drop tethers to ground-based charging stations.

Video of the Week

Sky Pixel LA – SBC Flooding Part 1

Listener Heath sent in the link to this video showing some of the flooding around the Shreveport, Louisiana area. It’s a very artistic portrayal of a very serious situation. Part 2 is more of a look at the effect of the flooding on people.