Tag Archives: DOT

361 Urban Airports for Drones

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Urban airports for drones as a service, FAA UTM transparency, a new Transportation secretary, drones that self-monitor airworthiness, domestic actions against Chinese drones, and the Superbowl no-fly zone.

UAV News

Hyundai Passenger Drones Need Urban Infrastructure: Urban Air Port® Air-One® is the eVTOL Operational Hub

A UK company called urban-Air Port aims to develop “the world’s smallest airport,” aa a “one stop shop for drones and eVTOL.” The company says, “We provide innovative ground infrastructure as a service for Future Air Mobility. An ultra-compact, rapidly deployable, multi-functional operations hub for manned and unmanned vehicles providing aircraft command and control, charging/refuelling, cargo and passenger loading, and other mission specific facilities.” Video: Urban airports: the future of urban aviation

FAA Could Improve Communication on UTM Programme

A Government Accountability Office (GAO) report recommends that the FAA provide more UTM information to stakeholders. The GAO says stakeholders need a better understanding of the timeline for planning purposes. Also, stakeholders would benefit from knowing the goals and metrics of the FAA plans for UTM testing and implementation. The GAO is recommending that FAA provide stakeholders with additional information on the timing and substance of UTM testing and implementation efforts using FAA’s UTM website or other appropriate means, and develop performance goals and measures for its UTM implementation plan.

What Secretary Pete’s confirmation means for drone regulation

Pete Buttigieg is the new Department of Transportation secretary and some are speculating if policy will change with regard to unmanned aircraft. As a previous mayor, Buttigieg embraced autonomous vehicle technology and drove initiatives to position South Bend as a testbed for drones and wireless technology.

Fit2Fly Aims to Make Future Drones Safe and Reliable

If drones flights are to become commonplace, they need to self-detect problems inflight. The NASA Fit2Fly program seeks to develop technologies for drones that allow this and transmit the situation to other drone operators.

The Legal Aspects of Banning Chinese Drone Technology

Last year, DJI donated at least 100 drones to more than 40 U.S. law enforcement and public safety departments. Against the background of the government issued warnings and even prohibitions against Chinese drones, some people are calling for federal inquiries into DJI’s drone giveaway. This article examines the issues.

60-mile-wide ‘no drone zone’ planned for Super Bowl Sunday; violators could face $30,000 fine

Restrictions for the 2021 Superbowl include a 30-mile radius “no drone zone” around the event. See https://www.faa.gov/superbowl/ for more information that applies to manned and unmanned aircraft.

UAV Video of the Week:

Big Sur video shows what it’s like driving up to gaping hole in Hwy. 1 – and flying over it

Highway 1 in California was heavily damaged after recent rains. This aerial video from the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office shows the extent of the destruction.

352 US DOT BEYOND Program

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DOT announces the BEYOND drone program to follow the UAS Integration Pilot Program. Also, a drone with morphing wings and tail, Europe’s first TRACE drone takes flight, placing sensors with darts fired from a drone, and Sony hints at a coming drone brand.

UAV News

U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao Announces Successful Completion of Drone Pilot Program, Announces New Program Called BEYOND

The three-year Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Integration Pilot Program (IPP) has concluded. Now, eight of the nine IPP participants have signed new agreements with the FAA for the BEYOND program designed to further advance the safe integration of drones into the NAS. BEYOND was created to address Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations, leverage industry operations to better analyze and quantify the societal and economic benefits of UAS operations, and focus on community engagement efforts to collect, analyze and address community concerns.

Raptor-Inspired Drone With Morphing Wing and Tail for Unprecedented Flight Agility

The Laboratory of Intelligent Systems of Swiss university EPFL studied the shape of the goshawk’s wings and tail and the bird’s flight behavior to develop a drone with similar characteristics. Their drone can approximate the flight performance of raptors using artificial feathers.

TRACE drone carries EGNOS beacon for identification

The first TRACE drone under Europe’s U-space project was launched from the ATLAS experimental flight center in Spain. It carried an EGNOS-enabled beacon. TRACE supports the integration of drones into U-space through e-registration, e-identification, and pre-tactical geofencing. The beacon allows for remote identification of low altitude drones and enables better traffic separation.

These Drones Shoot Darts at Trees to Collect Data

Imperial College London’s Aerial Robotics Lab developed a drone that can place sensors in difficult locations with a spring-loaded mechanism that shoots a dart. The system is laser-aimed and has a 4-meter range with a 10cm accuracy.

