Tag Archives: UTM

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.

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

319 Canadian Drone Management System

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Canada selects a national drone management system, BlueBird Aero Systems wins a large UAS order, North Texas aims to educate new drone flyers, Freedom of Information Act produces mystery drone emails, flying over (and into) the Golden Gate Bridge, and drones that monitor environmental changes.

UAV News

NAV Canada signs strategic deal to help manage drones

NAV Canada has selected Unifly to provide a national system with digital services for safely operating and managing drones in Canadian airspace. The system has an intuitive user interface and Canadian drone pilots can use the web and mobile apps to identify safe and legal airspace. Requests for authorization to fly in controlled airspace can be made and drone flights planned. See also the Unifly YouTube channel.

BlueBird Aero Systems Secures an Order for Over 150 Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) UAS

BlueBird Aero Systems received an order for more than 150 vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) UAS of various categories. A European military customer has ordered the WanderB-VTOL Mini UAV and ThunderB-VTOL Tactical UAV. These will be operated by infantry soldiers, armored units, artillery corps, and special forces. The order is worth “tens of millions of euros.”

“Know Before You Fly”: North Texas Community Steps Up to Provide Drone Flyers with Resources

The North Texas UAS Safety and Integration Task Force is working to provide new drone flyers with a free “Know Before You Fly” training workshop. They are working with sponsors including Women and Drones, AUVSI Lonestar, and drone industry solution providers. The Task Force, under the North Central Texas Council of Governments, wants to help mitigate reckless UAS operations and promote the safe integration of UAS technology into the DFW regional airspace.

Internal Air Force Emails Show Confusion And Concern Over Colorado’s Mystery Drones

There has been no serious explanation of the mystery drones that were spotted in several states. However, a volunteer researcher operating in affiliation with the Scientific Coalition for UAP Studies recently obtained emails through the Freedom of Information Act that include internal communications of the public affairs office at F.E. Warren Air Force Base and the 90th Security Forces Group. The heavily redacted emails indicate that the military took the sightings seriously.

Drones fly illegally and crash at the Golden Gate Bridge in hunt for photos

People are violating the prohibition of flying drones in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, which surrounds the Golden Gate Bridge. Five drones have crashed onto the roadway, and an additional drone crashed into one of the towers. Park rangers handle drone enforcement in the National Recreation Area, have issued citations, and have seized drones.

Monitoring climate change from the sky: DRONES could play a ‘critical role’ in tracking the effects of global warming but only if their battery life improves, expert claims

Drones can be used to monitor climate change over large areas. But they need to stay aloft a long time to collect data, and drones with long flight times are expensive. Researchers at the University of Southampton are working with Dr. Ewan Kirk to develop new drones and batteries that are less expensive and fly longer. Three teams of fourth-year students will work to create better drones, then test them by monitoring a live volcano in Guatemala.

307 UAV Battery Technology

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Airbus funds new UAV battery technology and flys a rotary-wing UAV, an upcoming UAS Traffic Management workshop, a hydrogen-powered UAV for the Navy, a heavy-payload long-range drone, drones for all budgets, drone racing at Daytona, and how mosquitoes might help drones make less noise.

UAV News

Airbus’s VSR700 Rotary-wing UAV Takes Flight

Airbus Helicopters has flown their VSR700 prototype at a drone test center in France. It’s a rotary-wing, multi-mission Naval UAS (RWUAS) that was tethered on 30-meter cables and fitted with stabilizing outriggers. A year ago, Airbus flew an optionally piloted demonstrator for the VSR700 that was based on an existing light helicopter. This new prototype is redesigned with a payload bay replacing the flight deck.

Airbus Funds Next-Gen UAV Battery Technology

Airbus Defence and Space is providing financing to battery technology company Amprius. That company manufactures high energy density lithium-ion batteries based on silicon nanowire anode technology. Amprius says their batteries provide up to 50% more power than standard lithium-ion batteries. The Airbus funding is expected to help Amprius develop a higher volume production capacity as well as even higher energy density cells.

FAA and NASA Drone Industry Workshop

The FAA and NASA will jointly host an Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Traffic Management (UTM) Pilot Program (UPP) Phase 2 Industry Workshop. The half-day workshop is scheduled for December 9, 2019, at NASA’s Ames Conference Center in Mountain View, California. Registration is free but attendance will be limited to the first 150 to register, with a limit of two attendees per organization. For additional background, see: FAA/NASA UAS Traffic Management Pilot Program (UPP) [PDF]

Navy Accepts First-of-its-kind HYCOPTER Hydrogen Powered UAS

The six-rotor HYCOPTER from H3 Dynamics is the first hydrogen fuel cell-powered rotary-wing UAS for the US Navy. The Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California took delivery of their HYCOPTER on October 25, 2019. With a takeoff weight of about 35 pounds and a blade tip-to-blade tip diameter of 7 feet, the UAS can carry a five-pound payload in an open bay for about 2 ½ hours. The HYCOPTER uses an ultralight PEM fuel cell and compressed hydrogen gas. Austin, Texas-based HES Energy Systems is a subsidiary of H3 Dynamics and describes the HYCOPTER on its website as “Designed and manufactured in the USA.”

