Tag Archives: swarming

413 Community-Based Drone Organizations

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FAA issues guidelines for community-based drone organizations, large Navy drone swarms, Iranian drone components, the 2023 FAA reauthorization bill, a large Chinese cargo drone, the Bell Autonomous Pod Transport, Russians with drones in Norway, plant specimen sampling with drones, a Wing drone comes to a fiery end, and Collaborative Combat Aircraft.

UAV News

FAA Updates Recreational Drone Flying Guidance

Recreational drone flyers are required to follow the safety guidelines of FAA-recognized community-based drone organizations. These organizations develop safety guidelines in coordination with the FAA. The FAA has issued guidance on how to become an FAA-recognized community-based organization for recreational drone flying. The FAA Advisory Circular 91-57C Exception for Limited Recreational Operations of Unmanned Aircraft provides a list of recommended safety guidelines. Applications for community-based drone organizations can be made through the FAA’s DroneZone website.

The US Navy wants swarms of thousands of small drones

According to budget documents, the US Navy wants to use thousands of small drones that flock together and overwhelm anti-aircraft defenses. Israel became the first nation to use swarming drones in combat in 2021. Other nations are working on swarms, including China, Russia, India, the UK, and Turkey.

Austrian engines, South Korean and Malaysian microchips, US parts found in Iranian Mohajer-6 drones

The examination of drones that have been shot down shows the international components they contain. The Iranian Mohajer-6 reconnaissance drone was powered by a Rotax engine. Rotax is investigating and said the company “have not authorized and has not given any authorization to its distributors to supply military UAV manufacturers in Iran or Russia.” Previously, microprocessors from South Korea and Malaysia, bought in violation of sanctions, were found in the Shahed-136 kamikaze drone. Both drones are used by the Russian military in Ukraine.

Drones and air taxis will be big part of FAA bill

Hearings for the 2023 FAA reauthorization bill are underway and the Senate Commerce Aviation Subcommittee is looking at “new entrants” into the airspace. eVTOL aircraft (Advanced Air Mobility – or AAM) will likely get a lot of attention this time.

China Flies Large Twin-Tailed Scorpion D Cargo UAS

The Twin-Tailed Scorpion D is claimed to be the world’s first large-scale, four-engined uncrewed aircraft system. The 18-minute test flight was deemed to be “trouble-free.” The Scorpion D is 10.5 m (34.4 ft.) long with a 20 m wingspan and a height of 3.1 m. The maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) is 4.35 tons. The Scorpion D will be exhibited at Zhuhai Airshow 2022, which begins November 8, 2022.

Bell Brings Autonomous Cargo UAV To Air Medical Show

Bell brought its Autonomous Pod Transport (APT) eVTOL to the 2022 Air Medical Transport Conference in Tampa, Florida. The APT has been flying for several years and Bell hopes for a production version that will deliver 100 pounds, 100 miles, at 100 knots per hour.

Autonomous Pod Transport (APT). Courtesy Bell.

Russian man arrested for flying drone over Norwegian airport

The 51-year-old man was arrested after flying over the Tromso Airport in northern Norway. Police seized a “large” amount of photography equipment, including the drone and memory cards. Police also found photos of the airport in Kirkenes, near the Russian border and of a Norwegian military helicopter. In February 2022, Norway’s Civil Aviation Authority banned Russians from flying or operating aircraft (including drones) in Norway.

Drones Sample Rare Specimens from Cliffs and Other Dangerous Places

Drones are being used in Hawaii to capture specimens of rare and endangered plants in places that would be dangerous for humans. Historically, botanists would rappel down sheer rock faces to collect samples. A commercially available drone carries a second robotic machine named Mamba. The Mamba remote-controlled robotic arm was custom-built from scratch. It’s suspended from the hovering drone and picks the plant samples.

A Food Delivery Drone Hit Power Lines, Caught Fire, and Left Thousands Without Electricity

Subtitle: An Alphabet-owned Wing drone “incinerated itself” after it became entangled in power lines in Brisbane, Australia. On the bright side, the food stayed hot.

Danny Donald, a spokesperson from utility provider Energex, said: “We didn’t actually have to get the drone off, as such, it actually caught fire and incinerated itself.”

GA-ASI’s Gambit Series: The Future of Collaborative Combat Aircraft

With adversary aircraft and air defense systems improving, many are predicting a future with a mix of manned and unmanned aircraft. A new type of aircraft is emerging: the Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA). General Atomics Aeronautical Systems is proposing the Gambit CCA family of aircraft built off a common Gambit Core.

Gambit concept. Courtesy General Atomics.

UAV Video of the Week

Video: How a hive of 3D-printing drones could change construction | Mashable

A team of researchers at Imperial College London and Empa have been developing collaborative aerial drones that can 3D print buildings from a single blueprint. The drones are fully autonomous once in flight and have so far successfully completed tests with lightweight cement mixtures.

401 Air-One Vertiport Opens

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A new vertiport opens in England, a new military tactical UAS, detect-and-avoid system deployment at a UAS test site, major Army drone swarm test, request for malicious drone legislation, NTSB wants more drones and pilots, DJI suspends business in Russia and Ukraine, and Drone Safety Day.

The Vertiport from Urban-Air Port. — Courtesy Urban-Air Port

UAV News

World’s first airport for drones opens in the heart of Coventry

An Air-One vertiport opened in Coventry, England for demonstrations of electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicles. It is planned to remain in Coventry for at least a month then will move to other UK locations, and internationally. The circular vertiport structure with a central takeoff and landing zone includes traveler processing, arrival/departure lounge, baggage scanning, and retail.

Urban-Air Port Limited designs, develops, manufactures, sells, and operates infrastructure for urban air transport such as air taxis and autonomous delivery drones. The company wants to create a ground infrastructure that permits a “zero-emission-mobility ecosystem” and cuts congestion and air pollution. The company plans more than 200 vertiports worldwide over the next five years.

Meet ‘Phoenix Ghost,’ the US Air Force’s new drone perfect for Ukraine’s war with Russia

The Phoenix Ghost Tactical UAS was designed by the US Air Force and manufactured by AEVEX Aerospace. Similar to the Switchblade, it’s believed to be a single-use drone but the Pentagon isn’t providing any details.

NUAIR Partners with CAL Analytics and FAA

Under a Technical Assistance program with the FAA, CAL Analytics will deploy its detect-and-avoid system for low-altitude BVLOS operations at the New York UAS Test Site. NUAIR (the Northeast UAS Airspace Integration Research Alliance) manages the 50-mile Drone Corridor and FAA uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) Test Site at Griffiss International Airport in New York.

The CAL detect-and-avoid service provides a suite of UTM services including situational awareness, conflict detection, health monitoring, and various weather services. The recent BVLOS Aviation Rulemaking Committee recommended that the FAA develop a methodology for approving safety-critical UTM services for BVLOS.

Army To Test Its Biggest Interactive Drone Swarm Ever Over Utah

The Army’s 2022 Experimental Demonstration Gateway Exercise (EDGE 22) will test up to 30 small networked drones launched from air and ground vehicles. This will include Area-I ALTIUS 600 drones and Raytheon-built Coyote drones. The swarm will use infrared sensors and electronic warfare payloads to detect enemy signals, establish their positions, and send the information back through the network to command posts and manned assault aircraft. The EDGE 22 exercise runs from April 25 to May 12, 2022, at Dugway Proving Ground near Salt Lake City, Utah.

The White House wants to counter the use of drones in the U.S.

