Monthly Archives: January 2023

420 Toroidal Propellers

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Toroidal Propellers offer a solution for multirotor noise, layoffs at Prime Air, Valkyrie drones for the US Marines, regulating advanced air mobility in Utah, mapping a radioactive environment with a collision-tolerant drone, and a cargo drone that can carry 100 pounds for 600 miles.

UAV News

Toroidal Propellers May Quietly Pave the Way to UAM Package Deliveries and More

MIT might have a solution for the noise produced by multi-rotor propellers. The Structural and Thermal-Fluids Engineering Group at MIT Lincoln Laboratory is experimenting with toroidal propellers. [PDF] The toroidal propeller consists of two blades looping together so that the tip of one blade curves back into the other.

Key Features:

  • Decreases signals in the frequency range to which humans are most sensitive
  • Reduces noise without requiring supplementary components that add weight and increase power draw
  • Lessens the likelihood that the spinning propeller will cut, catch, or clip objects or surfaces in the drone’s path 
  • Achieves thrust comparable to that of a multirotor drone propeller
  • Allows reliable fabrication with additive manufacturing techniques that make it possible to customize the propeller for various multirotor models and types
Toroidal propellers on a quadcopter. MIT Lincoln Laboratory.
Toroidal propellers. Image copyright and courtesy MIT Lincoln Laboratory.

Amazon’s drone delivery unit hit with layoffs just as 10-year-old project finally launches

It’s been a decade since Amazon’s Jeff Bezos unveiled the company’s drone project on 60 Minutes. Prime Air now has drone delivery operations in two small markets, but corporate cost-cutting is rampant in the tech industry. Amazon plans to cut 18,000 jobs and Prime Air is not immune. The company won’t say how many layoffs affect the program. Sources said employees in the design, maintenance, systems engineering, flight testing, and flight operations units were part of the layoffs.

Marine Corps buying Valkyrie drones to investigate ‘future autonomous platforms’

The Marines have a $15 million contract with Kratos for two XQ-58A Valkyrie drones. These large aircraft weigh about 6,000 pounds and have a 27-foot-wingspan. Likely missions include strike, intelligence gathering, and electronic warfare. Possible other applications are a “mothership” for small drones and the deployment of munitions.

What is ‘advanced air mobility,’ and why is the Utah Legislature looking to regulate it?

The Utah Legislature has been working on drone regulations and in 2022 a study group was formed to look at updating regulatory laws. A bill is now working through the state legislature that is described as a framework for regulation. Topics being discussed include tracking software for near-ground air traffic, noise concerns, and State supremacy over local jurisdictions

Inside the Department of Energy Project Using Drones to Map Radioactive Waste Storage Vaults

A Flyability Elios 3 drone has successfully completed a 3D LiDAR mapping operation of a storage vault holding radioactive waste. The vault is planned to be removed and the data collected by the drone will aid in planning the project. The operation was conducted last November at the Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center at the Idaho National Laboratory Site. A team of about 50 people was involved, the top of the vault was covered with a plastic tent (thus creating an “indoor mission), and a crane lifted the vault’s lid and hatch.  Flyability specializes in confined space inspections.

Flyability Elios 3 drone
Flyability Elios 3 drone

MightyFly’s new autonomous cargo drone carries 100 lb for 600 miles

The MightyFly Cento autonomous VTOL drone is a hybrid with electric propulsion and a hydrocarbon combustion engine that charges the battery in flight. The carbon-fiber airframe weighs 355 lb when fully loaded with a payload of up to 100 pounds. For vertical flight, eight props provide lift while a pusher prop on the back is used for cruise flight.

Video: MightyFly, the future of logistics, testimonials

UAV Video of the Week

Drone shows moose shedding antlers in forest

A wildlife enthusiast’s drone captured the moment a moose shed both its antlers in a forest in Canada.

419 Collecting Environmental DNA with a Drone

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An autonomous drone that collects environmental DNA, a robotic wing that measures flapping performance, a Wyoming bill to outlaw drone flights over prisons, flying drugs into the U.S. with drones, and an ex-drone manager sues Amazon.

UAV News

Special drone collects environmental DNA from trees

If you want to find out what creatures live in an area, you can observe them or you can collect the “environmental DNA” they leave. Examples of external DNA include dead skin or feathers, waste, and fluids. These can be found in the soil, in water, or on rocks and tree branches. Collecting environmental DNA can be difficult and expensive. It can be unsafe if you have to climb up into the forest canopy to get the DNA samples

Now a special drone is being developed that can autonomously collect samples on tree branches. Collaborating are ETH Zurich, the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, and environmental DNA (eDNA) specialist Spygen. (A French biotechnology company created in 2011 and specializing in molecular ecology.) The drone lands on a branch and adhesive strips collect the samples. DNA is extracted in the lab.

