Monthly Archives: May 2018

UAV244 Solar Powered Drone

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 33:14 — 22.9MB)

Subscribe: Email | RSS

A long endurance solar-powered drone, UAVs used for offensive and defensive applications, autonomous pollination drones, and DJI interest in the UAS Integration Pilot Program.

A solar-powered drone. Courtesy Alta Devices.

A solar-powered drone. Courtesy Alta Devices.

UAV News

Naval Research Lab Adds Solar Power to Hybrid Tiger UAV Project

The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) will use Alta Devices solar technology to help power the Hybrid Tiger UAV, a long endurance UAV with a planned flight time of at least 3 ½  days. The Tiger uses solar cells, a hydrogen fuel cell, and autonomous soaring algorithms. Alta Devices develops “efficient, thin and flexible mobile power technology” that enables solar-powered drones.

MyDefence Launches the WINGMAN 103 – Wearable Drone Detection for Special Operations Forces

Dutch anti-drone technology company MyDefence has the vision “To protect those who protect us” and their mission is “To deliver products within Electronic Warfare, by extensive research and development in the field of mission critical RF equipment.” MyDefence offers the Wingman series of wearable drone detection platforms, the newest of which is the Wingman 103, designed for special operations forces.

Israel Uses Drone Racers To Down Incendiary Kites And Drones To Dispense Tear Gas Over Gaza

The Israeli Defense Forces enlisted local drone racers to fly into “incendiary kites” and snag them with fishing hooks. Video: צפו בתיעוד: רחפן של צה”ל מיירט עפיפון מעזה [IDF skimmer intercepts a kite from Gaza]

Robotic Bees Are a Real Thing—and the Company Funding Them Might Surprise You

Walmart has filed a patent for autonomous pollination drones, along with five other patents for agricultural applications.

DJI appeals for involvement in first-of-its-kind UAV integration programme

DJI didn’t show up in the DOT list of initial 10 projects under the UAS Integration Pilot Program. However, the company still wants to make contributions in the areas of AeroScope remote identification, drone equipment, software development kit, policy collaboration, custom geofencing, educational outreach, and access to the DJI user community. See press releases: DJI Seeks To Partner With State, Local And Tribal Governments (November 16, 2017) and DJI Welcomes New Drone Integration Pilot Programs (May 10, 2018).

Ohio Governor John Kasich Signs Executive Order Authorizing Autonomous Vehicle Testing in Ohio

AUVSI says, “The order authorizes researchers to test on the state’s roadways ‘as long as their vehicles meet certain safety requirements and are capable of complying with Ohio traffic regulations.’” Executive order (2018-04K) also asks that researchers register their vehicles with the DriveOhio initiative.

UAV Videos of the Week

This New Video Showing DARPA’s Master Plan For Its Gremlins Drones Is Awesome

Gremlins: Airborne Launch & Recovery of Unmanned Aerial Systems

Spectacular light show of 350 drones over #ALJAWHARA🇸🇦 Stadium in Jeddah during the final football match of the King’s Cup

Mentioned

From UAV Expert News: Fortress UAV Will Host Drone Day Event with DJI, CyPhy Works, Intel and Yuneec. June 1, 2018, in Plano Texas.

UAV243 UAS Integration Pilot Program

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 33:17 — 22.9MB)

Subscribe: Email | RSS

The DOT announces the UAS Integration Pilot Program selectees, and the Small UAS Coalition responds. The future of Aurora’s Hybrid-Electric VTOL X-Plane is uncertain, and Uber wants to be your air taxi service provider, but many others want to play a role as well.

UAV News

U.S.Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao Announces Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration Pilot Program Selectees

UAS Integration Pilot Program

The U.S. Department of Transportation received more than 140 applications for the FAA UAS Integration Pilot Program, created to accelerate drone integration in the national airspace. DOT announced 10 UAS Integration Pilot Program Awardees who will conduct flight tests under the three-year program. Following are the ten selectees along with a brief description of their projects:

 

Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, Durant, OK – Agricultural, public safety and infrastructure inspections, with planned Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations over people and nighttime operations.

City of San Diego, CA – Border protection and package delivery of food, with a secondary focus on international commerce, Smart City/autonomous vehicle interoperability and surveillance.

