Monthly Archives: October 2020

351 Drones for First Responders

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A police department funds drones for response to 911 calls, paramedics in manned drones, public perception of drones, the U.S. government warns of drone attacks, a puffing drone, a heterogeneous drone swarm, and landing a UAV on a submarine.

UAV News

If you call 911 in this Georgia town, a drone might respond soon

Brookhaven, Georgia will be using drones as part of its first responder program. The police department’s UAS unit was funded for four drones to respond to 911 calls, witness crimes in progress, conduct investigations, and document crime scenes.Reportedly, Brookhaven would be the second U.S. city to adopt this program. The Chula Vista Police Department in California was the first in 2018.

Paramedics in manned drones to save more lives

Danish company Falck was founded in 1906 to provide fire, medical, and rescue services. They hope for a crewed UAS to deliver a first responder who can assess the situation and provide real-time triage.

New Study Shows Public Associates Drones Mainly with Photography, Toys and Military Operations

The ResponDrone Project is developing a situational awareness system for emergencies and twelve focus groups were conducted in six countries. The focus groups showed weak knowledge of the use of drones, including some negative feedback on drones relating to privacy issues. ResponDrone “recommends that emergency drones carry special identification, such as a specific colour or a logo, make distinctive sounds or have unique lights. Further, it is recommended that the residents are informed about flights and drills beforehand.”

The State Department Is Now Warning Of Impending Drone Attacks And How To Survive Them

An ominous announcement came from @TravelGov, the official Twitter for the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Consular Affairs:

#SaudiArabia: The Embassy is tracking reports of possible missiles or drones that may be headed toward Riyadh today, October 28. Stay alert. If you hear a loud explosion or if sirens are activated, immediately seek cover.

Later, @TravelGov tweeted that the alert had passed.

Pufferfish inspired robot could improve drone safety.

ATLAS Institute at the University of Colorado Boulder has developed a quadcopter with a shield that expands to become half of a Hoberman Sphere. The shield protects the craft and reduces the impact on barriers.

Video: PufferBot: Actuated Expandable Structures for Aerial Robots

Blue Bear demos collaborative 20 drown swarm on BVLOS

Blue Bear Systems Research is demonstrating a swarm of twenty heterogeneous aircraft and payloads. The mission was conducted using three operators to complete the mission profiles.

The US Navy is experimenting using drones to hand things off to ballistic missile submarines

A hexacopter delivered a small payload to the SSBN USS Henry M. Jackson off the Hawaiian Coast. The simulation showed the ability of a UAS to deliver packages to a sub while underway.

Video: Drone Delivery aboard the Ohio-class Ballistic-Missile Submarine USS Henry M. Jackson (SSBN 730)

UAV Video of the Week

Drone footage shows gigantic floating hands

350 Cyclogyro Drone

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A Voith-Schneider cyclogyro propulsion concept for UAM, holographic particle detection with a drone, new UAV licensing requirements in Singapore with stiff penalties for non-compliance, Pipistrel plans an autonomous heavy lift UAV, the EU looks to police its southern border with medium-altitude long-endurance drones, maintaining offshore wind farms with autonomous drones, and drone seeding to save the Koala.

UAV News

Cyclotech brings a totally unique propulsion system to the eVTOL world

CycloTech is an Austrian company that is developing a propulsion system based on Voith-Schneider propellers, which the company calls “cyclogyro rotors.” The system combines characteristics of helicopters and conventional propeller blades. CycloTech plans to fly a demonstration model by the end of the year.

Video: Cyclogyro Principle

Video: Cyclocopter Demonstration

Army teams with universities to create miniature drone device that detects aerosols

The “Holographic Aerosol Particle Imager,” or HAPI is small enough to be carried by a commercial drone and can resolve particles larger than ten micrometers in size. It can image free-floating aerosol particles from any direction and doesn’t have to actually contact the particles. HAPI uses digital holography and is built from 3D-printed polymer structures

The paper Imaging atmospheric aerosol particles from a UAV with digital holography published in the journal Nature Scientific Reports tells more.

Drone users must get licensed to fly certain unmanned aircraft or face penalties from February

The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) announced that starting February 2021, if you are 16 years old or above and want to fly a drone above 1.5kg in weight, you must complete online training and pass an exam to get licensed. If you are under 16 years old, you must be supervised by an older licence holder. 