UAVita Showcases a Heavy-Payload, Long-Range UAV Drone

The UAVita Discovery is a medium-sized, fixed-wing UAV that can carry heavy payloads over a long range. Originally used for crop dusting and precision ag, it’s now being used for other long-range missions such as search and rescue, highway monitoring, and powerline inspections.

Video: UAvita Systems Showcases Their Heavy-payload Drone at Commercial UAV Expo 2019

Seasoned Pilot or Aviation Amateur, Here Are 5 Drones for All Budgets

Consider the DROCON Bugs 3, Syma X5C, Parrot Mambo Drone FPV Kit, DJI Spark, or even the DJI Inspire 2.

Drone racing takes a whirl in Daytona Stadium

Over 1,000 drone racers tried to qualify for the 5th annual RaceDayQuads 2019 MultiGP Drone Racing Championship in Daytona Stadium. The sports class saw 125 racers qualify, while 85 qualified for the pro-competition. MultiGP is a global, professional, drone racing league with hundreds of international chapters and over 27,000 registered drone racers.

Sounds of mosquito mating rituals could lead to quieter drones

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University discovered that mosquitoes can focus the buzz they make in the direction of potential mates. A paper published in Bioinspiration and Biomimetics says, “…understanding the strategies and adaptations employed by insects such as mosquitoes to control their aeroacoustic noise could eventually provide insights into the development of quiet drones and other bioinspired micro-aerial vehicles.”

290 FAA UAS Symposium 2019

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Highlights of the FAA UAS Symposium held June 3-5, 2019 at the Baltimore Convention Center. Presented by the Federa l Aviation Administration and AUVSI.

FAA UAS Symposium 2019

Over 1000 attendees from industry, the government, and academia gathered for three days of keynotes, breakout sessions, and “how to” sessions.

We discuss some highlights of the Symposium, including industry/government collaboration, drone remote identification, education and outreach, urban air mobility, drone delivery, public agency use of drones, counter-UAV issues, UAS traffic management, and more.

Mentioned

Alliance for Drone Innovation

Blue Ribbon Task Force on UAS Mitigation at Airports

Flight Plan 2030 white paper on Urban Air Traffic Management from Embraer.

Innovations in Flight Family Day and Aviation Display at the Smithsonian’s National Air & Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia, Saturday, June 15, 2019, 10:00 am to 3:00 pm.

275 UAS Traffic Management

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Guest

Kevin Gallagher, President and CEO of Simulyze, contributing UAS Traffic Management technology.

Kevin Gallagher is President and CEO of Simulyze, a provider of operational intelligence and technology applications for both federal and commercial organizations.

He has more than 30 years of experience in system engineering and operational support. Kevin co-founded Simulyze to specialize in operational intelligence, situational awareness, and traffic management technology for the Department of Defense and intelligence operations. Now Simulyze has entered the commercial drone space.

Their platform enables commercial UAS operators to process and analyze large streams of data from disparate sources in real-time and achieve a common operating picture in real-time in a customized graphical interface.

Simulyze is the only company that has exercised with every build of NASA’s UAS Traffic Management platform. In 2018, Simulyze completed the deployment of its Mission Insight application during NASA’s Technical Capability Level 3 (TCL 3) National Campaign testing of its UTM research platform. Simulyze will serve as a UAS Service Supplier for two Integration Pilot Program projects awarded by the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration.

Kevin began his career in General Electric’s Space Division where he held a number of analysis, engineering and management roles. In 1993, Kevin joined Aegis Research Corporation and started the company’s Information Technology group, which provided system engineering and programmatic support to a variety of customers, including the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. intelligence community.

Kevin earned his bachelor’s degree in computer science from Pennsylvania State University and his master’s degree in computer science from Villanova University.

UAV News

Drones defend, entertain at the Super Bowl

An Intel Shooting Star drone formation spelled out “ONE” and “LOVE” during Maroon 5’s halftime performance. Meanwhile, Skyfire Consulting co-founder Matt Sloane and a team of pilots were on a nearby rooftop with a tethered DJI Matrice 210 quadcopter. Skyfire’s video feeds were shared among various agencies using a platform built by DroneSense to enhance situational awareness. The tether system was provided by Drone Aviation Corp.