The White House issued an action plan to deal with malicious drones: FACT SHEET: The Domestic Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems National Action Plan. The plan asks to “adopt legislation to close critical gaps in existing law and policy that currently impede government and law enforcement from protecting the American people and our vital security interests.” The action plan:

Expands the set of tools and actors who can protect against UAS by reauthorizing and expanding existing counter‑UAS authorities for the Departments of Homeland Security, Justice, Defense, State, as well as the Central Intelligence Agency and NASA in limited situations.
Expands UAS detection authorities for state, local, territorial, and Tribal (SLTT) law enforcement agencies and critical infrastructure owners and operators.
Creates a Federally-sponsored pilot program for selected SLTT law enforcement agency participants to perform UAS mitigation activities and permit critical infrastructure owners and operators to purchase authorized equipment to be used by appropriate Federal or SLTT law enforcement agencies to protect their facilities;
Establishes a list of U.S. Government-authorized detection equipment, approved by Federal security and regulatory agencies, to guide authorized entities in purchasing UAS detection systems
Establishes oversight and enablement mechanisms to support critical infrastructure owners and operators in purchasing counter-UAS equipment for use by authorized Federal entities or SLTT law enforcement agencies;
Establishes a National Counter-UAS Training Center to increase training accessibility and promote interagency cross-training and collaboration;
Creates a Federal UAS incident tracking database
Establishes a mechanism to coordinate research, development, testing, and evaluation of UAS detection and mitigation technology across the Federal government;
Enacts a comprehensive criminal statute that sets clear standards for legal and illegal uses, closes loopholes in existing Federal law, and establishes adequate penalties to deter the most serious UAS-related crimes; and
Enhances cooperation with the international community on counter‑UAS technologies, as well as the systems designed to defeat them.

National Transportation Safety Board Wants To Expand Drone Operations

The NTSB has a history of using drones in their investigations to document accident scenes and process the data using photogrammetry software. Currently, they have five pilots and seven drones but the NTSB wants more pilots and more drones.

Chinese drone maker DJI halts business in Russia and Ukraine

In an April 26 statement (DJI Reassesses Sales Compliance Efforts In Light Of Current Hostilities), the company said:

“DJI is internally reassessing compliance requirements in various jurisdictions. Pending the current review, DJI will temporarily suspend all business activities in Russia and Ukraine. We are engaging with customers, partners and other stakeholders regarding the temporary suspension of business operations in the affected territories.”
DJI

Ukrainian authorities claimed the Russian military was “using DJI products in order to navigate” missile attacks, and said DJI was complicit in Russian attacks. DJI has publicly stated they are opposed to their products being used for military purposes.

Drone Safety Day

The FAA has organized a National Drone Safety Awareness Week each year from 2019 through 2021. This year, however, the FAA is calling for a single Drone Safety Day, Saturday, June 18, 2022, with five focus areas:

Education – How to safely operate drones and highlighting how drones are being used in education.
Economics – Highlighting the economic, societal, and safety benefits of using drone technologies.
Equity – Opening opportunities for all operators.
Environment – Understanding the environmental and sustainability benefits of drone technologies.
Emergencies – Learn how drones are used in emergency situations such as: natural disasters, search & rescue, firefighting, public safety, and other uses.

On the National Center for Autonomous Technologies Drone Safety Day page, you can browse all the Drone Safety Day events, sign up to attend, and submit your own event.

UAV Video of the Week

Insane FPV Footage of Downhill Urban Bike Racing in Chile

The Red Bull Valparaíso Cerro Abajo urban downhill bike race is held annually in Chile. The 2-kilometer course goes down narrow staircases and alleyways and even through a house. A video of racer Thomas Slavik cycling through the run was filmed by the Dutch Drone Gods, considered to be among the best FPV drone pilots in the world.

391 Kinetic Energy and Flight Over People

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Measuring kinetic energy to certify drone flights over people, additional funding for Dedrone, documenting endangered heritage sites, Italian heavy-lift multirotors, testing the MQ-25 refueling drone on an aircraft carrier, defining the “next” Reaper, an FAA grant for UAS training, and Navy harassment by drone swarms.

Drone kinetic energy testing at Virginia Tech. — Kinetic energy measurement at Virginia Tech

UAV News

Test methods for drones help put a crucial rule for safe flights over people into practice

To certify drones for flight over people, the FAA links injury severity to kinetic energy. But the classic calculation of kinetic energy using mass and velocity makes some assumptions that aren’t applicable to a drone hitting a human head. So the Virginia Tech Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership (MAAP) along with the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics developed a testing methodology for the actual kinetic energy from a drone impact.

Dedrone Secures $30.5 Million Series C to Protect Airspace Against Unauthorized Drones

Axon Invests in Dedrone: Partnership Between Public Safety and Counter Drone Technologies

Airspace security company Dedrone closed a $30.5 million Series C financing round led by Axon and including previous investors. Dedrone sold over 1,000 sensors in the past year that detect, identify, and locate over 200 different types of drones. Customers include more than 65 critical infrastructures, 50 correctional facilities, 20 airports, 10 Fortune 500 companies, and four of the seven G-7 nations.

Using drones to capture coastal heritage before it’s lost

The Seaford Head Project wants to assess and record the archeology of Seaford Head before it is lost to coastal erosion. They are developing ways to quickly assess the situation and record the data, including using drones to survey the site and create 3D models. The project intends to create a template that can be replicated for other heritage agencies, landowners, and community groups.

Two Italian heavy-lift drones deliver 52 kg of cargo in Turin

Italian company FlyingBasket flew two FB3 drones, each carrying 26 kg (57 lb) of cargo, from a postal center to a destination 3.9 km (2.4 miles) away, then returned to the postal center. For the demonstration, FlyingBasket partnered with Leonardo and the Italian postal service. The FB3 drones were flown mainly over the Stura di Lanzo river. One FB3 carried its load in an internal compartment, while the other in a sling hung on a hook.

MQ-25 winds up deck handling tests on US aircraft carrier

The MQ-25 Stingray UAV has been tested by Boeing and the US Navy on an aircraft carrier to assess deck handling characteristics. The MQ-25 is intended for air-to-air refueling missions. The MQ-25 taxied, connected to catapults, cleared the landing area, and practiced parking. The USN has plans for initial operational capability by 2024 and to purchase as many as 76 aircraft.

Promotional video from Boeing: MQ-25 Completes First U.S. Navy Carrier Tests

“MQ-Next”: The U.S. Air Force’s Plan for an Unmanned Aircraft

The Air Force is developing a plan for the MQ-9 Reaper replacement aircraft, called “MQ-Next.” It might not look like the MQ-9 – perhaps smaller, stealthier, and more lethal. The MQ-Next might operate in swarms and will likely be networked with manned-unmanned teaming. It’s not expected to be operational until 2031 so there is plenty of time to define the requirements.

Flying high: FAA funds NMC’s high school drone education program

Northwestern Michigan College received a $90,000 grant from the FAA. Forty high school teachers will be trained on the fundamentals of Unmanned Aerial Systems. Each teacher will receive a multi-rotor drone to use with their own students. Congress appropriated $5 million to the FAA to grant projects like this. The grant builds on NMC’s selection in 2020 under the UAS Collegiate Training Program.