There are two different certificates: An unmanned aircraft basic training certificate for those flying drones between 1.5kg and 7kg for recreational or educational purposes, and an unmanned aircraft pilot license for those flying drones above 7kg or who are flying them for commercial purposes. Penalties for flying drones without the appropriate licenses include jail time and fines up to $100,000 or both.

Honeywell to Provide Pipistrel with Advanced Flight Control Technology for Unmanned Cargo Aircraft

Pipistrel Aircraft is developing the Nuuva V300, a long-range large-capacity heavy-weight autonomous eVTOL UAV designed for aerial cargo delivery of up to 460 kg. Power comes from eight Type Certified battery-powered Pipistrel E-811 electric engines. Entry into service is planned for the second half of 2023. The smaller Nuuva V20 is targeted at last-mile delivery missions.

Pipistrel selected Honeywell’s Compact Fly-By-Wire system for the Nuuva V300 cargo UAV. Honeywell is leveraging air transport fly-by-wire systems into Part 23, eVTOL, and urban air mobility aircraft platforms.

Airbus to Operate Drones to search for migrants crossing the MED

Airbus, and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) have won an EU contract to operate medium-altitude long-endurance, remotely piloted aircraft systems for “maritime aerial surveillance services.” Airbus and IAI will provide the equipment and human operators and the drones will be based in either Greece, Italy, or Malta. Testing is planned on the Greek island of Crete with Mediterranean drone operations starting in 2021.

Unmanned Boats & Drones could repair offshore wind farms and clean plastic from the ocean. 

The University of Bristol and Thales are testing technology for autonomous drones and unmanned boats that could be used for offshore wind farm maintenance, or even cleaning plastics from the ocean.

Army of Drones to restore Koala Trees

Bushfires in Australia have killed or displaced an estimated three billion animals and up to seven billion trees were destroyed or damaged. The Koala habitat has been devastated. The World Wide Fund for Nature Australia is trialing a drone seeding program where the drones shoot Gum tree seeds into the ground. This has been successful in other countries with other types of seeds.

UAV Video of the Week

Archaeology mystery: Ancient carving accidentally uncovered near Nazca Lines – drone video

A previously undiscovered geoglyph of a large cat was discovered on a Peruvian hillside.

Webinar

Next-generation Situational Awareness – How Skydio’s autonomous drone solutions protect first responders

Thursday, October 29, 2020, 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM (EST) with featured guest Austin Worcester, Senior Program Manager for Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems at the Civil Air Patrol, where he is responsible for leading and administering the largest public safety/emergency services small unmanned aerial system (sUAS) operation in the world. This program encompasses all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the USVI.

The webinar will also feature Fritz Reber, a former Captain of the Chula Vista Police Department, where he served as UAS Commander and developed the agency’s internationally recognized Drone-as-First-Responder (DFR) program in partnership with the FAA’s San Diego Drone Integration Pilot Program (IPP). The webinar will be hosted by Guillaume Delepine, a current Skydio Product Marketing Manager and former Public Safety Lead and Enterprise Strategy Manager.

Registration is free for all attendees.

Mentioned

AvGeekFests.com, a calendar of aviation events.

349 Solar-Powered Drone LTE

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Loon and HAPSMobile test LTE from a solar-powered drone, India tests a MALE prototype, and China tests a weaponized drone swarm. Also, very small sensors dropped from very small drones, FAA submits two proposed final drone rules, a Colorado drone club builds a drone park, and a virtual drone summit.

UAV News

Alphabet and SoftBank’s solar-powered drone provides first LTE connection

Google parent company Alphabet and SoftBank demonstrated a stable LTE connection from the solar-powered Sunglider drone at 62,000 feet. The connection supported an international video call with members from Loon and AeroVironment speaking with HAPSMobile members based in Japan. Alphabet’s Loon jointly developed the communications payload, and SoftBank’s HAPSMobile, which built the aircraft. HAPSMobile is minority-owned by AeroVironment.

Video: Sunglider’s Test Flight in the Stratosphere

https://youtu.be/9G_h_fDyYAk

India’s Rustom-2 Completes 8-Hour Flight Test

The Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) recently flight-tested the Rustom-2 MALE prototype drone. It flew for eight hours of flying at 16,000 feet and by the end of 2020, DRDO expects the prototype to fly at 26,000 feet with an 18-hour endurance.

China Conducts Test Of Massive Suicide Drone Swarm Launched From A Box On A Truck

Reportedly, the China Academy of Electronics and Information Technology (CAEIT) conducted a test in September with a swarm of loitering munitions (also called suicide drones). They were deployed from 48 tubular launchers mounted on a light tactical vehicle, and also deployed from helicopters. The folded fixed-wing drones launch from the tubes.