Innovation and Entrepreneurship Investment Authority, Herndon, VA – Facilitate package delivery in rural and urban settings.

Kansas Department of Transportation, Topeka, KS – Deploy UAS to support beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations in rural communities, leverage a statewide unmanned traffic management system to facilitate precision agriculture operations.

Lee County Mosquito Control District, Ft. Myers, FL – Low-altitude aerial applications to control/surveil the mosquito population using a 1500-lb. UAS.

Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority, Memphis, TN – Inspection of FedEx aircraft and autonomous operations that support airport operations such as perimeter security surveillance and package delivery.

North Carolina Department of Transportation, Raleigh, NC – Test localized package delivery within a defined airspace by establishing drone delivery stations in local communities. This approach enables small businesses to utilize this delivery platform for commercial purposes.

North Dakota Department of Transportation, Bismarck, ND – Diverse operations that incorporate advanced technologies that seek to expand UAS operations at night and Beyond Visual Line of Sight.

The City of Reno, NV – Time-sensitive delivery of life-saving medical equipment, such as medical defibrillators in emergency situations in both urban and rural environments. See also, Reno, Flirtey among 10 chosen nationally for drone partnership.

University of Alaska-Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK – Pipeline inspection and surveying in remote areas and harsh climatic conditions.

Small UAV Coalition approves of new US DOT policy

The Small UAV Coalition, representing consumer and technology companies, is very happy with the “Notification to UAS Operators Proposing To Engage in Air Transportation” that was published in the Federal Register. In their press release Small UAV Coalition Applauds DOT for Taking Steps to Authorize UAS Delivery Operations [PDF], the Coalition says they applaud “the Department of Transportation (DOT) for announcing that it will use existing exemption authority to grant economic authority to unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) operators seeking to carry property in air transportation, an important step to expedite UAS delivery operations in the United States. The Coalition has long encouraged DOT to take this step and is pleased that it will be available to operators as the UAS Integration Pilot Program (IPP) gets underway.”

The Small UAV Coalition is also happy with the applicants selected to participate in the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration Pilot Program (IPP). In Small UAV Coalition Congratulates Secretary Chao and First UAS Integration Pilot Program Selections [PDF], they say, “The Coalition is pleased that UAS IPP has moved forward so quickly since it was first established by the President just a few months ago. The pace is emblematic of the urgency around developing a regulatory framework that will enable the safe integration of UAS into the national airspace and allow the United States to keep pace with other countries that are increasingly moving beyond pilot programs to ubiquity and integration.”

Darpa Pulls Plug On Aurora’s Hybrid-Electric VTOL X-Plane

DARPA no longer plans to build and fly the XV-24A LightningStrike from Boeing subsidiary Aurora Flight Sciences. Aurora won an $89 million contract for Phases 2 and 3 of the program in March 2016 and flew a 20%-scale, all-electric demonstrator in April 2016. But the Phase 2 full-scale demonstrator isn’t progressing well enough for DARPA and they have decided not to proceed into Phase 3 and flight testing.

Uber Targets Los Angeles As Next Air Taxi Market

Uber wants to develop a network of air taxi operators. They previously announced their interest in Dallas and Dubai, and now Uber has added Los Angeles as a test market. Uber sees its network of air taxis flying 20% of the 45.8 million daily Los Angeles trips from rooftop and purpose-built skyports with up to 1,000 landings and takeoffs per hour.

Embraer unveils electric air taxi concept

At the Uber Elevate event, Embraer announced it formed the “Embraer X” division to work on urban air taxis. Their four-passenger concept vehicle is called the “DreamMaker.”

NASA, Uber to Explore Urban Air Mobility Safety, Efficiency of Future Urban Airspace

NASA and Uber signed an agreement under which Uber will provide its plans for an urban aviation rideshare network and NASA will use computer modeling and simulation to assess the impacts of small aircraft in crowded environments.

 

UAV242 Rockwell Collins CNPC-1000 Data Link

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 33:32 — 23.1MB)

Subscribe: Email | RSS

Testing at the Northern Plains UAS Test Site utilized the Rockwell Collins CNPC-1000 UAS command and control data link, the DOT published procedures for obtaining operator exemption to hold economic authority, New Zealand police ask the public to report drones instead of shooting them down, drones as autonomous air ambulances, battlefield deliveries by drone, the Customs and Border Protection drone program comes under fire, and Intel wants to play a major role in processing drone sensor data.