Harassment Of Navy Destroyers By Mysterious Drone Swarms Off California Went On For Weeks

This occurred in 2019, but new details are emerging after examining documents released under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The sightings occurred throughout July 2019. Drone countermeasure teams were activated and in one event, at least three ships observed multiple drones. The destroyer USS Paul Hamilton made abrupt changes in direction, and the drone followed it. Counter UAS exercises were executed

UAV Video of the Week

Jaybyrdfilms’ insane drone video inside live baseball workout

378 UAS Incident Map

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An interactive UAS incident map, an airspace coordinator collaborates with archaeologists, a drone swarm that sniffs out gas leaks, the X-56B UAV is destroyed, making drones and air taxis quiet, and AI drones that find meteorites.

UAV News

Explore Thousands Of FAA Drone And Unidentified Aircraft Incident Reports With Our Interactive Tool

The Drive has taken FAA incident reports of UAS and unidentified aircraft and created an interactive and searchable UAS incident map. The approximately 10,400 incident reports cover the period from November of 2014 until December 2020. Find the UAS incident map at UAV Geography. (Be patient, it can load slowly.)

Pax UAS Airspace Coordinators Collaborate with Local Archaeologists

Historic St. Mary’s City (HSMC) is the earliest settlement in Maryland with a fort erected in 1634. Archeologists working the site considered drones to be part of their archaeological toolkit, but they didn’t have an understanding of the regulatory requirements. Pax River’s then-UAS Airspace Coordinator Air Traffic Controller 1st Class James “Cody” Green stepped in and started working with HSMC to ensure the drone operations were safe and legal.

Swarm of autonomous tiny drones can localize gas leaks

Researchers at the Delft University of Technology Micro Air Vehicle Lab and Harvard University have developed a swarm of tiny drones that can autonomously detect and localize gas sources in cluttered indoor environments. The bio-inspired navigation and search strategy algorithm is called “Sniffy Bug.”

Video: Sniffy Bug: A Fully Autonomous Swarm of Gas-Seeking Nano Quadcopters in Cluttered Environments

NASA’s X-56B UAV destroyed in crash on 9 July

A “flight anomaly” caused the vehicle to crash. The aircraft was being used to test ways to suppress flutter. It is not clear if other X-56B vehicles exist, or when testing will resume.

Whisper Aero emerges from stealth to quiet drones and air taxis

Startup Whisper Aero believes they can make drones quiet. An electric thruster would reduce the drone’s noise down to background levels that would be difficult for the human ear to hear. Whisper isn’t saying much about their thruster design.

Automated drones being taught to locate fallen meteorites

Less than 2% of meteorites are recovered but University of California, Davis researchers believe they can increase that percentage using AI and automated drones. These would fly in grid patterns at low altitudes over areas where they suspect meteorites have fallen. Images from the UAV would be analyzed by software that employed machine learning to differentiate meteorites from terrestrial rocks.

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

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.

342 Countering Drone Swarms

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Technology developing to counter drone swarms, a blended wing body drone to catch poachers, studying pollinating bees, and Norway’s first UTM system.

UAV News

The U.S. Navy Plans To Foil Massive ‘Super Swarm’ Drone Attacks By Using The Swarm’s Intelligence Against Itself

Isaac Kaminer, an engineering professor at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School says “large-scale adversarial swarms” of drones are an “imminent threat.” Instead of trying to shoot down super swarms, Kaminer proposes to use the swarm against itself.

Eagleray UAS Scans for Poachers

Laws exist to protect endangered species, but organized criminal networks don’t follow laws so the Kashmir World Foundation (KwF) is fighting back with technology. KwF designs, develops, and applies unmanned autonomous systems, including the Eagle Ray blended wing body Eagle Ray anti-poaching drone. See: Eagle Ray UAS Scans for Poachers.

How Did This Colombian Use Drones To Solve A Bee Mystery?

Entomologist Diana Obregon has been studying the effect of pesticides and deforestation on pollinating bees. She used drones to assess the forest around crops, then correlated that to pesticide residues in the crop and the diversity and abundance of bees visiting the crop.

Avinor ANS Begins Roll Out of First Nordic UTM System at Two Airport Towers in Norway Paving the Way for its Future Tech-Economy

Norwegen airport operator Avinor is testing an unmanned traffic management (UTM) system at two airports. The UTM system provides an operational overview of the airspace and allows two-way communication between air traffic control and drone operators. Ultimately, the system is planned for 18 towers in Norway. Avinor Air Navigation Services (ANS) is working with Frequentis and Altitude Angel to implement the UTM system.

UAV Video of the Week

Kid amazes Dad with his drone flying skills

334 Drone Aerobatics

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AI-powered drones perform extreme aerobatics, the U.S. administration intends to allow the export of armed drones, how to test swarming drones, the Royal Canadian Navy uses a drone to find drug smugglers, a hybrid drone rescues a stranded motorist – in a demonstration, and the 5th Annual FAA UAS Symposium goes virtual.

UAV News

Researchers train drones to perform flips rolls and loops with AI

Researchers at Intel, the University of Zurich, and ETH Zurich developed an AI system that allows autonomous drones to perform acrobatics using only onboard sensing and computation. The vision-based drone can perform barrel rolls, loops, and flips. Training is accomplished entirely in simulation, which is fast, inexpensive, safe, and free from physical crashes.

Exclusive: Trump aims to sidestep another arms pact to sell more U.S. drones

The Trump administration plans to reinterpret the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) in a way that would open up the sale of armed U.S. drones to other countries. This would allow General Atomics and Northrop Grumman Corp sell into new markets that are currently serviced by China and Israel, which do not participate in the MTCR.

World’s Largest Drone Swarm Testing Facility

The U.S. Army and PhaseSpace have created an outdoor system for testing swarming drones. It uses a new motion-capture capability where LED marker strobes are attached to the UAS. 96 cameras on 16 tracking pods around the perimeter track the LED markers. It has a capacity of more than 1,500 times the volume of a typical testing facility and the testing system is transportable and can be scaled up or down and even change shape.

Radar Tech becomes UAS Pilot

The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) has been testing Puma-model fixed-wing unmanned aircraft for about two years. They’ve been used to help locate potential drug smuggling ships. The Pumas can sweep an extended area while the ship stays below the horizon. One team monitors the Puma real-time streaming video and another team manages the operation of the aircraft. Instead of the ship weaving around hunting smugglers, the drone does the weaving. The patrolling ship sails in a straight path saving fuel and increasing operational time.

UAV Video of the Week

The HYBRiX 2.1 is a hybrid fuel/electric multirotor with up to 2-4 hours of operational flight time and a 25 kg MTOW. It uses a 2-stroke gas (or petrol) engine and LiPo 6S batteries.

Mentioned

FAA UAS Symposium is Going Virtual

The FAA is hosting the 5th Annual FAA UAS Symposium virtually instead of in-person in Baltimore. The Symposium will take the form of several virtual events or “Episodes.”

Episode I — July 8-9, 2020 will focus on UTM and international UAS integration.

Episode II — August 18-19, 2020 will focus on updates to the Integration Pilot Program (IPP) and public safety operations.

The sessions will be re-run later in the day for international attendees.

312 Drone Remote ID NPRM

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An NPRM for drone remote ID was published by the FAA, drones used by the NYPD for event security, public agencies contracting for UAS services, methanol-powered drones, a mystery swarm of drones, and delivery by UAS in the 2020s.

UAV News

U.S. Department of Transportation Issues Proposed Rule on Remote ID for Drones

The FAA published Remote Identification of Unmanned Aircraft Systems in the Federal Register. This Notice of Proposed Rule Making [PDF] describes the rules for inflight identification of recreational and commercial UAS and includes individual registration of all unmanned aircraft registered under part 48. Each registered UAS would have a unique serial number and identification data would be broadcast or transmitted over the Internet to government-contracted service providers. Comments from the public will be accepted through March 2, 2020, at the Regulations.gov website.

