DJI Hires David Hansell To Expand Drone Policy Advocacy
DJI, the world’s leader in civilian drones and aerial imaging technology, has hired aviation policy expert David Hansell as Public Policy Manager, helping guide the development of drone laws and regulations to ensure they help America take full advantage of the benefits of drones.
“Drones have opened up the skies for businesses, governments, nonprofits, academics and everyone who enjoys seeing the world from above, and the people who use drones regularly understand the importance of a strong regulatory system to support their work,” Hansell said. “I’m excited that my experience in addressing security concerns, integrating drones into the airspace and explaining drone technology will allow me to advocate for laws and regulations that will allow America to get the most from drone technology.” Read More
A ‘super cell tower’ in the stratosphere: AeroVironment and SoftBank’s 5G vision
Drone maker AeroVironment, Inc. is making its way into what many see as the next frontier in connectivity: 5G.
In a joint venture with tech-forward Japanese conglomerate SoftBank Corp., AeroVironment plans to “pursue the business of 5G and IoT” — the internet of things — “globally,” AeroVironment President and CEO Wahid Nawabi told CNBC on Thursday. Read More
The Global Counter-Drone Market is Forecast to Grow at a 2018-2023 CAGR of 37.2%
WASHINGTON, Sept. 11, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — According to a new market research report “Counter-Drone Market & Technologies – 2018-2023”, published by Homeland Security Research Corp., the potential threat posed by drones is now apparent and tangible. Counter-drone or anti-drone technologies, also known as counter-UAS, C-UAS, or counter-UAV, are systems that are used to detect and/or intercept unmanned aircrafts. The systems can be ground-based, hand-held or UAV-based. The threats mainly consist of mid-air collisions of drones flying in the vicinity of airplanes, bases or large public spaces, the smuggling of contrabands, weaponized drones, reconnaissance and intelligence gathering, loitering munitions (“suicide drones”) and electronic snooping. Read More
“Live” Shapeshifting Canopy Uses Drones to Keep Guests in the Shade
A string of interesting research projects have shown us how drones might one day be used to not just construct elements of our environment, but keep things just the way we like them. A new system from the University of Stuttgart explores how these flying robots can give rise to a novel form of intelligent architecture, demonstrated through an adaptive canopy that changes its configuration as the sun moves through the sky. Read More
China’s Lost Drones are Infiltrating America
Drones are a very popular “new toy” for many in the United States. They are used by both hobbyists as well as professionals across a myriad of industries to accomplish many tasks from aerial and building photography to pipeline inspections, facilities surveillance and security.
They are already being weaponized and have been used by terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq since 2016. It was documented back in 2016 that 32 different types of drones manufactured in six different countries were being used on Middle East battlefields. Read More
UK Architect Designing London’s First Drone Ports
“I can see it being absolutely commonplace,” said Duncan Walker, managing director of Skyports, in a conversation with Dezeen Magazine. “Just as we were designing bike parking spaces into buildings five years ago, I can see drone ports becoming standard in buildings.”
Walker has reason to be confident – his company just purchased the rights to build drone ports on 15 London rooftops and plans to scale up to at least 80 rooftops in the next year and a half. Skyports’ plan is to build landing and recharging pads for drones (or, as they call them, “vertiports”) to support a growing infrastructure of unmanned aerial vehicles used for transportation and delivery services.
