Tag Archives: CVS

333 Insect-Inspired Microbot

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A cockroach-inspired microbot, a manned vs. unmanned fighter fly off, autonomous deliveries from CVS, a Predator over Minneapolis protests, a police helicopter collides with a police drone, piloting a UAS from an airborne C-130J Hercules, and library books delivered by Wing.

UAV News

HAMR-JR, coin-sized robot by harvard researchers inspired by a cockroach

Researchers at Harvard created the tiny, cockroach-inspired Harvard Ambulatory Microrobot, or HAMR. The HAMR-JR is a ½ scale microbot allowing researchers to test scaled robot performance. It can trot, jump, pronk, and bound gait.

Manned Fighter To Face Autonomous Drone Next Year In Sci-Fi Movie-Like Showdown

A July 2021 fly-off is planned between an AI-controlled drone and a human pilot. The “Big Moonshot” was conceived by the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center. 

Nuro to deliver prescriptions and essential items using autonomous vehicles in Houston

Autonomous vehicle maker Nuro is partnering with CVS Pharmacy to deliver prescriptions and essentials to three Houston zip codes. Nuro says “We see this moment as an important stepping stone toward delivering all kinds of goods, beyond food and groceries.” Initial deliveries will be made by autonomous Prius vehicles. In the future, Nuro’s custom-built R2 delivery bot will be used to make deliveries. 

Drones Over Protests in Minneapolis: Military Drones Over Cities Won’t Help the Commercial Industry (Op-Ed)

A Predator drone from the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) was flown over recent protests in Minneapolis. Now a U.S. House of Representatives committee wants to know why. The DroneLife Op-Ed says the use of Predator drones over a city will not help ease the way for commercial drones. The CBP says that the drone was not used for surveillance purposes.

Police Helicopter collides with Police Drone

A Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) AS350 B3 helicopter and an RCMP Aeryon SkyRanger R60 surveillance quadcopter collided during a joint mission in British Columbia. Canada’s Transportation Safety Board rated it a five on a seriousness scale of one to six. It was classified as a “mid-air collision” that resulted in a “forced landing.” The helicopter and drone met at about 300 feet AGL. The drone was destroyed and the helicopter made a precautionary landing on a road.

Cooperating to launch fresh ideas

A trial at RAAF Edinburgh was performed to test the feasibility of operating a UAS through the aircraft’s onboard Satellite Communications (SATCOM) link. The test demonstrated operating a UAS from anywhere in the world and uploading live imagery from offboard sensor systems.

Wing delivers library books to students in Virginia

The Montgomery County Public Schools in Virginia is the first school system to offer a library book drone delivery service. Blacksburg Middle School librarian Kelly Passek thought that drones could deliver books while the library was closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The service is being provided by Wing, in conjunction with the Montgomery public schools.

UAV Video of the Week

Aussie scientists turn to drones to protect sea turtles

The researchers counting endangered female green turtles at the world’s largest sea turtle nesting site off the Northern tip of Australia have significantly underestimated their numbers. Drone footage shows the actual number is about twice that originally thought.

306 Drone Registration

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Drone registration requirements in the UK and Singapore, automated safe landing technology, the speed of drone technology development, package delivery progress and issues, and counter-UAS technology funding.

UAV News

UK Drone Operators Have Until the End of November to Register With the Government

All drone owners and operators in the UK with droves that weigh more than 250g have to register them by November 30, 2019. Registration costs £9. Failure to register can result in a fine of as much as £1,000. In addition to registration, anyone flying a drone over 250g must also take an online education and test to receive a flyer ID. Users can now register as a drone operator and/or flyer at: register-drones.caa.co.uk.

Drones Reunited

In the UK, 26% of drone owners say they lost a drone. Drones United leverages off the new UK drone registration system to help owners reconnect with their lost drones.

Singapore mandates unmanned aircraft registration

Starting January 2, 2020, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) will require all unmanned aircraft over 250 grams to be registered before it can be operated. A sticker with a unique registration number must be affixed to each unmanned aircraft. The penalty for flying an unregistered aircraft could be up to S$10,000 or jail for six months, or both.

Are UAVs Properly Tested, or is Development Rushed?

Satellite-based drone connectivity encompasses a number of issues such as cost, weight, and power. “Validation of stable and reliable connectivity under all circumstances is paramount to the success of Beyond Line of Sight UAV operations.”

Automated Emergency Safe Landing Technology

Black Swift Technologies SwiftSTL (Swift Safe-To-Land) technology was developed to address catastrophic in-flight failures. It captures and segments images and autonomously identifies a safe landing location. This is accomplished through machine learning algorithms, artificial intelligence (AI), and onboard processors to identify obstacles like people, buildings, vehicles, structures, etc. To learn more, see the white paper, “AI and Machine Learning’s Role in Enabling Automated Emergency Safe Landings of UAS – A Key Enabler for Safe Beyond Visible Line of Sight (BVLOS) Flights.” [PDF]

What if a delivery drone falls on your head? Thorny legal questions loom as services increase

This article poses questions about airspace ownership, privacy, and liability.

UPS drone makes first home prescription deliveries for CVS

CVS and UPS announced the first commercial delivery of prescription medications by drones to customers. UPS’ Flight Forward drones delivered to the front lawn of a private home and a retirement center. The drones hovered at an altitude of about 20 feet and lowered the packages.

UK government funds 18 projects to develop anti-drone technologies

The UK government approved £2 million ($2.57 million) to fund 18 projects to develop anti-drone and drone detection technologies. In April, 2019, the Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) program under the UK’s Ministry of Defence (MOD) asked the private sector to come up with new technologies that could detect approaching drones, and neutralize the threat.