Everything we know about the drones watching over Times Square on New Year’s Eve

The New York City Police Department planned to fly drones over the New Year’s Eve celebration in Times Square. Drone detection and interdiction units were planned to join bomb-sniffing dogs, radiation-detection teams, heavy-weapons squads, police helicopters, counterterrorism boats, and plainclothes officers. The NYPD has been working with “federal partners” on drone mitigation measures.

Connecticut Signs Participating Addendum with Avion Unmanned To Provide Drone Services to Public Agencies

Avion Unmanned has been chosen to provide UAS services throughout the US through the National Association of State Procurement Officials (NASPO) ValuePoint Cooperative Purchasing Organization. The company signed a Participating Addendum with the State of Connecticut and all its state agencies, political subdivisions, and institutions. With this contract, Avion Unmanned could provide UAS services to state and local government agencies in Connecticut.

This Methanol-Powered Drone Could Fly for a Straight 12 Hours

China-based drone-maker Feye UAV Technology claims to have developed a battery that can power a drone for 12 hours. The methanol-powered fuel cell powers the FY-36 flying prototype drone that weighs 15 kilograms with a top speed of 90km/hr. Feye UAV Technology plans to commercially launch the FY-36 after finetuning its performance.

Drones flying in rural Colorado and Nebraska have residents freaking out. No one knows who’s behind them

Multiple reports of drone swarms flying at night over rural Colorado and Nebraska. Even law enforcement has seen the objects. Authorities can’t figure out who’s behind the aircraft. Federal agencies are investigating.

From pizza to transplant organs: What drones will be delivering in the 2020s

During this decade, we may see delivery drones from Amazon Prime Air, Walmart, FedEx, and UPS. Applications may include pizza by drone, organs on-demand, and medical deliveries.

297 Nano Drones, Swarms, and AI

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A drone crash halts Swiss package delivery, AI used to detect drone faults and locate/track other drones, swarming nano-drones, mesh networked drones for precision agriculture, a drone mesh for event security, UAS for airport and public safety, and the reliability of drone sightings from aircraft.

UAV News

Swiss drone crashes near children, forcing suspension of delivery program

In May, a 22-pound Swiss Post drone crashed 50 yards away from a group of children. As a result, the drone delivery program in Switzerland has been suspended indefinitely. Swiss Post has asked Matternet to make several changes to the system: parachutes connected to the UAV by two ropes instead of one, ropes reinforced with metal braiding, and a louder emergency landing whistle.

Fault Diagnosis of Drone Propellers Using AI

Propeller defects in drones can cause them to fall from the sky and researchers have used different methods to perform fault diagnosis. But a new study by Italian researchers takes a different approach and focuses on measuring the noise emitted by the drone. Different noise patterns are used to build an artificial intelligence (AI) model that detects unbalanced blades in a UAV propeller. See Fault Diagnosis for UAV Blades Using Artificial Neural Network.

Drones Chasing Drones Using Deep Learning and AI

A Canadian study proposes target-detection and target-following using AI techniques for UAV pursuit-evasion. Deep reinforcement learning predicts the actions to apply to the follower UAV to keep track of the target UAV. A deep object detector and a search area proposal predict the position of the target UAV for tracking purposes. The proposed framework uses vision data. See Drones Chasing Drones: Reinforcement Learning and Deep Search Area Proposal.

The amazing world of nano drones

Nano drones have been studies for several years. Draper Lab’s DragonflEye drone project was announced in 2017. A real dragonfly wears a tiny backpack fitted with electronics, sensors, and a solar cell. AeroVironment has been working on a nano-hummingbird since 2011. The market for the nano drones alone is expected to reach $13.4 billion by 2023.

If one drone isn’t enough, try a drone swarm

Drones are being used for precision agriculture, but there are shortcomings with one drone and a big farm. Many battery changes may be required and the survey could take a lot of time. The Norwegian Defence Research Establishment and Rajant Corporation in the US are working on a drone swarming approach with decentralized communications, self-organizing drones, and little human supervision. The technology uses Rajant’s “Kinetic Mesh®” radio technology and “foreign function interface” distributed computing software.

Atlas Multi-Drone System Used by Rio Military Police to Secure Soccer Tournament

Atlas Dynamics partnered with the Military Police of Rio de Janeiro State to use the AtlasPRO at the Copa America soccer (football) tournament. The AtlasPRO was flown in single and multi-UAS missions along the perimeter of the stadium during the tournament’s final series. Data was gathered on public safety hazards and to facilitate emergency response. This was the first time the Atlas mesh multi-drone UAS technology was approved for use at a major sporting event. The mesh multi-node communication capability allows a single operator to command and control a drone network from a unified ground control system. The operator can divide missions among several UAS and maintain constant “eyes in the sky” using autonomous hot-swap capabilities.

Report: Data Management a Challenge for Public Safety UAS Programs

Droneresponders has released the 2019 Mid-Year Public Safety UAS Report. Three out of four public safety agencies say they are already either operating drones or working on implementing a drone program. More than 80% of public safety UAS operators either have obtained or are pursuing, their FAA Part 107 certification. 82% of public safety agencies with a UAS program are operating multi-rotor systems, while only 11% are using fixed- or delta-wing drones. Over 35% of public safety UAS programs are using the FAA’s LAANC system for airspace requests.

UAS Used For Part 77 Airport Inspections in Washington

AeroTEC has completed proof-of-concept aerial surveys in Washington State at Sunnyside Municipal Airport (1S5) and Prosser Airport (S40). The AeroTEC system looks for runway obstacles using photogrammetry to meet the requirement of FAA FAR 14 CFR Part 77. See AeroTEC Conducts First UAS Part 77 Survey of Washington State Airports for WSDOT.

Video of the Week

Epic Long Range FPV Mountain Surfing – 7km round trip

Mentioned

Drone Sightings (2014-2018) from the FAA from Rupprecht Law.

285 Tethered UAS for First Responders

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An actively tethered UAS for situational awareness, a fixed-wing drone studies the atmosphere in Greenland, a larger “hive” drone releases a swarm of smaller “cicada” drones, Virgin Atlantic reports a drone near-hit, a drone that plants tree seeds, Wing receives FAA certification allowing delivery service in the US, and a drone powered by variable-buoyancy.

The Fotokite actively tethered UAS for first responders.

UAV News

Fotokite Launches Firefighter Situational Awareness System in Partnership with Pierce Manufacturing

The “Pierce Situational Awareness System by Fotokite” is an actively tethered UAS that integrates directly into public safety vehicles and firefighter operations. The Fotokite provides persistent aerial situational awareness and since they are tethered, no pilot licenses or authorizations to fly are required. The Pierce Fotokite systems have already been installed into Pierce fire apparatus, as well as command vehicles, and fire chiefs’ SUVs. The Fotokite Sigma Ground Station and Kite are available for first responders in general.

Black Swift UAS chosen for arctic research project in Greenland

The Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, part of the University of Colorado Boulder, Is deploying Black Swift S2 drones from Boulder, Colorado-based Black Swift Technologies. They will conduct high-altitude, high-latitude atmospheric research studies in Greenland and create vertical profiles of the Arctic atmosphere. This will help understand how sublimation into the atmosphere affects climate conditions. The project is supported by the National Science Foundation and is part of the larger international East Greenland Ice-Core Project, or EastGRIP.