Video: Unmanned Aerial Sensor Placement for Cluttered Environments

Sony prepares to enter the drone game with Airpeak

Sony has announced they are entering the drone market, but the company is providing almost no details. The new brand is called Airpeak and Sony plans to launch it in the spring of 2021. The press release says, “Airpeak will support the creativity of video creators to the fullest extent possible, aiming to contribute to the further development of the entertainment industry as well as to improved efficiency and savings in various industries.”

UAV Video of the Week

Drone captures dizzying views from mountains near Clearwater

Filmed during the Summer of 2020, Raft Mountain is located just north of Clearwater British Columbia, Canada.

Video: Raft Mountain BC

328 Blockchain for Unmanned Aircraft

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The U.S. Department of Transportation issued a report showing the benefits of blockchain for unmanned aircraft. Also, drone cinematographers and a labor agreement, a drone modeled after a dragonfly, VTOL reconnaissance, AI controllers, and AUVSI virtual sessions.

UAV News

US Transportation Dept. Says Blockchain Could Bring More Trust to Commercial Drones

In a report titled Blockchain for Unmanned Aircraft, the U.S. Department of Transportation says blockchain could help in areas with large numbers of drones operations, especially near high-risk areas like airports or in crowded areas. The report says “Blockchain technology is being looked on to deliver a framework that can be used by stakeholders in the commercial drone industry, as it can ensure security and provide for identity management as well as providing a supporting role in aircraft traffic management, UAS conflict management and flight authorization.”

Cinematographers Guild Celebrates Drone Victory Over Warner Bros. in Arbitration

The International Cinematographers Guild initiated arbitration over a dispute with Warner Bros. The Guild said drone operators filming for productions are covered under the labor agreement. Those who work in “all phases of motion and still picture photography,” including members of a drone crew, should be treated the same as aerial directors of photography, camera operators, and camera technicians. They say the drone crew should get the same health and pension benefits.

The stealthy little drones that fly like insects

Animal Dynamics is a technology start-up that takes lessons from wildlife and applies them to drone design. The Skeeter project uses flapping wings to power a small hand-launched drone, mimicking the dragonfly.

AeroVironment unveils fully-automated hybrid vertical takeoff and landing unmanned aircraft system

The AeroVironment Quantix™ Recon is a lightweight and rapidly deployable reconnaissance solution that is fully-automated. It produces high resolution, georeferenced terrain, vegetation, and infrastructure imagery. The VTOL transitions to a fixed-wing unmanned aircraft and can survey up to 0.6 square miles or 12.4 linear miles with a 45-minute flight time. The aerial imagery data is compatible with many geographic information systems (GIS)

Hybrid Drones: Coupling Disruptive Mechanisms to Reshape UAV Industry

The MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), Dartmouth, and the University of Washington have developed an AI-based system that uses “reinforcement learning” to train the model. This approach is being applied to VTOL designs that transition from vertical to horizontal flight. The AI works with the popular OnShape CAD software.

AUVSI Launches UAS Webinars

AUVSI postponed XPONENTIAL 2020 (tentatively scheduled for August 10-12, 2020). In the meantime, five webinars will be offered starting May 4, 2020:

Digital Twins – the Future of Virtual and Mixed Reality Robotic Avatars
Drone Delivery Supporting Public Health
NASA’s Vision and Role to Enable Urban Air Mobility
Advancing Autonomy Through DARPA Challenge to Benefit First Responders
Aerial Connectivity Joint Activity – Bridging the Gap Between Cellular and Aviation

UAV243 UAS Integration Pilot Program

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The DOT announces the UAS Integration Pilot Program selectees, and the Small UAS Coalition responds. The future of Aurora’s Hybrid-Electric VTOL X-Plane is uncertain, and Uber wants to be your air taxi service provider, but many others want to play a role as well.

UAV News

U.S.Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao Announces Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration Pilot Program Selectees

The U.S. Department of Transportation received more than 140 applications for the FAA UAS Integration Pilot Program, created to accelerate drone integration in the national airspace. DOT announced 10 UAS Integration Pilot Program Awardees who will conduct flight tests under the three-year program. Following are the ten selectees along with a brief description of their projects:

Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, Durant, OK – Agricultural, public safety and infrastructure inspections, with planned Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations over people and nighttime operations.

