Monthly Archives: August 2020

342 Countering Drone Swarms

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Technology developing to counter drone swarms, a blended wing body drone to catch poachers, studying pollinating bees, and Norway’s first UTM system.

UAV News

The U.S. Navy Plans To Foil Massive ‘Super Swarm’ Drone Attacks By Using The Swarm’s Intelligence Against Itself

Isaac Kaminer, an engineering professor at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School says “large-scale adversarial swarms” of drones are an “imminent threat.” Instead of trying to shoot down super swarms, Kaminer proposes to use the swarm against itself.

Eagleray UAS Scans for Poachers

Laws exist to protect endangered species, but organized criminal networks don’t follow laws so the Kashmir World Foundation (KwF) is fighting back with technology. KwF designs, develops, and applies unmanned autonomous systems, including the Eagle Ray blended wing body Eagle Ray anti-poaching drone. See: Eagle Ray UAS Scans for Poachers.

How Did This Colombian Use Drones To Solve A Bee Mystery?

Entomologist Diana Obregon has been studying the effect of pesticides and deforestation on pollinating bees. She used drones to assess the forest around crops, then correlated that to pesticide residues in the crop and the diversity and abundance of bees visiting the crop.

Avinor ANS Begins Roll Out of First Nordic UTM System at Two Airport Towers in Norway Paving the Way for its Future Tech-Economy

Norwegen airport operator Avinor is testing an unmanned traffic management (UTM) system at two airports. The UTM system provides an operational overview of the airspace and allows two-way communication between air traffic control and drone operators. Ultimately, the system is planned for 18 towers in Norway. Avinor Air Navigation Services (ANS) is working with Frequentis and Altitude Angel to implement the UTM system.

UAV Video of the Week

Kid amazes Dad with his drone flying skills

341 Drone Detection

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 28:39 — 19.7MB)

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AeroDefense founding CEO Linda Ziemba explains the AirWarden™ system for drone detection as well as the complex legal hurdles that must be considered.

Guest

Linda Ziemba is the founding CEO of AeroDefense. The company’s AirWarden™ system detects and locates both drones and pilots simultaneously. This provides actionable intelligence for security teams to respond to drone threats.

Linda explains the legality of drone detection and mitigation systems, which revolves around three main factors:

First, since small UAS are categorized as aircraft, drones have the same protections as transport airplanes. Simply put, you can not take a drone down if you don’t like what it is doing.

Second, 47 U.S. Code § 333 (Willful or Malicious Interference) states that “No person shall willfully or maliciously interfere with or cause interference to any radio communications of any station licensed or authorized by or under this chapter or operated by the United States Government.”

And finally, privacy and wiretapping laws mean you cannot intercept and open communications. 

Penalties for infractions include large fines and prison time.

AeroDefence responded to these realities by pivoting from drone detection and mitigation to just drone detection. Sensors detect the characteristics of RF transmissions and match those to a database of drone RF profiles based on the chipsets they use.

340 Wide-Area Motion Imagery

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 28:39 — 19.7MB)

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Wide-Area Motion Imagery (WAMI) for a Navy drone, deliberately hitting an airplane with a drone, drone delivery service in Alabama, quadcopter disrupts MLB game, UAS pilot program for Virginia, the first drone to make a commercial delivery goes to the Smithsonian, and a drone finds a missing whale.

UAV News

With this new sensor, Blackjack drones can monitor an entire city at once

The Boeing Insitu R1-21A Blackjack is a Navy and Marine Corps small tactical unmanned air system (STUAS) that can provide ISR coverage day or night. The Blackjack now has a new wide-area motion imagery (WAMI) sensor from Logos Technologies that can simultaneously monitor 5 square miles.

What happens when a drone hits a plane?

A series of collisions were staged between an Antonov AN-2 biplane and some DJI Phantoms. These were recorded in slow-motion video which documents the resulting damage to the Antonov and the destruction of the Phantoms.

Video: First drone vs Plane crash in slow motion

The future of doorstep delivery being tested in Mobile; Drones could soon deliver orders in minutes

Deuce Drone is testing drone delivery in Mobile, Alabama. They’ve partnered with the Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant and Rouses food market, hoping to get food to deliveries in 10-15 minutes from order. Deuce Drone says they “will design and build your company’s drone delivery system, leveraging your existing infrastructure. Last-mile delivery is key. Drones are the solution.”

Drone interrupts Twins-Pirates game; irritates Jose Berrios on mound

A drone appeared over center field during a major league baseball game in Minneapolis. The Twins were ahead of the Pirates by three runs when the quadcopter was spotted. Umpires cleared the field while some of the pitchers tried to hit the drone. After about 5 minutes, the drone disappeared and the game resumed.

Virginia to Launch Unmanned Aerial Systems Flight Information Exchange

The Virginia Department of Aviation (DOAV) and the Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) have launched the Virginia Flight Information Exchange pilot program. VA-FIX is a platform for state and local governments to share UAS advisory information with stakeholders, including UAS Service Suppliers (USS), UAS operators, and the public. It is being called the first state-sponsored authoritative Supplemental Data Service Provider (SDSP) to exist in the FAA’s UAS Traffic Management (UTM). For more information on the Virginia Flight Information Exchange, visit the Virginia Department of Aviation website.

This Drone Made the First Home Delivery in the United States

The first commercial drone delivery to a home in the United States was made on October 19, 2019. Wing’s drone A1229 delivered a purple vest ordered by an 81-year-old retiree in Virginia. Now A1229 has a new home, at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum. Roger Connor, curator of vertical flight for the National Air and Space Museum said, “Ten years ago I had no rational reason to expect drone technology to have advanced to where it is now, and Wing is really the next phase of that. Not only is Wing’s aircraft actually making residential deliveries, but they’re figuring out how the technology fits in with the local economy and society.”

Drone Rescue of Beluga Whale in the Arctic Sea

Last July, an endangered white whale was spotted swimming up a river in Norway from the sea. Whales are easily trapped in a river like this with sandbanks and changing river depth. A wildlife rescue operation was initiated, but the whale was lost from sight. The Norwegian People’s AID Midt-Troms Search & Rescue Unit was contacted to help locate the whale, which they did in 10 minutes using Atlas Dynamics drone technology.