See NASA test a swarm of 100 US Navy Cicada drones

NASA’s Langley Research Center released a video showing four large “Hive” drones releasing over 100 smaller “Cicada” drones. The Cicada is a “Close-In Covert Autonomous Disposable Aircraft” and they fit in the palm of your hand. The Navy says, “Cicada is a concept for a low-cost, GPS-guided, micro disposable air vehicle that can be deployed in large numbers to ‘seed’ an area with miniature electronic payloads.” NASA is looking at the Cicadas as tools for meteorologists with sensors that measure temperature, air pressure, and wind-speed.

Video: It’s Raining Drones! NASA drops 100 drones tiny enough to fit in your hand

Virgin Atlantic jet carrying 264 passengers ‘came within SECONDS of crashing into two drones at 14,000ft as it approached to land at Heathrow’

The B787 Dreamliner with 264 passengers was flying at 320 mph over Essex when two drones were spotted. One drone was estimated to be 90 feet from the aircraft.

These tree-planting drones are firing seed missiles to restore the world’s forests

BioCarbon Engineering drones have been planting mangrove trees in Myanmar. The drones map the area, collect topography and data on soil condition, and combine that with satellite data. An analysis is performed that determines the best locations for the seeds, and the drone fires biodegradable pods into the ground. We had previously talked about a similar capability from Seattle-based DroneSeed.

Alphabet’s Wing becomes first drone delivery firm to win FAA approval in the US

As previously speculated, Alphabet’s Wing unit received Air Carrier Certification from the FAA. Wing is the first drone delivery company receiving this certification in the US, and it allows the company to start a commercial delivery service with drones. Wing plans to start the service in Blacksburg and Christiansburg, Virginia over the next few months. See also, Wing becomes first certified Air Carrier for drones in the US.

Wing package delivery drone. — Courtesy Wing.

Ultra-long endurance UAV flies using variable-buoyancy propulsion

The Phoenix ultra-long endurance autonomous UAV is powered by variable-buoyancy propulsion. It creates thrust by alternating between being lighter than air and heavier than air.
Researchers at the University of the Highlands and Islands in the UK use electrically-powered pumps and valves in the Phoenix.

Video: Phoenix: UK team trials first large-scale aircraft powered by variable-buoyancy propulsion.

281 Fixed-Wing Drone Swarm

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FAA approves a fixed-wing drone swarm, firefighting drones under development, young girls trained to fly drones, costs of Gatwick incursions, mimicking a bat, and drones blamed for airliner problems.

UAV News

OSU receives first FAA authorization to fly unmanned aircraft in groups

Oklahoma State University received FAA approval to fly drone swarms in the national airspace. Up to twenty drones can be operated by one pilot with visual observers. The Unmanned Systems Research Institute at OSU has been conducting research on this for four years using fixed-wing aircraft.

UAE aims to develop next generation of drones to fight fires and cope with fog

Researchers at Khalifa University in Abu Dhabi want to make drones lighter, stronger and weather-resistant. Motivated by some fatal fires in high-rise buildings in London and the UAE, they have created a “sandwich” structure with a central layer of low density, 3D-printed material (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene/carbon or “ABS”) that is inexpensive, easily printed, and lightweight. Outside layers of the sandwich are a carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP).

Future Female Pilots Train with Drones and the Royal Flying Doctor Service

The Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) is helping school girls become drone pilots, with the help of She Maps, an Australian STEM specialist that organizes drone workshops.

Gatwick Airport Christmas chaos totals £459,000 in police costs

The price for last December’s drone activity at Gatwick Airport cost Sussex Police £419,000.
It cost the Surrey Police £40,000. More than 100 drone sightings were reported over three days and over 140,000 passengers experienced flights disruptions, but the drone (or drones) were never found.

Video Shows a Drone With Talons That Hangs Upside Down Like a Bat

Often science (or engineering) imitates nature. If bats can easily land almost anywhere, why can’t drones? A researcher at Yale University has added three long gripper fingers to a quadcopter that can “perch” and “rest” on ledges, poles, and scaffoldings.

FAA Turned Over More Safety Work to Boeing Under Pressure to Regulate Drones

Writing in The Daily Beast, Clive Irving says the FAA is delegating aircraft certification work to manufacturers because the agency is “trying to keep up with the rapidly growing drone industry.”

Mentioned

Airplane Geeks 545, Boeing 737 MAX, Someone’s Got Some ‘Splaining to Do.
PaxEx Podcast 65, Max Flight and Mary Kirby on why no-MAX flight.

UAV227 Drone Parachute Recovery Systems

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Drone parachute systems to protect your UAV, state-level drone legislation, UAS disaster response training, large drone swarms and peeping drones, and a new drone registration class action lawsuit against the FAA.

Harrier Drone Parachute Launcher on Mavic Pro. Courtesy Fruity Chutes.

UAV News

New Harrier Parachute Launcher is Light, Compact, and Easy to Use!

Fruity Chutes announced a new line of drone parachute launchers. The servo-activated Harrier Drone Parachute Launcher was developed for fixed wing and small multicopters. It featured a thin wall carbon fiber canister, lightweight nylon components, and a high energy compression spring. Three models are offered with different weight ratings.

Other companies offering drone parachute recovery systems include ParaZero Drone Safety Solutions from Israel, Skycat from Finland, Mars Parachutes in California, Parachutedrone in France, and UAV Propulsion Tech in Florida.

New Jersey Passes UAV Penalty Bill

New Jersey’s state Assembly Bill 5205 would create fines and prison terms for unsafe or prohibited operation of UAVs. It addresses operating a drone in a manner that could endanger life/property, while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or for the purpose of taking or assisting in the taking of wildlife. Also for operating a drone near a correctional facility or interfering with first responders or lawful hunters.

Florida International University UAS management for disaster response workshop

Florida International University and Airborne Response are providing a 40-hour advanced-level workshop tailored for UAS operators, airspace managers, and emergency management officials. The interactive, hands-on course provides instruction for disaster response UAS operations.

China is making 1,000-UAV drone swarms now

In December 2017, Ehang UAV set a world record for the largest drone swarm ever deployed. 1,180 drones flew in a nine-minute aerial light show at the close of the Global Fortune Forum in Guangzhou. The drones can move autonomously and land if they have a problem. Ehang is saying that its swarms are self-repairing.

Israeli Researchers Use Radio Signals to Detect Peeping Drones

Ben-Gurion University researchers say they can tell if the drone outside your home is spying on you. It works by comparing a “pattern” of the object you want to monitor (like your house) to the radio signals intercepted from a nearby drone. For more details, see the research paper: Game of Drones – Detecting Streamed POI from Encrypted FPV Channel [PDF].

Game of Drones – Detecting Streamed POI from Encrypted FPV Channel

FAA Drone Registry Tops One Million

U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao announced that the total number of drones now registered with the FAA has reached one million. 878,000 hobbyists have registered and 122,000 commercial, public, and other drones have been registered.

Robert Taylor v. FAA- 2nd Drone Registration Class Action Lawsuit

A class action lawsuit (of at least 836,796 members) against the FAA is brought by Robert Taylor, the brother of John Taylor who brought the other drone registration lawsuit. In four counts, this suit alleges the FAA collected personal information and money for drone registration and did not delete the registry or refund the money when the registration was ruled illegal. Drone registration refunds and statutory damages are estimated to be almost $841 million.

Scott+Scott, Attorneys at Law, LLP Alerts Investors to Securities Class Actions Against GoPro, Inc. (GPRO)

A shareholder class action lawsuit has been filed against GoPro alleging that the company made false and misleading statements and did not disclose that the demand for Karma drones and other products GoPro products had declined dramatically.