At least six drones in the exclusion zone before game day were confiscated. Three drone-hunting drones operated by Fortem Technologies were reportedly on-site, although it is unclear if those systems with nets captured the rogue drones in flight.

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.

UAV261 Universal Traffic Management

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Skyward urges the industry to think Universal Traffic Management, Ryanair CEO looks to autonomous airliners, Hoverfly introduces a new tethered drone, NYPD eyes drone threats, FAA reauthorization addresses drones, looking for a kangaroo, and testing drone impacts on an airplane wing.

UAV News

Skyward Works to Redefine UTM as ‘Universal Traffic Management’

To this point, “UTM” has meant UAS Traffic Management, but Mariah Scott, President at Skyward, A Verizon company, says we should think of “Universal Traffic Management.”

Novartis to cut 500 UK jobs, Ryanair CEO says ‘pilot-less planes’ could become reality, and more top news

BusinessInsider reports that Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary says that we’ll see autonomous planes in the next 40 to 50 years.

Hoverfly introduces new tethered LiveSky SENTRY drone

Hoverfly Technologies Inc. a manufacturer of tether-powered drones, introduced their new LiveSky SENTRY, an all-weather, military-grade UAS.

NYPD looking to the skies for drones during UN meetings

The New York Police Department had in mind the threat of a drone attack as they provided security for the recent UN General Assembly meetings.

Approved FAA Reauthorization Act Allows Government to Control, Confiscate Drones

The new FAA reauthorization act grants authorities new powers, while the Academy of Model Aeronautics says that under Section 349 [PDF] members should continue to fly in accordance with AMA’s safety guidelines.

Drones help search for runaway kangaroo in Florida

A kangaroo in South Florida named Storm escaped and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers used two drones to help in the search.

UAV Video of the Week

Even small drones, like a DJI Phantom, pose a risk to manned aircraft

The University of Dayton Research Institute’s Impact Physics Lab conducted tests designed to simulate a drone striking an airplane mid-air at 238 mph. A DJI Phantom 2 drone was launched into the wing of a Mooney M20 aircraft.

Are Drones Dangerous?

UAV237 MQ-25 Stingray

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Lockheed Martin’s MQ-25 Stingray concept, UTM testing, nuclear power plant inspection, pizza delivery by drone, another near-miss, Canadian drone regulations, and a new drone racing idea.

MQ-25 Stingray concept. Courtesy Lockheed Martin.

UAV News

Skunk Works Reveals Stealthy UAV Demonstrator

The Lockheed Martin Skunk Works is celebrating their 75th anniversary and they were a major sponsor at the LA County Airshow in California. Lockheed put the X-44A small UAV on static display for the public for the first time. The X-44A first flew in 2001 to test the flying-wing design.

Lockheed’s MQ-25 Tanker Drone Looks Impressive, But It’s Still Just A Paper Plane

Lockheed has unveiled its MQ-25 Stingray concept for a carrier-based unmanned tanker. Other designs were considered, but the flying-wing design had a number of advantages, including aerodynamic efficiency, greater fuel load, lower parts count and reduced footprint on carrier decks with the wingtips folded up. Later this year, the Navy will select one of the three proposed designs and award a contract for four prototype aircraft.

NASA completes the third phase of UAS airspace testing

The week-long test was conducted by the Nevada Institute for Autonomous Systems (NIAS) and NASA UTM partners, focusing on airspace management technologies for integrating UAS into the national airspace. The UTM development program is progressing through four “Technology Capability Levels,” this being the third.

Small US Built drones searching damaged Fukushima Nuclear Plant

Tests are being conducted for drones to be used for inspection and damage assessment at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan. In 2011, that facility experienced nuclear meltdowns, explosions, and the release of radioactive material following the tsunami. A team from Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) and the University of Pennsylvania GRASP Laboratory plan to use UAS technology to fly into the containment vessels. SwRI Press Release: SwRI-led team to develop drones for use in Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.

Exploring Nuclear Power Plants with an Autonomous UAS

HBO Used Pizza-Delivery Drones to Promote the New Season of Silicon Valley

In a promotion for the Silicon Valley television comedy series on HBO, fans could order a free pizza with a certain Tweet. In Los Angeles and San Francisco, Drone Dudes would deliver the pizzas up to a maximum of twenty in each city.

UAV regs changing – for the better

Transport Canada looks to streamline and standardize the rules for drone use. At the Unmanned Systems Canada Conference in Toronto last November, Transport Canada presented draft changes to regulations governing UAVs. Another round of draft changes are expected by the summer of 2018.

