Tag Archives: TruWeather Solutions

381 Tactical Beyond Visual Line of Sight

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First responder tactical beyond visual line of sight (TBVLOS) waivers, 100,000 Wing deliveries in Australia, using Starlink for military maritime intelligence drones, DJI Mavic 3 leaked, measuring the wind for UAM safety, a drone services company meets a UAV maintenance provider, and the history of drones in Southeast Asia

UAV News

Paladin publicly launches Knighthawk, a first response drone for cities

Paladin has unveiled its custom Knighthawk and Watchtower products for first responders. The startup has built autonomous systems for cities that can be deployed to 911 calls and provide instant situational awareness. The Knighthawk drone has a 10x zoom optical camera and a thermal camera to provide video feeds day and night. The Watchtower software is available as an app. Since 2018, the company has responded to about 1,600 emergencies in Texas and Ohio. 

Paladin has “First Responder Tactical Beyond Visual Line of Sight” (TBVLOS) [PDF] operating waivers from the FAA. These temporary BVLOS flights are flown to both reduce risk to first responders and to ensure the safety of the communities they serve. The waiver has a number of specific conditions and requirements.

Wing approaches 100,000 drone deliveries two years after Logan, Australia launch

In the first week of August alone, customers in Logan, Australia placed 4,500 orders – one every 30 seconds during Wing’s delivery window. The Wing drones delivered 10,000 cups of coffee, 1,700 children’s snack packs, 1,200 hot chooks (roasted chicken, in Australia), 2,700 sushi rolls, and 1,000 loaves of bread. Wing expects the service to expand into other markets in the coming months, including Australia, Finland, and the United States.

Drones and Starlink: Combining Satellite Constellations With Unmanned Navy Ships

The United States Navy faces an aging fleet of transport ships and personnel shortages. Autonomous maritime vessels could be a solution, as well as semi-autonomous drones that could act as a screening force for operations, provide an extended sensor net, and provide greater tactical awareness. The new SpaceX Starlink satellite constellation might provide easy and reliable connectivity for a globally operated network of maritime drones.

DJI Mavic 3 leaks with new cameras, a larger battery and longer flight times

A YouTuber leaked what is believed to be the next Mavic drone. It features improved obstacle detection utilizing new wide-angle lenses on the front and rear cameras, the main camera with a focal length equivalent to 24 mm, and an f/2.8 aperture, a second camera that supports up to 7x optical zoom, images stored on 1 TB of internal memory, and a larger battery providing up to 40 minutes of flight time.

NASA taps Kyoto startup to make maps of the wind for drones

NASA wants maps of the wind so drones and air taxis will be safer. Japanese startup MetroWeather Co. LiDAR sensors track atmospheric dust to measure wind direction and speed.  MetroWeather sensors will be used by US-based TruWeather Solutions Inc. at a NASA drone testing site to show how real-time wind information can help drones choose optimal routes that avoid wind shear and other dangers.

Carbonix Partners with Robotic Skies to Advance Global Field Support

Robotic Skies, Inc provides maintenance, inspection, and repair services for the commercial drone industry with over 230 Service Centers in 50 countries. Carbonix is an Australian company with data capture UAVs for long-range and large-area aerial surveillance. The two companies are partnering to provide an international field support program for customers who operate Carbonix UAVs.

Inside Vietnam’s Forgotten Drone War

Drones played an important role in the Vietnam War target spotting for bombers, jamming radars, and dropping propaganda leaflets. The new nonfiction book Drone War: Vietnam explores that history.

UAV Video of the Week

Watch: Alligator Eats Drone In Video Shared By Sundar Pichai

An inexperienced drone operator in Florida flew his drone too close to an alligator, with serious consequences.

274 A Nano-UAV for the Army

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A FLIR Systems acquisition and a nano-UAV contract, proposed drone rules for Australia, testing UAS in the wind, a market forecast for drones, and Amazon tests UTM.

Black Hornet PRS nano-UAV from FLIR Systems
The Black Hornet PRS nano-UAV. Courtesy FLIR Systems, Inc.

UAV News

FLIR Systems acquires Aeryon Labs for $200 million

UAS Magazine reports that FLIR Systems has acquired drone developer Aeryon Labs Inc. for $200 million. FLIR wants to be more than a sensor supplier and Aeryon develops quad-copters that integrate multiple sensors.

FLIR Systems Awarded $39.6 Million Contract for Black Hornet Personal Reconnaissance Systems for US Army Soldier Borne Sensor Program

FLIR Systems was awarded a $39.6 Million order to deliver FLIR Black Hornet Personal Reconnaissance Systems (PRS) to the United States Army. This is a follow-on order to the first phase award in June 2018. These nano-UAV systems were bought for the Soldier Borne Sensor (SBS) Program and will support platoon and small unit level surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities. FLIR has delivered over 8,000 Black Hornet nano-UAVs around the world.

Proposed new remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) registration and RPAS operator accreditation scheme (PP 1816US)

The Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) has proposed requirements for remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) registration and operator accreditation. These apply to RPA more than 250 grams operated recreationally and all RPA operated commercially, including excluded RPA operations, regardless of weight. Excluded from the RPA registration and accreditation requirements are RPA 250 grams or less operated recreationally, model aircraft at CASA-approved model airfields, and RPA operated recreationally indoors. There is an online response form for comments.

NUAIR Alliance, TruWeather Solutions, and Windshape Demonstrated the Impact of Weather on Drone Airworthiness at NYS UAS Test Site

Windshape is a Switzerland based company that developed a drone flight testing environment that can be installed indoors. TruWeather Solutions works with highly precise weather data for analytics applications. They and the NUAIR Alliance have been testing the impact of wind on different UAS platforms.

Drones reporting for work – Goldman Sachs forecasts $100B drone market by 2020

In 2016, Goldman Sachs produced a webpage titled “Drones Reporting For Work.” Between 2016 and 2020, they expected a $100 billion market opportunity for drones. The military remains the largest market for the foreseeable future with $70 billion of the $100 billion. The company expects $17 billion for the consumer market and $13 billion for the commercial and civil government market.

Amazon testing commercial UAS traffic management system

Amazon wants to deliver packages to customers in 30 minutes or less, and drones are part of that strategy. Amazon Prime Air is working Single European Sky ATM Research (SESAR) and NASA to develop an autonomous UAS traffic management system. Amazon Prime Air is building teams in Seattle, Tel Aviv, Cambridge, and Paris.