City of San Diego, CA – Border protection and package delivery of food, with a secondary focus on international commerce, Smart City/autonomous vehicle interoperability and surveillance.

Innovation and Entrepreneurship Investment Authority, Herndon, VA – Facilitate package delivery in rural and urban settings.

Kansas Department of Transportation, Topeka, KS – Deploy UAS to support beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations in rural communities, leverage a statewide unmanned traffic management system to facilitate precision agriculture operations.

Lee County Mosquito Control District, Ft. Myers, FL – Low-altitude aerial applications to control/surveil the mosquito population using a 1500-lb. UAS.

Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority, Memphis, TN – Inspection of FedEx aircraft and autonomous operations that support airport operations such as perimeter security surveillance and package delivery.

North Carolina Department of Transportation, Raleigh, NC – Test localized package delivery within a defined airspace by establishing drone delivery stations in local communities. This approach enables small businesses to utilize this delivery platform for commercial purposes.

North Dakota Department of Transportation, Bismarck, ND – Diverse operations that incorporate advanced technologies that seek to expand UAS operations at night and Beyond Visual Line of Sight.

The City of Reno, NV – Time-sensitive delivery of life-saving medical equipment, such as medical defibrillators in emergency situations in both urban and rural environments. See also, Reno, Flirtey among 10 chosen nationally for drone partnership.

University of Alaska-Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK – Pipeline inspection and surveying in remote areas and harsh climatic conditions.

Small UAV Coalition approves of new US DOT policy

The Small UAV Coalition, representing consumer and technology companies, is very happy with the “Notification to UAS Operators Proposing To Engage in Air Transportation” that was published in the Federal Register. In their press release Small UAV Coalition Applauds DOT for Taking Steps to Authorize UAS Delivery Operations [PDF], the Coalition says they applaud “the Department of Transportation (DOT) for announcing that it will use existing exemption authority to grant economic authority to unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) operators seeking to carry property in air transportation, an important step to expedite UAS delivery operations in the United States. The Coalition has long encouraged DOT to take this step and is pleased that it will be available to operators as the UAS Integration Pilot Program (IPP) gets underway.”

The Small UAV Coalition is also happy with the applicants selected to participate in the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration Pilot Program (IPP). In Small UAV Coalition Congratulates Secretary Chao and First UAS Integration Pilot Program Selections [PDF], they say, “The Coalition is pleased that UAS IPP has moved forward so quickly since it was first established by the President just a few months ago. The pace is emblematic of the urgency around developing a regulatory framework that will enable the safe integration of UAS into the national airspace and allow the United States to keep pace with other countries that are increasingly moving beyond pilot programs to ubiquity and integration.”

Darpa Pulls Plug On Aurora’s Hybrid-Electric VTOL X-Plane

DARPA no longer plans to build and fly the XV-24A LightningStrike from Boeing subsidiary Aurora Flight Sciences. Aurora won an $89 million contract for Phases 2 and 3 of the program in March 2016 and flew a 20%-scale, all-electric demonstrator in April 2016. But the Phase 2 full-scale demonstrator isn’t progressing well enough for DARPA and they have decided not to proceed into Phase 3 and flight testing.

Uber Targets Los Angeles As Next Air Taxi Market

Uber wants to develop a network of air taxi operators. They previously announced their interest in Dallas and Dubai, and now Uber has added Los Angeles as a test market. Uber sees its network of air taxis flying 20% of the 45.8 million daily Los Angeles trips from rooftop and purpose-built skyports with up to 1,000 landings and takeoffs per hour.

Embraer unveils electric air taxi concept

At the Uber Elevate event, Embraer announced it formed the “Embraer X” division to work on urban air taxis. Their four-passenger concept vehicle is called the “DreamMaker.”

NASA, Uber to Explore Urban Air Mobility Safety, Efficiency of Future Urban Airspace

NASA and Uber signed an agreement under which Uber will provide its plans for an urban aviation rideshare network and NASA will use computer modeling and simulation to assess the impacts of small aircraft in crowded environments.