Video: 中国电科陆空协同固定翼无人机“蜂群”系统 (China Electric Land and Air Cooperative Fixed-wing UAV “Swarm” System)

Airdropping sensors from moths: Researchers use flying insects to drop sensors from air, land them safely on the ground

University of Washington researchers wanted to solve the problem of inserting sensors into locations that are unsafe or too small for humans. So they developed a 98 milligram sensor system that can be carried by a tiny drone, or even an insect, like a moth. When the carrier gets above the destination, a Bluetooth command causes the sensor to release and fall to the ground. The sensor can survive a fall of up to 72 feet (or 22 meters) and collect data for 1.3-2.5 years when transmitting 10-50 packets per hour on a 68 milligram battery.

University of Washington: Airdropping sensor networks from drones and insects

Video: Dropping Sensors From Live Moths

Drone rules on final approach

FAA has submitted two proposed regulations to the Office of Management and Budget: Remote Identification of Unmanned Aircraft Systems and Operations of Small Unmanned Aircraft Over People. OMB has 90 days to review these final regulations.

Shovels break ground at Drone Flying Park

The Buena Vista Drone Flying Park in Colorado is taking shape. The Central Colorado UAS Club and the Buena Vista Recreation Department broke ground for the Park on October 8, 2020. The purpose of the Club is to bring together UAS owners, pilots, and interested parties in an informal and social atmosphere where they exchange ideas and learn about the safe, legal, and ethical operation of UAS. When the Drone Park is complete, the area will have space for pilots to seek certification for the use of drones, an obstacle course, and a racecourse that might host sanctioned races in the future. TNL Aviation is a founding sponsor.

Mentioned

UAS Magazine announced the 14th annual UAS Summit & Expo, will be 100% virtual and has been moved to October 28-29, 2020.

348 Weaponized Drones

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Weaponized drones, Walmart tries to catch up with Amazon, drone swarms and UFOs, disinfecting a stadium with a drone, converting old biplanes to unmanned aircraft, and a video of whales swimming with surfers.

UAV News

Well, Sure: Drone With a Shotgun

The i9 is a weaponized drone created for the UK’s Strategic Command by an unnamed company. It’s a human-operated, 6-rotor drone, about a meter across and intended as a breaching weapon for urban warfare. It uses machine vision to identify targets and carries twin shotguns.

There is some resistance to lethal autonomous weapons, including weaponized drones, although the i9 is reportedly not autonomous. The Campaign to Stop Killer Robots says the “US, China, Israel, South Korea, Russia, and the UK are developing weapons systems with significant autonomy in the critical functions of selecting and attacking targets.” They are concerned that taking lives without human intervention crosses a moral threshold. The organization published the paper “Country Positions on Negotiating a Treaty to Ban and Restrict Killer Robots” [PDF] which lists 30 countries that have called for a prohibition on fully autonomous weapons. The UK and the US are not included.

Heads up! Walmart is building their own drones to catch up to Amazon

Walmart partnered with drone delivery company Flytrex to deliver “select grocery and household essential items” with automated drones. Walmart is also partnering with Zipline for health and wellness products. Delivery test trials are scheduled for 2021. In addition, Walmart is partnering with Quest Diagnostics and DroneUp for at-home COVID-19 self-collection kits. Amazon and Walmart are pursuing different strategies: Amazon is developing their own drones while Walmart is relying on 3rd parties.

Drone Swarm or UFO? Verge Aero Helps UFO Seekers Figure it Out

Verge Aero provides drone light shows and the software needed to produce them, making them experts in drone swarming. They’ve assisted the History Channel with their series Unidentified: Inside America’s UFO Investigations. That show wanted to know if drone swarming technology could lead to UFO sightings.

COVID-19: NFL Stadium Being Cleaned with Drones Ahead of Return of Fans

American football is proceeding with caution. Some games are being played with no spectators and others are allowing a small number of fans into the stadium. Mercedes-Benz Stadium, home to the Atlanta Falcons, has partnered with Lucid Drone Technologies as part of their cleaning protocol. The drones have electrostatic spraying nozzles and distribute medical-grade disinfecting chemicals. An inhibitor prevents bacteria and viruses from adhering to surfaces without leaving a residue. Lucid drones are built in the U.S. The D1 disinfecting drone is intended for stadiums, schools, and manufacturing facilities. The C1 cleaning drone is designed for building exteriors and windows.