Rockwell Collins CNPC-1000 UAS command and control data link.

CNPC-1000 UAS command and control data link. Courtesy Rockwell Collins.

UAV News

Rockwell Collins Enables Airspace Management During Test Flights For NASA’s UAS Traffic Management Program

Two weeks of tests were conducted for the NASA Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Traffic Management (UTM) program. Under a NASA contract, the tests were organized by the Northern Plains UAS Test Site. Rockwell Collins was the UAS Service Supplier (USS) for the safe management of a UAS flying beyond visual line of sight, utilizing Rockwell’s CNPC-1000 Command and Control data links. The University of Iowa Operator Performance Laboratory partnered with Rockwell Collins, integrating the CNPC-1000 links with its Pulse Aerospace Vapor 55 unmanned test vehicle.

DOT Takes Step Toward Expediting Drone Delivery Authorizations

A “Notification to UAS Operators Proposing To Engage in Air Transportation” was published in the Federal Register [PDF] on April 30, 2018. This document sets forth the procedure to seek an air taxi operator exemption to hold economic authority from the Department of Transportation (DOT or Department) for companies proposing to engage in certain air transportation operations with unmanned aircraft systems. This authority is separate and distinct from any safety authority required by the FAA.

Nothing to suggest link between drones and burglaries

A Facebook post shared with a number of community pages claimed drones were being used by burglars to scope out properties. Some comments suggested that people should shoot down the drones. However, police in Selwyn, New Zealand say they have no evidence of this and they are telling residents not to shoot down drones.

Drones Being Tested as Ambulances

Researchers at CalTech have been developing a “personal rescue system” and they are testing a one fifth scale model of an autonomous drone ambulance. Internal sensors would monitor the patient’s vital signs, and the actual vehicle would be the size of a small car.

DOD seeks battlefield blood delivery drones

The Defense Innovation Unit Experimental (DIUx) calls itself “a fast-moving government entity that provides non-dilutive capital to companies to solve national defense problems.” They accelerate commercial innovation for national defense by “contracting with companies offering solutions in a variety of areas – from autonomy and AI to human systems, IT, and space – to solve a host of defense problems.” The Unit had a solicitation for the ability to deliver a 5-pound package over 100 kilometers in “austere environments.”

The Marine Corps’ Next Generation Logistics branch and DOD’s Rapid Reaction Technology Office recently tested the Hive Final Mile project. In that system, a group of UAVs are autonomously deployed to deliver small supplies such as food or ammunition to marines on the field.

Drones on the Border: Efficacy and Privacy Implications

The author believes U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) “should wind down its drone program and in the meantime establish more robust privacy protections.” Issues include surveillance of Americans living along the border with minimal oversight and without warrants, the cost of the drone systems, and the lack of effectiveness.

Intel Wants Its New Drones to Find Jobs Outside the Spotlight

Why is Intel so into drones? They have shown huge PR displays at events like the Olympics and the Super Bowl and the industrial-grade Falcon 8+ drone just received UL 3030 certification. Well, Intel wants to rely less on the personal computer market and be a “data-centric” company. They want Intel technology to be central to whatever new market emerges for data processing. And that describes the massive processing of sensor data required for some commercial drone missions.

UAV Video of the Week

1,374 dancing drones break world record

China-based Ehang used a fleet of 1,374 Ghostdrones and beat Intel’s record of 1,218 flying drones at the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympic Games in February. But as Digital Trends points out in China nabs world record for biggest drone display, but it’s a bit of a mess, all didn’t go according to plan.

UAV Conference

The fourth annual Drone Focus Conference will be held May 30-31, 2018 in Fargo North Dakota. Short-format talks from over 50 speakers on topics ranging from cybersecurity and innovative hardware to policies and ethics regarding autonomous systems. The short-format talks challenge speakers to present relevant information quickly and concisely, with only four to twelve minutes on stage.  

Attendees will also have the opportunity to get hands-on with interactive workshops, focused lunch panels, and a party with live demos. Other elements of the conference include a Drone Focus Film Festival, student pitches, and celebration of National Autonomous Vehicle Day (May 31st).

More information and tickets are available online at https://dronefocuscon.com.