UAV242 Rockwell Collins CNPC-1000 Data Link

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Testing at the Northern Plains UAS Test Site utilized the Rockwell Collins CNPC-1000 UAS command and control data link, the DOT published procedures for obtaining operator exemption to hold economic authority, New Zealand police ask the public to report drones instead of shooting them down, drones as autonomous air ambulances, battlefield deliveries by drone, the Customs and Border Protection drone program comes under fire, and Intel wants to play a major role in processing drone sensor data.

CNPC-1000 UAS command and control data link. Courtesy Rockwell Collins.

UAV News

Rockwell Collins Enables Airspace Management During Test Flights For NASA’s UAS Traffic Management Program

Two weeks of tests were conducted for the NASA Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Traffic Management (UTM) program. Under a NASA contract, the tests were organized by the Northern Plains UAS Test Site. Rockwell Collins was the UAS Service Supplier (USS) for the safe management of a UAS flying beyond visual line of sight, utilizing Rockwell’s CNPC-1000 Command and Control data links. The University of Iowa Operator Performance Laboratory partnered with Rockwell Collins, integrating the CNPC-1000 links with its Pulse Aerospace Vapor 55 unmanned test vehicle.

DOT Takes Step Toward Expediting Drone Delivery Authorizations

A “Notification to UAS Operators Proposing To Engage in Air Transportation” was published in the Federal Register [PDF] on April 30, 2018. This document sets forth the procedure to seek an air taxi operator exemption to hold economic authority from the Department of Transportation (DOT or Department) for companies proposing to engage in certain air transportation operations with unmanned aircraft systems. This authority is separate and distinct from any safety authority required by the FAA.

Nothing to suggest link between drones and burglaries

A Facebook post shared with a number of community pages claimed drones were being used by burglars to scope out properties. Some comments suggested that people should shoot down the drones. However, police in Selwyn, New Zealand say they have no evidence of this and they are telling residents not to shoot down drones.

Drones Being Tested as Ambulances

Researchers at CalTech have been developing a “personal rescue system” and they are testing a one fifth scale model of an autonomous drone ambulance. Internal sensors would monitor the patient’s vital signs, and the actual vehicle would be the size of a small car.

DOD seeks battlefield blood delivery drones

The Defense Innovation Unit Experimental (DIUx) calls itself “a fast-moving government entity that provides non-dilutive capital to companies to solve national defense problems.” They accelerate commercial innovation for national defense by “contracting with companies offering solutions in a variety of areas – from autonomy and AI to human systems, IT, and space – to solve a host of defense problems.” The Unit had a solicitation for the ability to deliver a 5-pound package over 100 kilometers in “austere environments.”

The Marine Corps’ Next Generation Logistics branch and DOD’s Rapid Reaction Technology Office recently tested the Hive Final Mile project. In that system, a group of UAVs are autonomously deployed to deliver small supplies such as food or ammunition to marines on the field.

Drones on the Border: Efficacy and Privacy Implications

The author believes U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) “should wind down its drone program and in the meantime establish more robust privacy protections.” Issues include surveillance of Americans living along the border with minimal oversight and without warrants, the cost of the drone systems, and the lack of effectiveness.

Intel Wants Its New Drones to Find Jobs Outside the Spotlight

Why is Intel so into drones? They have shown huge PR displays at events like the Olympics and the Super Bowl and the industrial-grade Falcon 8+ drone just received UL 3030 certification. Well, Intel wants to rely less on the personal computer market and be a “data-centric” company. They want Intel technology to be central to whatever new market emerges for data processing. And that describes the massive processing of sensor data required for some commercial drone missions.

UAV Video of the Week

1,374 dancing drones break world record

China-based Ehang used a fleet of 1,374 Ghostdrones and beat Intel’s record of 1,218 flying drones at the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympic Games in February. But as Digital Trends points out in China nabs world record for biggest drone display, but it’s a bit of a mess, all didn’t go according to plan.

UAV Conference

The fourth annual Drone Focus Conference will be held May 30-31, 2018 in Fargo North Dakota. Short-format talks from over 50 speakers on topics ranging from cybersecurity and innovative hardware to policies and ethics regarding autonomous systems. The short-format talks challenge speakers to present relevant information quickly and concisely, with only four to twelve minutes on stage.

Attendees will also have the opportunity to get hands-on with interactive workshops, focused lunch panels, and a party with live demos. Other elements of the conference include a Drone Focus Film Festival, student pitches, and celebration of National Autonomous Vehicle Day (May 31st).

More information and tickets are available online at https://dronefocuscon.com.