Yet another drone narrowly misses a plane – how do we fix this?

Pilots of an Air New Zealand Boeing 777-200 reported that a drone came within five meters of their airplane. Flights at the airport shut down for 30 min.

Air NZ calls for tighter regulation on UAVs after near-miss

ANZ chief operations integrity and standards officer David Morgan says, “It’s clear the time has now come for tougher deterrents for reckless drone use around airports to safeguard travellers, including imposing prison terms in the case of life-threatening incidents.”

‘Exploded’ windscreen: TV journo blames drone for plane crash

Also in New Zealand, a man says a drone hit his small plane while flying over the Western Bay. The windscreen exploded and he was forced to make a crash landing.

You’ve Never Seen a Drone Race Like This Before: Pro Aerial League’s Full Contact Championship

Recently, the Pro Aerial League held its season championship event. (The Generals won.) Watching were more than 800 live spectators and more than 45,000 online. But drone racing is difficult for spectators and Pro Aerial League has an idea where team members rotate roles over four 20 minute quarters of nonstop racing in a small 200′ by 85′ course.

AgEagle Aerial Systems Closes Merger with EnerJex; To Initiate Trading on NYSE as UAVS

AgEagle Aerial Systems, Inc. announced that it has closed its merger transaction with EnerJex Resources, Inc. under which AgEagle becomes a wholly-owned subsidiary of EnerJex Resources. EnerJex will be renamed AgEagle Aerial Systems and is now traded on the NYSE under the ticker symbol UAVS.

UAV Video of the Week

Top 10 Waterfalls of Iceland (DJI Phantom 2 and GoPro HERO3+)

UAV235 The Cora Electric Air Taxi

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Testing the Cora electric air taxi in New Zealand, drone research at Ford, package delivery in the UK and in the U.S., UAS traffic management in Switzerland and in the U.S.

The Cora electric air taxi in-flight in New Zealand. Credit: Richard Lord, via Kitty Hawk.

UAV News

Larry Page’s Flying Taxis, Now Exiting Stealth Mode

The Kitty Hawk company calls Cora “your first step towards everyday flight.” Financed by Google co-founder and Alphabet CEO Larry Page, Kitty Hawk’s operator in New Zealand Zephyr Airworks has been testing an electric, self-piloting flying taxi. The plan is for a commercial network of flying taxis in New Zealand in as soon as three years.

New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern said the decision to work with Kitty Hawk was “about sending the message to the world that our doors are open for people with great ideas who want to turn them into reality.” She added, “We’ve got an ambitious target in New Zealand of being net carbon zero by 2050,” and given that the Kitty Hawk vehicle is fully electric, “exciting projects like this are part of how we make that happen.”

Meet Cora

Why a Car Company Is Looking to the Skies: A Glimpse into Ford’s Drone Research

Ford was “…intrigued by the relationship between our vehicles and drones and how we might serve our customers in the future, so we embarked on a mission to find out more.” Ford participated in the FAA Unmanned Aircraft Systems Symposium and they say they are the only automaker on the FAA’s Aviation Rulemaking Committee.

Ford has recommended a way to identify and track drones during flight. The idea is to use the drones anti-collision lights to broadcast the 10-digit registration code as an ASCII-encoded binary signal. The lights would be interpreted by a camera-based software app. See the whitepaper titled, “A Zero-Cost Solution for Remote Identification and Tracking of sUAS in Low Altitude Flights.” [PDF]

The U.K. Might Rid Itself of Beyond Visual Line-of-Sight Drone Regulations

The National Air Traffic Control Service (NATS) in the U.K. intends to eliminate the beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) regulations that are holding up package delivery by drone. Deliveries in the UK could begin as early as next year.

Drone Deliveries Really Are Coming Soon, Officials Say

Under the Trump administration’s “Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration Pilot program,” 149 companies have filed applications with the FAA to provide package delivery by drone. At least 10 of them should get approval in May. According to The Wall Street Journal, a senior FAA air-traffic control official at the symposium, Jay Merkle, stated that companies like Amazon “think they might be ready to operate this summer.”

Skyguide & AirMap Join Forces to Develop Europe’s First National Drone Traffic Management System

Skyguide and AirMap have partnered to develop and deploy the first national drone traffic management system in Europe. Skyguide is a Swiss air navigation service provider and AirMap provides an airspace management platform for drones. Powered by the AirMap UTM platform, U-space provides dynamic geofencing, instant digital airspace authorization, and solutions for situational awareness. senseFly is the manufacturing partner.