Video: Special drone collects environmental DNA from trees

Efficiency of flapping drones to be increased with wing-folding research

A recent study led by Lund University in Sweden found that birds fly more efficiently by folding their wings during the upstroke. This might have implications for flapping drones and could increase their propulsive and aerodynamic efficiency. In order to study the different ways that wings could flap, the research team constructed a robotic wing that can flap the way birds do but can also flap in ways birds don’t. Wind tunnel measurements record the performance of the wing. Biology researcher Christoffer Johansson says “Flapping drones could be used for deliveries, but they would need to be efficient enough and able to lift the extra weight this entails. How the wings move is of great importance for performance, so this is where our research could come in handy,”

Bill Outlawing Flying Drones Over Prisons Soars Through Wyoming Senate

The Wyoming Department of Corrections says just two incidents have occurred in Wyoming that involve drones and prisons. (Those were attempts to deliver tobacco.) But other prisons have seen drone incidents. The Wyoming Corrections Director fears that drones could be used to spy on prisons and identify guards, inmates, and specific facility details. After the Senate vote, the legislation goes to the state House.

It Looked Like A Nice Family Home. Cops Suspect It Was A Secret Drone Airport For MDMA Dropoffs

Nobody seemed to live there at the $650,000 property in upstate New York. The grounds were unkempt and expensive-looking cars came and went. Law enforcement decided to investigate and border patrol came up with a surveillance tool that could “recognize drone signatures, map their flight path, and identify starting and stopping points via GPS.” At night, a UAV flew in. Police arrived and the pilot and two others were taken into custody. The drone held a package with $110,000 (street value) of MDMA, 3,4-Methyl​enedioxy​methamphetamine, commonly called Ecstacy. At this time, only the alleged drone pilot has been charged.

Ex-Amazon drone manager says he was fired for raising safety concerns

The former manager is suing Amazon in King County Superior Court in Seattle, claiming racial discrimination in promotions and retaliation for raising safety concerns. He notes the lack of safety protocols in drone testing, the large number of crashes, and restrictions on employee access to flight information, videos, and pictures.
The man is seeking lost earnings, and compensation for legal fees and emotional distress. Amazon said in a statement “these allegations are false and we look forward to proving that in court.” See also, Amazon Drone Crashes Hit Jeff Bezos’ Delivery Dreams.

418 Weather Prediction with Drones

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 27:23 — 25.1MB)

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Using drones for weather prediction, tracking warehouse inventory with an autonomous drone, an FCC NPRM for the UAS communications spectrum, Walmart delivery drone statistics, underwater drones to detect ocean carbon, hardening the electric grid from aerial attacks, and cargo delivery to moving ships.

UAV News

Drones Make Weather Prediction Easier at the Poles

Researchers are using DJI Mavic 2 drones to measure Arctic wind speeds. The only modification required was the addition of an inexpensive, lightweight thermal anemometer. The Japanese National Institute of Polar Research is flying drones from a research vessel.

Video: Using small drones to measure wind speeds in the polar regions

Drones take the night shift for improved inventory tracking

The Vimaan StorTRACK Air autonomous warehouse drone can automate inventory control functions. It scans warehouse racks, delivers accurate inventory status to the warehouse management system, and doesn’t just read barcode labels – it includes optical character recognition and captures the entire contents of warehouse racks.

Video: Cycle Counting Autonomous Warehouse Drones track inventory accuracy and warehouse utilization

https://youtu.be/_7k8pAcfYZ0

U.S. FCC proposes additional spectrum for drone communications

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) proposed new spectrum rules for unmanned aircraft systems. This is necessary to accommodate the increasing number of drones, which require wireless communication. The NPRM addresses the 5030-5091 MHz band, which was previously allocated to support terrestrial control links for UAS without adopting service rules. This proposal is the first step to developing those service rules for UAS operations.

Ref: FCC Starts Rulemaking on Licensed Spectrum for Unmanned Aircraft Use

Walmart Drone Delivery by the Numbers

Thirty-six Walmart stores in the U.S. have drone delivery hubs operated by DroneUp, Flytrex, and Zipline. 6,000+ drone deliveries were completed in 2022. The top five customer favorites delivered by drone were cookies, ice cream, lemons, rotisserie chicken, energy drinks, and paper towels. Drone delivery is operating in seven states: VA, NC, FL, AR, TX, UT, AZ.

Meet the scientists and their underwater drones tackling the ‘weirdly complicated’ world of ocean carbon

The underwater drone, or “glider,” nicknamed Migaloo is 1.5 meters long and measures CO2 and pH ocean parameters to understand global carbon sink. The Atlantic Carbon Observatory Pilot Program (ACOP) utilizes moored bottom observatories and gliders that provide mobile pH and CO2 sensors. Real-time data collected is collected via Iridium and Fiberoptic links. The Slocum Underwater Glider is designed and manufactured by Teledyne Webb Research.

We must act now to protect the electric grid from drones

The North American Electric Reliability Corporation is set to review the physical security standards of the electric grid, but that doesn’t address airborne threats. Defensive options need to be investigated, leveraging the progress that National Laboratories and the Department of Defense (DOD) are making in counter-UAS (C-UAS) technologies and systems. Current statutory restraints limit the ability of utilities to defend their facilities from drone attacks.

U.S. Navy Drones Pass Long-Range Test of Unmanned Cargo Delivery to Moving Ships

The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) “recently demonstrated multiple unmanned systems in a first-of-its-kind mission to move supplies to ships at sea.” Two VTOLs were involved in the testing: the Martin V-BAT 128 and the Skyways V2.6 Cargo Aircraft. The Navy is looking for UAVs that have the ability to transport cargo under 50 lbs and fly to and from moving ships.