Mentioned

Unmanned Cargo Aircraft Conference

March 20, 2018, at the North Carolina Global TransPark in Kinston, North Carolina. The Conference aims to bring together manufacturers, operators, knowledge institutes, consultants, shippers and government organizations active in the upcoming field of unmanned cargo aircraft.

Cargo Innovation Conference

June 6-7, 2018, De Maaspoort, Venlo, the Netherlands. The conference will address the impact of digitalization of logistics processes on efficiency, profitability, user-friendliness, transparency and more.

UAV Video of the Week

Drone saves two Australian swimmers in world first

Two teenage boys got into difficulties in heavy surf about 2,300 feet off the coast of Lennox Head, New South Wales. Lifesavers instantly sent the Little Ripper UAV to drop an inflatable rescue pod, and the pair made their way safely to shore. The drone took about a minute to reach the boys. It was estimated that lifeguards would have taken three to six minutes.

UAV210 A Global Drone Registry

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ICAO proposes a global drone registry, a multi-rotor endurance record, a major change at Drone360 magazine, tracking drones with cellular networks, drone support following Hurricane Irma, and more swarming technology.

The Skyfront Tailwind hybrid-electric drone. Courtesy Skyfront.

UAV News

U.N. aviation agency to call for global drone registry

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) proposed a global database of drone owners. The database would remotely identify and track drones and their operators. More details will be provided at ICAO’s DRONE ENABLE Unmanned Aircraft Systems Industry Symposium September 22-23, 2017 in Montréal, Canada. The Event Guide and Directory [PDF] lists a session where “The ICAO registration system which is under development will be explained including its purpose, intended functionality and interaction with national registration systems.”

Skyfront Boasts Multi-Rotor UAV Flight of More Than 4.5 Hours

Drone builder Skyfront says they have set a new endurance world record for a multi-rotor UAV. Their Tailwind quadcopter flew for 4 hours and 34 minutes. The hybrid-electric drone offers a 3 kg payload and is intended for inspection, surveying, mapping, and agriculture. An internal gasoline engine spins a generator which produces an unregulated direct-current voltage. The power electronics system regulates the voltage and a small battery is available to provide boost and back up power. Watch the time-lapse video: World Record Multirotor Endurance Flight – 4 hours 34 minutes – Skyfront Tailwind.

An Important Message about Drone360

The September-October 2017 issue of Drone360 magazine will be their last publication. Instead, Drone360 returns to Discover magazine, where it started as a blog. The drone360mag.com URL will still be valid.

From cell phones to drones, 5G connectivity is changing the game

Lia Reich, VP of communications and marketing at PrecisionHawk and a member of the Drone360 editorial advisory board, discusses manned and unmanned aircraft integration issues. That includes the idea of using cellular networks for UAS Traffic Management (UTM).

FAA Works with Florida Drone Operators to Speed Hurricane Recovery

As of September 15, 2017, the FAA had issued 137 airspace authorizations for drones in Florida in response to Hurricane Irma. The Air National Guard, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Airbus Aerial, the Jacksonville Electric Authority, Florida Power and Light, and others participated in response efforts.

New swarming drone technology could help find lost hikers, study wildlife

University of Colorado, Boulder researchers have developed technology that allows a single operator to control multiple drones. CU Boulder is operating under a Certificate of Waiver or Authorization (COA) from the FAA that allows one pilot to fly up to 30 aircraft at a time. The project is an international collaboration with the Korean Advanced Institute of Science and Technology.

UAV198 Drone Racing Takes Flight

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The Drone Racing League gains sponsors and additional funding, NASA UAS traffic management testing, the impact of Taylor v. FAA on commercial drone operators, iRobotics proposes a drone race across the Pacific, and drones swarm in China.

iRobotics drone concept

UAV News

The Drone Racing League (DRL) Announces International Partnerships For 2017 Race Season, Close Of Series B Investment Round

The Drone Racing League (DRL), announced multi-year, international partners and sponsors. Allianz was already announced as the global title sponsor, and Toy State as a sponsor. New sponsors include Amazon (Prime Video), Swatch, FORTO Coffee Shots, and the U.S. Air Force. The DRL season begins June 20, 2017, on ESPN and is to be broadcast in over 75 countries.

DRL also announced a $20 million round of financing led by Sky, Liberty Media Corporation (owner of Formula 1) and Lux Capital (which invests in emerging science and technology ventures). Additional new investors include Allianz and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), and other partners in the round include: Hearst Ventures (a corporate venture fund for media and technology), RSE Ventures (a sports, technology, and entertainment venture firm), Lerer Hippeau Ventures (a seed stage venture capital fund), and Courtside Ventures (a sports, technology, and media VC). DRL has also added CRCM Ventures (seed and early stage companies in Silicon Valley and China) supporting DRL’s expansion into China.

Traffic jam in the skies: NASA updates UTM effort

As part of the NASA UAS Traffic Management (UTM) program, tests have been completed at the six FAA UAS test sites. The missions were monitored in real-time at the NASA Ames’ Airspace Operations Lab, which will now analyze the data collected. There is much more to be done, and NASA’s UTM Technical Lead Joey Rios, says, “We have work on the UAS platforms themselves, we have software development, we have simulation development. We have a lot of human factors work to figure out how to interact with these systems.”

What Taylor v FAA Means for Commercial Drone Operators

The drone registration program implemented by the FAA in 2015 was struck down in court. This article points out that while recreational drone operators no longer have to register, commercial operators are unaffected.

iRobotics Challenges Tech Giants to Drone Race Across Pacific

Japanese drone start-up iRobotics is proposing a race from Tokyo to San Francisco that is open to anyone. Red Bull describes in Want to race this drone across the Pacific? that iRobotics is interested in the middle market – between small drones typically used for recreational and commercial purposes at low altitude, and large, high-altitude drones such as those that Facebook and Airbus are contemplating.

Hit-and-Run Drone Collision Causes Power Outage for 1,600 in Google’s Hometown

A large number of people in the Silicon Valley city of Mountain View lost power for 3 hours when a drone flew into a high-voltage wire. A white-haired, white adult man was seen fleeing the scene driving a white car.

China launches record-breaking swarm of drones

China Electronics Technology Group Corporation (CETC) says they have set a new record for a swarm of drones. The swarm of 119 fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles bests the CETC swarm of 67 drones launched during the China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition in Zhuhai. The Global Times says the drones employed “catapult-assisted take-offs and performed aerial formations.”

Drone Enthusiasts See Benefit in Privatizing Air Traffic Control

According to this article, many people think that a private corporation could get a drone traffic management system up and running quicker than the Federal Aviation Administration.

UAV195 Drone Registration Struck Down

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A court ruling halts recreational drone registration in the U.S. while China implements a new drone registration requirement. Also, a fast fixed-wing VTOL UAV, heavy-lift delivery drones, remote pilot training in Australia, a long-endurance solar powered unmanned sailplane, and some new drone swarming applications.

The Marlyn VTOL mapping and surveying drone. Courtesy Atmos UAV.

UAV News

Court Strikes Down Drone Registration Requirement

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has struck down the FAA’s drone registration requirement for recreational UAV operators. The three-judge panel agreed with John A. Taylor, a drone hobbyist represented by attorney Jonathan Rupprecht, who argued that the FAA requirement violated the 2012 FAA Modernization and Reform Act passed by Congress. Read the Court Opinion [PDF] and the Court Order [PDF]. Note that the ruling does not affect aircraft operated for commercial operations under Section 333 or Part 107. Rules for commercial operations remain the same. More details: Complete Guide to Taylor v. FAA (Drone Registration Lawsuit).