Amazon, Boeing, GE and Google to develop private Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM) system

Amazon, Boeing, GE, and Google announced that they are developing a private Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM) system for drones. Testing in conjunction with NASA is supposed to start in the next three months.

UAV223 UAV Traffic Management in New Zealand

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Airways and AirMap partner on a three-month trial of a UAV traffic management (UTM) platform, NTSB issues Aviation Incident Final Report on drone collision with a helicopter, Singapore tests drone strikes on test dummies, recreational drone registration is signed into law, and using drones for law enforcement.

Airways and AirMap partner to provide UAV air traffic management in New Zealand.

UAV News

New Zealand to trial drone traffic management system

Airways is New Zealand’s air navigation service provider. They deliver air navigation and air traffic management consultancy and training services throughout New Zealand and in over 65 countries. Airways has now partnered with AirMap to conduct a three-month trial of New Zealand’s first UAV traffic management (UTM) platform. The trial is taking place in the Canterbury and Queenstown regions. Drone users can use AirMap’s free iOS and Android apps to obtain approvals, file flight plans, and access real-time information about other aircraft in the area.

Airways NZ AirMap trial

NTSB Aviation Incident Final Report on collision between Blackhawk helicopter and DJI Phantom

On September 21, 2017, a Sikorsky UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter operated by the U.S. Army collided with a privately owned and operated DJI Phantom 4 at about 300 feet MSL. The helicopter received minor damage while the Phantom was destroyed. The NTSB determined the probable cause(s) of this incident to be: “The failure of the sUAS pilot to see and avoid the helicopter due to his intentional flight beyond visual line of sight. Contributing to the incident was the sUAS pilot’s incomplete knowledge of the regulations and safe operating practices.”

More Than 600 Drones Were Crashed in the Name of UAV Safety Research

In order to better understand the injuries that could occur in a drone collision, Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University (NTU) Air Traffic Management Research Institute, crashed over 600 drones into dummy heads to gather as much data as possible. They found that a small 250 gram drone could kill a person.

NTU researchers test damage from drones on dummy heads

Turns out, you’re going to have to register your small drones with the U.S. government after all

On December 12, 2017, President Trump signed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018 into law. The FAA rules for drone registration and marking for small unmanned aircraft that were vacated by the court will be restored to effect.

Taking to the Air: Drones and Law Enforcement

Law enforcement agencies in Delaware are utilizing drones for a variety of purposes. Dover, Wilmington, and Ocean View agencies are using drones. So are the Delaware State Police, the Delaware Emergency Management Agency, and the state fire service. The drones are being used to monitor crowds during public events, survey homeless camps, monitor rallys and public exhibitions at schools, for aerial photography of crash scenes, to support court cases, and searching for suspects.

UAV207 Drone Racing with the Pro Aerial League

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A new drone racing league takes shape, an unmanned aircraft vehicle traffic management system is planned for Kansas, Northrop Grumman’s MQ-25 drone tanker testbed was spotted, a Phantom landed on an aircraft carrier, DJI responds to issues over data transmission, and drones assist in a rescue mission.

The RIOT 250R for the PAL drone racing league.

The RIOT 250R Pro racing drone. Courtesy Thrust-UAV.

UAV News

Professional drone racers start new league with six teams and big inaugural event in Everett arena

The Pro Aerial League (PAL) is a new drone racing organization that will feature indoor spectator events with six teams, each with six pilots. Pilots will race RIOT 250R Pro racing drones from Thrust-UAV through multiple types of challenges in order to determine the best team in terms of speed, skill, and strategy. The inaugural event is August 19, 2017, at the Xfinity Arena in Everett, Washington.

Riot 250R Pro by Thrust UAV Commercial

https://youtu.be/w02xX81DQTI

AirMap Takes Flight with Kansas

AirMap announced a partnership with the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) to deploy the AirMap platform across the state. Their goal is “to open more airspace for drone operations, support Kansas’ growing community of drone operators, and ensure that the skies are safer for all.” The AirMap platform will be available to Kansas airports, state colleges and universities, and government agencies.

AirMap is one of the 12 companies assembled by the FAA for LAANC, the Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability, providing automated notification for flight in U.S. controlled airspace. A list of the initial 50 airports is available in Coming This Fall: Automated Airspace Authorization at U.S. Airports.

Northrop Grumman MQ-25 Drone Tanker Testbed Emerges At Plant 42 In California

Development contracts were previously awarded to Boeing, Lockheed Martin, General Atomics, and Northrop Grumman for the U.S. Navy’s MQ-25 Stingray drone. The MQ-25 Stingray is a carrier-launched tanker designed to extend the combat range of carrier aircraft. Aviation Week is now showing a low-quality photograph of what it says is Northrop Grumman’s modified X-47B flying test bed as part of its MQ-25 bid.