Video: Lucid D1 Disinfecting Drone – Stadiums

https://youtu.be/HkDg_4kcSv0

Video: Disinfecting Drone for Schools

https://youtu.be/b2o59L4IPFQ

Azerbaijani military turns Soviet biplane aircraft into drones

The Azerbaijani military has converted old Soviet-era civilian An-2’s into UAVs. A special kit replaces the human pilot in the cockpit and the conversion takes a short time to install. These unmanned An-2’s are being used in the Armenian and Azerbaijani conflict over a disputed separatist region. Satellite imagery shows that Azerbaijan deployed more than 50 An-2 biplane aircraft to one airport. Several have been shot down.

Video: Ադրբեջանական անօդաչուի խոցումը [Azerbaijani drone strike]

UAV Video of the Week: 

Two Whales Swim Near Surfer In Australia In A Mesmerizing Footage

At Seven Mile Beach near Lennox Head, south of Byron, two Bryde’s whales were filmed swimming with surfers. The whales, which weigh 12 to 20 tonnes each, were joined by a pod of dolphins in hunting a large school of bait fish while surfers caught waves above them.

Video: Incredible drone footage shows two Bryde’s whales joining surfers

https://youtu.be/WN31N9AEx6M

347 Indoor Security Drone

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An Amazon security drone will monitor the inside of your home, a Bell cargo drone flies through metropolitan airspace, a new underwater drone manufacturing facility, humanitarian award announcements, Covid tests delivered by drone, and the ATSB report on a pseudo-satellite break-up.

UAV News

Ring Always Home Cam indoor security drone: What you need to know

Amazon announced the “Ring Always Home Cam,” an indoor security drone that flies around inside your home. The drone can upload video to the cloud, or stream it. Some have security concerns about the system that goes on sale in 2021.

Bell flies APT 70 cargo drone through DFW airspace in successful NASA demo

The Bell Autonomous Pod Transport (APT) 70 eVTOL cargo drone flew autonomously through the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area at 500 feet AGL. A remote pilot monitored the flight from a ground station, but did not have to intervene. This was a simulation of a medical transport mission, and part of NASA’s Systems Integration and Operationalization (SIO) demonstration activity. Partner Xwing provided the detect-and-avoid system.

Huntington Ingalls to Manufacture Drones in VA

Military shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries has been producing small to medium-sized underwater drones. Their new Hampton facility will be able to build larger drones – about 30 feet long. The facility will also manufacture and assemble parts for Boeing, which is producing the ORCA XLUUV unmanned submarines for the Navy.

Women and Drones Humanitarian Team Award Goes to Kenya Flying Labs

Women and Drones seeks to bring together women to help them connect and succeed in the drone industry. The Humanitarian Award recognizes co-ed teams, organizations, or companies with a primary focus of using drones for good. Women and Drones announced that this year’s Humanitarian Team Award Honoree goes to Kenya Flying Labs, a non-profit organization that uses drone technology for the benefit of people in local communities.

Winners Named in 2020 AUVSI XCELLENCE Humanitarian and Public Safety Award

Six organizations that pioneer new ways to use drones for good are winners of the XCELLENCE Humanitarian and Public Safety Awards from the Association for Unmanned Vehicles Systems International (AUVSI). The award is sponsored by DJI. The recipients of 2020 AUVSI XCELLENCE Humanitarian and Public Safety Awards are:

Humanitarian Project/Program:

Public Safety Project/Program:

Walmart is using drones to deliver Covid-19 tests

Walmart launched a pilot drone delivery program where Quest Diagnostics Covid-19 tests are delivered to homes within a one-mile radius of the North Las Vegas Walmart store. Customers receive a text from DroneUp when the test is on its way and test kits land on people’s driveways, front sidewalks or backyard.

In-flight break-up of high-altitude pseudo-satellite UAS

The ATSB report describes the Airbus Zephyr that had launched from Wyndham Airport on 28 September 2019 for a high altitude flight. After a series of uncommanded rolls in unstable atmospheric conditions, the Zephyr entered into an uncontrolled spiral descent. The maximum airspeed was exceeded, the roll angle increased beyond structural limitations, and both wings fractured at about mid-span.

Mentioned

Your FedEx Packages May Soon Arrive By Autonomous Cargo Plane

Reliable Robotics completed test flights for two of its remote-piloted aircraft models. FedEx now owns the Cessna 208 Caravan or C208.

Video: C208 Automated Landing