FAA Statement Regarding US Court of Appeals Decision

“We are carefully reviewing the U.S. Court of Appeals decision as it relates to drone registrations. The FAA put registration and operational regulations in place to ensure that drones are operated in a way that is safe and does not pose security and privacy threats. We are in the process of considering our options and response to the decision.”

Atmos UAV Launches Marlyn

The Atmos UAV Marlyn is a fixed-wing, VTOL UAV designed for high-speed mapping applications like land surveying, mining, precision agriculture, and forestry. It can be deployed from any surface, can map up to 10 times faster than a multirotor, and can fly in a broad range of weather conditions.

Heavy Duty Delivery Drones Coming From JD.com

JD.com says they are China’s largest retailer, online or offline, and they plan to build China’s largest low-altitude drone package delivery network. The heavy-lift drones are expected to carry more than a ton, transport products to remote areas, and move agricultural produce to cities. JD.com will also establish an R&D campus in partnership with the Xi’an National Civil Aerospace Industrial Base (XCAIB) where unmanned systems will be developed, manufactured and tested.

Changes to approved training

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA), Australia’s national aviation authority is changing the practical training requirements for receiving an Australian Remote Pilot Licence (RePL) effective 1 June 2017. RePL applicants will satisfy the training requirements by completing a RePL training course conducted by a person holding a RPA Operator’s Certificate (ReOC) that authorized the training. Applicants can also apply to CASA for a flight test. CASA-approved training organisations are located across Australia, and a list of approved drone operators including those who can conduct training, is on the CASA website. More information about the advantages of holding a RePL can be found in Flying drones/remotely piloted aircraft in Australia.

Drone owners will now have to register with the government in China

Pilots of drones weighing 250 grams or more (0.55 pound) will be required to register with the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC). This requirement is effective June 1, 2017. Registration is online and real names must be used.

FAA releases registered private drone owner database

The Federal Aviation Administration has made available a database of registered drone owners. The spreadsheet shows the city, state and zip code of each registered drone owner.

NRL Tests Autonomous ‘Soaring with Solar’ Concept

The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory is looking at long endurance unmanned sailplanes that use solar power. The Navy says, “The Solar Photovoltaic and Autonomous Soaring Base Program and the U.S. Marine Corps’ Expeditionary Energy Office (E2O) want to improve the ability of unmanned platforms to support 24-7 information, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions.

DroneSeed Receives the First FAA Approval for Using Drone Swarming to Deliver Agricultural Payloads

DroneSeed has received approval from the FAA to deliver agricultural payloads with drone swarms. The company says, “We’re working with commercial foresters to make reforestation more efficient. Offering a one-stop solution, our team of drones plants tree seeds and sprays fertilizer and herbicides to keep trees healthy.”

Drone Swarms Could Spoof the Enemy

At the Special Operations Forces Industry Conference, the vice president of science and technology at Cintel said a web of swarming unmanned aircraft systems that can spoof enemy drones could be a solution to the shot doctrine problem when exercising counter-UAS capabilities.

UAV Video of the Week

Lockheed Martin Conducts First Underwater Unmanned Aircraft Launch from Unmanned Underwater Vehicle

Lockheed Martin successfully launched a Vector Hawk UAV on command from the Marlin MK2 autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV). At the same time, the Submaran unmanned surface vehicle (USV) developed by Ocean Aero provided surface reconnaissance and surveillance.

Mentioned

Airplane Geeks episode 453 The Zunum Aero Electric Airplane.

UAV193 Flying Drones Over People

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The impact of drones striking people, geo-restrictions in war zones, monitoring volcanic ash, structure inspections using UAVs and artificial intelligence, keeping wildlife away from crops, waste management with drones, swarming tactics, Project Wing update, and drone weaponization for law enforcement.

A UAS crash test dummy in a study of flying drones over people.

A UAS crash test dummy provided data for a UAS ground collision severity study.

UAV News

FAA Issues Study on UAS Human Collision Hazards

In order to create regulations for flying drones over people, the FAA needs to know what happens when a UAV strikes a human. A consortium of universities has been studying this, and their report identifies dominant injury types applicable to small drones. See: FAA and Assure Announce Results of Ground Collision Study.

DJI Mysteriously Turned Vast Swaths of Iraq and Syria Into Drone No-Fly Zones

Without much fanfare, DJI created no-fly zones over large areas of Iraq and Syria. Some speculate this was a move to thwart ISIS from using their drones.

CNN journalist evades DJI GEO restrictions in Iraq

A CNN reporter proved the no-fly zone could be defeated by covering the GPS on his DJI Mavic with tinfoil. Without GPS, the no-fly zones are disabled.

NASA Selects Black Swift Technologies’ sUAS for Volcano Ash Monitoring

NASA has awarded a contract to Black Swift Technologies to develop and deliver a sUAS solution to explore volcanoes. Black Swift will provide an airframe, avionics, and sensors to measure gases, temperature, pressure, humidity, and winds, as well as particle sizes and trace gases. All this for improved air traffic management systems and more accurate measurements of ashfall.

AT&T Labs working to combine drone video footage with artificial intelligence monitoring

AT&T Labs is studying how they can use artificial intelligence (AI) and video footage of cell towers taken by a drone. AT&T wants to eliminate the labor for physical inspections and video analysis.

Drones keep elephants away from people in Tanzania

In Tanzania, elephants sometimes graze on crops and destroy them, presenting a huge problem for the people trying to grow food. The U.S.-based nonprofit Resolve is testing the use of drones to drive the animals away.

Drones-The Latest High Tech Tool For Las Cruces Waste Management

A quadcopter is being used to map a regional landfill and provide volumetrics to the landfill management company. This information about the amount of air space remaining in existing landfill cells is critical for future development plans.

Service Academies Swarm Challenge: Controlling drone swarms

DARPA created the Service Academies Swarm Challenge where U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, and U.S. Air Force academy teams compete and go from “zero to swarm in 8 months.” The research effort is an experiment where students develop offensive and defensive tactics for swarms of small UAVs.

Video: An Overview of DARPA’s Service Academies Swarm Challenge

Alphabet’s Project Wing Cuts Staff Before Progress Update

Reportedly, Google parent Alphabet has significantly cut staff at Project Wing. Yet sources say the program is still alive and a major progress update and demonstration is expected before summer.

Public Safety Committee Grounds Drone Legislation

Legislation proposed in Connecticut would have made that state the first in the U.S. to allow law enforcement to use weaponized drones. However, the legislature’s Public Safety and Security Committee decided to let the legislation die. This was after drone attorney Peter Sachs wrote an email to all members of the Committee asking them to vote against the proposal.

UAV Video of the Week

Amazing Drone Footage – The USS Alabama From The Air – A Very Impressive Battleship

The USS Alabama (BB-60) is a South Dakota Class Battleship, launched on April 16, 1942. It served during World War II in both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. This video was shot using a hexacopter with a GoPro at the USS Alabama Memorial Park.

Mentioned

Drones flown in helicopter flight path at Franz Josef heliport ‘a huge risk’ to safety, police warn

UAV192 Uber Air Taxi UAV

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Drone vulnerability to hacking, the ScanEagle gets fuel cell power, Grand Sky UAS Park adds a major tenant, drone privacy issues in Australia, swarming biobots, and Uber collaborates with Aurora Flight Sciences for an air taxi.