A drone landed on Britain’s biggest warship and nobody cared

A “Black Isle Images” photographer landed a DJI Phantom on the HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier. The landing was unintentional and the Phantom landed itself after sensing high winds. The photographer presented himself to the armed guards, but “no one seemed too concerned.” He also gave the authorities his phone number, but nobody called.

DJI Develops Option For Pilots To Fly Without Internet Data Transfer

DJI announced on August 14, 2017, that it is “developing a new local data mode that stops internet traffic to and from its flight control apps, in order to provide enhanced data privacy assurances for sensitive government and enterprise customers.” In local data mode, DJI apps will stop sending or receiving any data over the internet. That includes relevant local maps and geofencing data, the latest software updates, correct radio frequency and power requirements, and newly-issued flight restrictions.

First drone-assisted rescue in Southside a high-flying success

A logger on the Dan River in Virginia was pinned down by a tree. As the Danville Life Saving Crew traveled to the location, they created a plan that included using their drones. Just last month, they had received training to become certified drone operators, and on arrival at the scene, the drones were deployed to assist in making the operation safer. Danville Life Saving Crew assistant director Bryan Fox said, “We were able to navigate the boats around some circumstances in the water, some debris, rock formations, that [the rescuers] didn’t see from the boat as they were trying to navigate.”

UAV Video of the Week

On Sunday, July 2, 2017, a drone was spotted on the approach path to Gatwick Airport. This is the disruption it caused.

Gatwick drone incident – 2 July

UAV206 DJI and Data Security

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DJI drones come under attack for data transmissions, the U.S. Army responds, military installations get approval to take down drones, a Navy fighter is forced to take evasive action, automated approval to fly in airport airspace, and thrust-assisted perching.

Phantom 4 Advanced, courtesy DJI.

UAV News

Drone Data Security

sUAS News describes the data they say is collected during the flight of a DJI drone, logged into your DJI Go app, and transmitted back to DJI Servers.

US Army calls for units to discontinue use of DJI equipment

The U.S. Department of the Army issued a “Memorandum for Record” directing military installations to “Cease all use, uninstall all DJI applications, remove all batteries/storage media from devices, and secure equipment for follow on direction.” This is in reaction to U.S. Army Research Lab and U.S. Navy studies that concluded there are operational risks associated with DJI equipment.

A government study found DJI drone, banned by US Army, kept data safe

In October 2016, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) tested a DJI DJI S-1000 using a packet sniffer to monitor transmissions between the drone and the computer. NOAA’s report states that “The majority of transactions to the DJI servers were to login to DJI servers hosted at both Amazon Web Services and Linode to check for software updates. These transactions are quite common for software of this type, and nothing unusual was detected during the experiment.” Further, “There was no evidence whatsoever of any attempt by any software to transfer any data from the aircraft.”

However, one of the authors of the NOAA study observed a different result when he tested personal Phantom 3. The Phantom was sending encrypted data back to DJI servers.

New policy: Military bases can shoot down trespassing drones

In July, a classified policy was sent to the services from the Pentagon. More recently unclassified guidance was sent concerning how to communicate the new policy to local communities. Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt. Jeff Davis said military installations “retain the right of self-defense when it comes to UAVs or drones operating over [them.] The new guidance does afford of the ability to take action to stop these threats and that includes disabling, destroying and tracking.”

Iranian drone forces US jet to take evasive action

A Navy F/A-18 had to make an evasive maneuver while trying to land on the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf. An Iranian QOM-1 drone came within 100 feet below the F/A-18 and 200 feet to the side.

50 Airports Across the U.S. to Adopt Automated Airspace Authorizations for Drones

The FAA Unmanned Aircraft System Traffic Management (UTM) page says, “The FAA is currently in acquisition for the first step of a UTM system, the Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability (LAANC), which supports air traffic control authorization requirements for UAS operations conducted under the Special Rule for Model Aircraft (part 101e) and the Small UAS Rule (part 107). The current airport notification and airspace authorization processes are manual for the small UAS. LAANC will provide part 101 & 107 UAS operators a streamlined solution to enable real time automated notification and authorization.”

Now fifty airports will start using LAANC in Autumn 2017. UAS operators will be able to apply for automated authorizations to fly in controlled airspace around those airports.

UAV Video of the Week

Innovative Vertical-Landing Drone Can Stick to Walls Like a Fly

Researchers at the University of Sherbrooke in Quebec, Canada have developed the fixed-wing Multimodal Autonomous Drone (S-MAD) that is capable of repeated perching and take-off cycles.

