Monthly Archives: June 2021

376 Open Source Drones

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Open source drones offer many opportunities, using drones to make a quiet place, US Army trials ground-vehicle drone launches, a Canadian drone membership program, New York law enforcement drones, tern tracking with a Phantom, cleaning up dog poop, a flapping wing UAV, some DJI drones are now government approved, air-to-air refueling.

UAV News

DroneAnalyst: The Rise of Open Source Drones

DroneAnalyst David Benowitz says “There are two key elements driving the push for open-source drones…” particularly in America: “geopolitical tensions between the US and China and the search for a true DJI competitor.” According to DroneAnalyst estimates, drones built around open source technologies account for 16% of all commercial drones sold, but more than 60% of all non-DJI drones sold. See also, What Will DoD Do About Open Source Drones?

Here’s a Cool Idea: Sony Patents Drones for Noise Cancellation

Under this patent, networked drones with speakers could be used to cancel ambient noise in real-time, creating a “mobile quiet-zone.”

US Army Trials Launching Drones From Ultra-Light Vehicles

Ground vehicles such as the DAGOR ultra-light tactical vehicle could become a mobile base to launch drones, such as the ALTIUS-600. The Future Vertical Lift Cross-Functional Team’s Twitter account posted a photo stating, “#EDGE21 the ultimate soldier touch point.” Edge 21 is the Experimental Demonstration Gateway Exercise.

COPA Introduces Drone Membership Options – Bridging Gap between Traditional and Remote Aviation

COPA, the Canadian Owners and Pilots Association, has a membership option for the remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) community. Benefits include updates on regulations and issues, education and safety programs, insurance coverage for recreational and commercial RPAS pilots, training discounts, and an RPAS scholarship. AOPA also has a drone membership program.

Use of drones, robotic dog in NY police intervention spark debate

Federal agents flew a UAV into a Poughkeepsie, NY apartment while executing a search warrant. Video from the drone showed the suspect throwing a handgun out of a window. He was arrested and booked on illegal possession of a firearm. NYC lawyer Albert Fox Cahn said,  “Flying drones in public air space is invasive enough, but using it inside of a person’s home is completely unconstitutional.”

We used drones to track the feeding habits of seabirds – new research

Foraging habits of seabirds were examined in a new study, A bird’s-eye view on turbulence: seabird foraging associations with evolving surface flow features. Feeding in turbulent water is difficult to study, but a DJI Phantom 3 quadcopter was able to track three species of surface-foraging terns and use particle image velocimetry to map the water vortices and upwellings.

The Dog Poodemic Is Here. Call in the Dung-Hunting Drones

The lockdown gave people an excuse to buy that puppy they always wanted, but owners are hanging the bags of poo in trees and on bushes. Using image recognition, drones might be useful for finding the bags and notifying authorities. (No, we didn’t make this up.)

Bird-like robots could assist in medical emergencies and hunt down drones

Uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) can draw their inspiration from the biological world. The GRIFFIN project from the University of Seville is seeking to create prototypes of highly autonomous, ultra-lightweight robot birds. They would minimise energy in flight by soaring and flapping.

The government’s been worried about DJI drones — the Pentagon now says they’re safe

The Pentagon released a report that says two “Government Edition” DJI drones are “recommended for use by government entities.” In 2020, the Department of the Interior grounded all its drones. The government has examined some older model drones and didn’t find any malicious code.

Whoa, the US Navy is now using drones to refuel its jets mid-flight

A Boeing MQ-25 Stingray carrying 500 pounds of fuel transferred 325 pounds to an F/A-18 Super Hornet in midair, with as little as 20 feet of separation.

UAV Video of the Week

FPV racing drone chases kiteboarder in this adrenaline-pumping video from Spain

Video: Big Air Kitesurfing + FPV Racing Drone

375 MissionGO

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 41:37 — 28.6MB)

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We talk with MissionGO about the unique challenges of human organ delivery with UAS and the benefits to the medical community. MissionGo is developing their own aircraft that is specialized to the requirements of this medical cargo, and their team includes a diverse group of individuals with hardware, software, and even regulatory experience.

Guests

Frank Paskiewicz is Executive Vice President of Cargo Operations at MissionGO. He leads aircraft certification and manufacturing, FAA regulatory consulting services, UAS integration strategies, and air cargo operations. This includes running MissionGO’s cargo operations and supporting UAS client FAA certification programs. Frank also leads the development of products and services for MissionGO’s air cargo operations, including research studies, airspace analysis, and flight activities.

Ryan Henderson is Lead Pilot at MissionGo. His responsibilities include overseeing all flight operations, managing pilot and crew currency and qualifications, managing all SOP’s/Instructions, directing all Operation Readiness Reviews, curriculum creation and facilitation, and maintaining all UAS records. Ryan is an airspace analysis expert and has been called upon multiple times for Certificates of Waiver or Authorization (COA) and Part 107 Waivers.

Correction: Dr. Joseph R. Scalea, MD is a Multi-Organ Transplant Surgeon at the University of Maryland Medical Center. In this episode, the doctor was inadvertently associated with Hopkins.