Aurora Flight Sciences Electric VTOL Aircraft

UAV News

Watch A Very Vulnerable $140 Quadcopter Drone Get Hacked Out Of The Sky

Researchers at the Cyber-Physical Systems Security Lab at the University of Texas at Dallas hacked into a small quadcopter and took control. UT Dallas researcher Junia Valente said, “The device contains an open access point not protected by any password and a misconfigured FTP server that allows unauthorized users to read and write to the drone filesystem. One of the attacks we did was precisely to overwrite sensitive system files to gain full root access.”

Five reasons why fuel cell powered UAVs beat internal combustion fuel systems

A ScanEagle UAV manufactured by Boeing subsidiary Insitu has been tested with a Ballard Power Systems’ fuel cell system. Ballard lists five advantages that fuel cell propulsion of UAVs has over internal combustion systems.

North Dakota UAS Park Welcomes Northrop Grumman as Anchor Tenant

The Grand Sky Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) Business and Aviation Park, located near Grand Forks, North Dakota has welcomed new tenant Northrop Grumman to a 36,000 square-foot facility. The park has access to Grand Forks Air Force Base, where Northrop Grumman provides systems and technology to the U.S. Air Force, including the RQ-4 Global Hawk.

Backyard skinny-dippers lack effective laws to keep peeping drones at bay

A woman returned to her home in Darwin from an evening gym session, got undressed, and began to enjoy her secluded backyard pool. Soon, a small camera-mounted quadcopter appeared overhead. She doesn’t know who was operating the drone.

In Australia, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) does not prevent drones from flying over private property. Australia lacks a tort of privacy so even if she could find him, the woman couldn’t sue the drone operator for a breach of privacy.

Software allows for use of drones and insect biobots to map disaster areas

North Carolina State University researchers have created the hardware and software to use UAVs and insect cyborgs (or biobots) as a way to map areas like collapsed buildings after a disaster. Biobots could move freely within a defined space and map the area as they go.

UAV Video of the Week

Aurora Flight Sciences’ Electric VTOL Aircraft

Uber selected Aurora Flight Sciences as a partner to develop an electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft for its Uber Elevate Network. Aurora’s eVTOL concept is derived from its XV-24A X-plane program currently underway for the U.S. Department of Defense and other autonomous aircraft the company has developed over the years.

UAV185 The DJI Matrice 200 Series of Drones

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New DJI Matrice 200 drones created for enterprise users, Parrot also sees a future in the commercial market, an RQ-7 Shadow goes on an unexpected cross-country flight, and swarms of drones may someday map oil spills.

DJI Matrice 200 series drone

UAV News

DJI’s Matrice 200 UAV line is built for work

DJI showed its new Matrice 200 series of quadcopters at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. It’s a workhorse designed for commercial and industrial applications and comes in three models: the baseline M200 with one gimbal, the M210 with two downward-facing gimbals or one top-mounted gimbal, and the M210 RTK which adds real-time kinematic sensors for precise navigation.

All models use the DJI flight management system, the DJI Pilot app, subject tracking, autonomous circling, and ActiveTrack. Flighthub lets the pilot stream video to a remote station in real-time, and DJI’s Flightsense algorithm lets the M200 drones autonomously avoid obstacles. Significantly, M200s incorporate ADS-B receivers.

Parrot to pursue profits with commercial drones

After failing to meet revenue targets, Parrot says it will return to profitability by 2018 through an expansion of its commercial drone business. The Parrot CFO says, “Professional drones should generate at least 50 to 60 percent gross margin on the long run, where consumer drones cannot generate more than 35 percent of gross margin.”

Questions hover over Army drone’s 630-mile odyssey across western US

An Army Shadow RQ-7Bv2 launched from southern Arizona on January 31 lost the connection with its ground crew. The Shadow was found February 9 in a tree near Denver, 630 miles away.

Coming soon: Oil spill-mapping swarms of flying drones

The University at Buffalo’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences has devised a method to quickly map oil spills with a swarm of off the shelf drones. The drones record if they are over water, over oil, or at the edge of the spill. They then share that information among themselves so they waste time covering an area already observed. When reaching low power, the drones return to the ship for a recharge, while new drones join the swarm already knowing what the others have found. Collision avoidance is accomplished via simple rules taken from nature. See the paper: A Swarm-Intelligence Approach to Oil Spill Mapping using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.

UAV Video of the Week

DJI – Introducing the Matrice 200 Series

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UAV178 GoPro Karma Drone to be Relaunched

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GoPro will relaunch its Karma foldable drone, FAA approves Beyond Visual Line Of Sight (BVLOS) operations at a UAS test site, a drone strike on an airliner proves to be false, a new droneport is taking shape, a Canadian company offers fuel cell-powered drones, and autonomous drone swarming is a success.

The H2Quad 1000 fuel cell-powered drone, courtesy EnergyOr

UAV News

GoPro is relaunching its Karma drone after an embarrassing recall

The GoPro Karma drone

The new GoPro Karma foldable drone was quickly recalled shortly after becoming available last year. GoPro CEO Nick Woodman says that the drones loss of power and subsequent dive was caused by a “basic battery retention issue.” Details of the Karma relaunch are expected in February 2017.

Nation’s first BVLOS UAS operations approved

The FAA has granted the Northern Plains UAS Test Site in North Dakota approval to operate large unmanned aircraft beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS). The UAS test site can use ground-based sense-and-avoid technologies to phases in BVLOS operations.

African airline reports drone collision with passenger jet

African airline LAM said a Boeing 737-700 on approach at about 4,000 feet was struck by a drone. Widely published photographs showed the damaged nose. Subsequently, the Aviation Herald published Incident: LAM B737 at Tete on Jan 5th 2017, radome structural failure. After its investigation, Mozambique’s Civil Aviation Authority says most likely the radome experienced a structural failure, not a foreign object strike.

Eldorado Droneport Design Revealed

Specific plans for privately operated Eldorado Droneport have been announced. Aerodrome will offer UAS training, FAA repairman and pilot certification and testing, and other educational, research and development services for commercial and recreational drone operators. Plans for the 50-acre site include a 15,000 square foot terminal building; 860,000 square feet facilities for research and development, warehousing, hangar, office, and training; and “build-to-suit” opportunities.

French Air Force Gets Fuel Cell Powered Quad

The French Air Force is acquiring the H2Quad 1000 drone from Montreal-based EnergyOr Technologies inc. EnergyOr says “the fuel cell/battery hybrid system has been optimized based on extensive UAV flight testing in several different platform configurations. It has been tested in widely varying environmental conditions and can meet the rigorous demands of operational UAVs.”

US demos ‘one of the world’s largest’ micro-UAV swarms

The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) is continuing to develop autonomous swarming drones.

Originally designed at MIT Lincoln Laboratory in 2013, the Perdix micro-drones have been air-dropped from an F-16 in 2014, and an F/A-18 in 2016. In its Perdix Fact Sheet [PDF], DOD says:

“Perdix are not preprogrammed, synchronized individuals. They share a distributed brain for decision‐making and adapt to each other, and the environment, much like swarms in nature. Because every Perdix communicates and collaborates with every other Perdix, the swarm has no leader and can gracefully adapt to changes in drone numbers. This allows this team of small inexpensive drones to perform missions once done by large expensive ones.”

Capturing the Swarm

The CBS television program 60 Minutes was allowed to film a swarm of 100 Perdix autonomous drones. The number of drones, their speed, and their unpredictable behavior made capturing them on video more difficult than anticipated!

UAV Video of the Week

One man’s mission to walk the Great Wall of China with a drone

http://youtu.be/kfzyR0Bhjlc