The S-MAD: A Drone Landing on Walls Like a Bird

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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.

UAV197 NASA UAS Traffic Management (UTM) System Tests

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NASA UAS Traffic Management system testing at the UAS test sites, Arizona law enforcement uses a drone to find a missing man, a drone company becomes a drone data company, DARPA studies mid-flight multitasking for small drones, a University of Calgary study of drone incidents, and fuel cells for drones.

The Kespry fully autonomous aerial intelligence system. Image courtesy Kespry.

UAV News

NIAS and NASA test the Next Phase of NASA’s UAS Traffic Management System

Tests for NASA’s Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Traffic Management (UTM) system are being conducted at the six UAS test sites in the “Technology Capability Level 2 (TCL2) National Campaign.” The first tests were held at the Nevada Institute for Autonomous Systems.

NCSO uses UAV to find missing man

After receiving a call about a man who was missing in the woods, the Navajo County Sheriff’s Office in Arizona deployed their drone for the search. The disoriented man was found in about 45 minutes.

Transforming a Drone Company into a Data Company

Kespry says they are “focused on making it easy to capture, process, use and share high-resolution information from the field.” They offer “a fully autonomous aerial intelligence system” that tries to eliminate the need to integrate multiple systems from multiple vendors. In effect, their complete drone solution makes them more of a data company than a drone company.”

DARPA program to allow for mid-flight multitasking drone missions

A small UAS can often carry only one payload due to power, weight, and size constraints. Under the CONverged Collaborative Elements for RF Task Operations (CONCERTO) program, DARPA is looking at multiple payloads that share common RF components. BAE Systems has been awarded $5.4 million in contracts to help develop technology that allows operating modes to switch mid-flight. See the video: CONCERTO Concept of Operations

Close encounters of the drone kind becoming more common, U of C study says.

A new University of Calgary study finds there are more drones in the air than manned aircraft. There were 355 drone incidents reported in Canadian airspace between November 2005 and December 2016, and 22% of them involved close encounters between drones and piloted aircraft. Most incidents involve non-licensed operators.

Will Hydrogen Fuel Cells Help Drones Stay in the Air?

Three options today for increasing electric UAV time-in-the-air are tethered devices, solar power, and in-the-field rapid battery replacements. However, fuel cell power systems are gathering steam and two private companies are innovating and offering products: Protonex, based in Massachusetts, is focused on Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) technology for small, light UAV applications; China-based MMC is currently manufacturing and distributing two models of fuel cells.

UAV Videos of the Week

‪Playing Pong with Drones

3DR Interns Ian McNanie and Josh Jacobs have programmed a group of drones to play a game of pong in the air. One base station communicates with the swarm of drones.

Brad Byrd – Highest Mountain

The Highest Mountain music video from singer/songwriter Brad Byrd was shot and directed by Dylan Kussman (Dead Poets Society, Jack Reacher, X-men) using DJI Zenmuse X5 video drones.

Mentioned

Nova Systems Completes Multi-drone UTM Trial

Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) Traffic Management (UTM) system trials are taking place in Australia. The trial that Nova Systems participated in explored different Remotely Piloted Aircraft types and sizes, payload capabilities (including live payload distribution over an LTE network), the effectiveness of each UTM (some of which relied upon the LTE network), control of drones over the LTE network, and a new approach to range safety.

Drone Problems

A humorous cartoon from XKCD about drone operators who seem to crash a lot.

UAV180 UAS Traffic Management Concepts

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Concepts for UAS traffic management (UTM) in urban areas, calls for a UTM system in Australia, Flirtey raises capital, a Great Sand Dunes National Park mapping project, and visualizing the airflow around a quadcopter.

UAS Traffic Management (UTM) concepts, courtesy AIAA

UAV News

Deciding Rules Of The Road For Urban UAS

If large numbers of drones are ever to provide delivery services in urban areas, UAS traffic management rules need to be created to safely manage the flow. From the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics’ 2017 AIAA SciTech Forum in Grapevine, Texas, we learn about some of the concepts that NASA’s Ames Research Center is looking at for UAS traffic management in urban areas.

There are three basic concepts:

Sky-lanes: Vehicles must follow the centerline of each lane, and fly in one direction.
Sky-tubes: Vehicles move inside each tube, and fly only in one direction.
Sky-corridors: Vehicles can fly in any direction, but the vehicles themselves must maintain safe separation.

Time to Build an Australian National Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM) System

The Association of Certified UAV Operators (ACUO) wants the Federal Government to “launch a program to design, develop and implement a continent-wide unmanned traffic management (UTM) system as the only viable means of achieving the safe integration of remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS)… into national airspace.”

ACUO and others wanted the Senate to disallow the recent CASA drone regulations, and ACUO has presented a proposal: ACUO submission to the Senate Standing Committee on Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport [PDF].

ACUO has three major concerns:

How comprehensive was the risk assessment and safety case used by CASA as a basis for creating the concept of “Excluded RPA?”
What is the likely impact of the removal of training and certification for operators of “Excluded RPAS?”
What is the capacity and integrity of CASA’s own mechanisms and systems for ensuring compliance with the deregulated system.

Drone delivery startup Flirtey raises $16 million to become a next-gen UPS

Flirtey wants to be the world’s premier independent drone delivery service. Now the company has raised $16 million in Series A funding. Crunchbase Pro reports that 95 drone companies raised at least $500,000 in equity funding in 2016. The average funding was $6.8 million. Total invested was $482.8 million.

UAS Colorado Joins Wohnrade Civil Engineers for Great Sand Dunes National Park Mapping Project

A Swift Trainer fixed-wing UAS from Black Swift Technologies was used to map a portion of the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve in Colorado. The project used precision mapping with high-fidelity remote sensors to measure and monitor the dunes. Participating in the project were UAS Colorado (a non-profit business league), Black Swift Technologies, the National Park Service (NPS), and Wohnrade Civil Engineers, Inc. They plan to take the data they captured and compare it to airborne LiDAR data from the United States Geological Survey.

UAV Video of the Week

Watch Air Swirl Around a Quadcopter Drone’s Rotors

This visualization of the airflow around a DJI Phantom 3 demonstrates areas of low pressure, areas of high pressure, and disturbed air. To create the animation, a NASA aerospace engineer and a scientific visualization specialist ran a simulation on 1,024 cores of NASA’s Pleiades supercomputer. It took five days to compute. The results offer design implications for UAV efficiency and noise.

UAV144 UAS Traffic Management (UTM) Research Platform

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A milestone for the UTM research platform, controlling drones with brain waves, FAA approval for night flying, rules for sUAS get one step closer, more from the Drone Dealer Expo, and a Flirtey goes into the Smithsonian.

Flirtey founder and CEO Matthew Sweeny

News

NASA Marks Success for Most Complex Drone Traffic Management Test Yet at FAA Test Sites

A three-hour field test of NASA’s UAS Traffic Management (UTM) research platform included 24 drones flying in all six FAA UAS test sites. Operators planned operations, entered flight plans, and used a variety of aircraft and software. Up to 22 drones were operated simultaneously. The UTM research platform checked for conflicts, approved or rejected the flight plans, and notified users of constraints. This Technical Capability Level One test addressed rural UAS operations within line-of-sight.

University of Florida held the world’s first brain-controlled drone race

Sixteen pilots at the University of Florida used a brain-computer interface (BCI) to control DJI Phantoms down a 10-yard course. Each pilot was calibrated with electroencephalogram headsets measuring neuron activity, which was then bound to the controller for flight.

Nocturnal UAV ops approved

Tremco Roofing and Building Maintenance has become the first commercial drone operator to be granted approval by the FAA to conduct UAV operations at night. Tremco plans to inspect buildings at night for energy leaks, rooftop damage, deteriorating façades, safety issues, etc. In partnership with Toronto-based Industrial SkyWorks, they’ve developed the SkyBEAM (Building Envelope Aerial Mapping) UAV using an Aeryon Skyranger quadcopter with HD video and infrared cameras.

Big News: Small UAS Rule at OIRA for Final Review

Law firm Hogan Lovells reports that “the FAA has sent the Small UAS NPRM to the White House for a final interagency review.” The Operation and Certification of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) rule must go through a review process at the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) at the White House. OIRA received the FAA’s Small UAS rule on April 20, 2016. Their review period averages 53 days.

Interview with Drone Nerds from Drone Dealer Expo

Continuing with Tim Trott’s interviews recorded at Drone Dealer Expo, we bring you his conversation with Lance Knowles from Drone Nerds, Incorporated, a distributor for brands like DJI and Monster X heavylift craft for commercial applications. Tim and Lance talk about the impact of regulations, the responsibilities of drone manufacturers and dealers, knowledge exams and check rides for drone operators, and measuring commercial drone operator proficiency.

Mentioned

The Flirtey drone used to make the first FAA-approved delivery in the U.S. has been accepted into the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum.

The Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum’s Innovations in Flight Family Day and Outdoor Aviation Display on Saturday, June 18, 2016, at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia. See recreational and home-built aircraft as well as classic automobiles. Enjoy presentations, demonstrations, special tours, and hands-on activities for all ages.