Though it may sound like a sci-fi novel, the technology is actually already in use in major Switzerland cities including Lucerne, Lugano, and Bern. It’s well-known that Switzerland wants to become a global leader in this technology, and the country sees about 500 drone flights a month, mostly to carry medical supplies between laboratories and hospitals. Finland, Dubai, China, and the United States also either have or are developing vertiport technology – in Dubai’s case, to support the passenger-carrying “drone taxis” that they hope to have by the year 2020. Read More
DHS Calls for Action After Explosive Drone Incident in Venezuela
On Saturday, consumer unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) carrying explosives were deployed over a rally in Caracas, Venezuela, during a speech by the country’s president, Nicolas Maduro, leading the U.S. government to reiterate its concern about the dangers posed by weaponized drones. According to the alleged assassination attempt involved a pair of DJI M600 UAVs, which were equipped with C4 explosives that detonated and injured several military officers. Maduro was not injured. Read More
DroneDek: The ‘Mailbox on Steroids’
DroneDek says it has been awarded a U.S. patent for what it describes as “last-mile drone delivery.” The company claims that it will “disrupt the parcel, package and mail delivery industry by leveraging several patent claims…that combine to make it a ‘mailbox on steroids.’” DroneDek aims to solve drone delivery by offering ultimate convenience. Shipping and receiving with DroneDek are made easy through its intuitive app. Users will receive alerts when their packages ship or arrive. Users will also be notified of what item has arrived and from whom. A heated and cooled cargo area will pave the way for pharmaceutical, food and beverage delivery. DroneDek will operate off of solar or a 110 V power supply, feature a heated door to operate in any climate and host a charging station for delivery drones.Read More
FAA Announces More UAS Flight Restrictions Over DoD Sites
In cooperation with U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is establishing additional restrictions on drone flights up to 400 feet within the lateral boundaries of the following federal facilities, all located near St. Louis: National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) West; NGA Next West; and NGA Arnold. At the request of its federal security partners, the FAA is using its existing authority under Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations § 99.7 – “Special Security Instructions” – to address concerns about drone operations over national security-sensitive facilities by establishing temporary flight restrictions specific to unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). Read More
Drone Industry Responds to Draft Tort Law on ‘Aerial Trespass’
The Uniform Law Commission (ULC) recently came up with a draft law relating to “aerial trespass” by low-altitude unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and the need for additional regulation beyond Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) laws. According to ULC, its draft “Tort Law Relating To Drones Act claims that “existing law will fail to protect landowners and will fail to clearly define what conduct by drone operators is and is not acceptable.” ULC, as defined, is a nonprofit, state-supported association made up of lawyers tasked with creating “nonpartisan, well-conceived and well-drafted legislation that brings clarity and stability to critical areas of state statutory law.” Read More
Insitu ScanEagle UAS Helps Fight Oregon Wildfires
Insitu, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Boeing Co., has been helping first responders fight Oregon wildfires with the use of the company’s ScanEagle unmanned aircraft system (UAS). Comprising aviation professionals, Insitu’s Mobile Response Team has been operating the drone to supplement manned aviation firefighting teams. All ScanEagle UAS flights have been coordinated with the Oregon Department of Forestry, the Federal Aviation Administration and the U.S. Department of the Interior. Read More
San Diego Fire Dept. Teams with Cape for IPP Drone Deployment
As part of the federal Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Integration Pilot Program (IPP), Cape, a cloud platform for drone telepresence and data management, has partnered with the City of San Diego to launch a drone initiative for the San Diego Fire Department. The partners held a live public safety demonstration at San Diego Fire Station #37 on Friday, Aug. 10. Working alongside the San Diego Fire Department, drones equipped with the Cape Aerial Telepresence platform were launched as part of a fire call simulation. Read More
DOI: Drone Disruptions at Wildfires Down 25% From 2017
The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) is reporting significantly fewer incidents of drone disruptions at wildland firefighting. According to an Aug. 3 update from the agency, as of July 27, there have been 18 drone incursions, representing a decrease of 25% from the same time last year. Furthermore, in all of 2017, the DOI counted 14% fewer incursions than in 2016. The agency explains that unauthorized drones at wildfires can force firefighting aircraft to be grounded. Read More
Feds Green-Light Echodyne’s Detect-and-Avoid Radar for UAS
Echodyne has Federal Communications Commission (FCC) certification for its EchoFlight, a detect-and-avoid radar for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). Previously available only for experimental purposes, the airborne radar is designed for integration into a wide variety of UAS platforms. For those seeking authorization to operate drones beyond the visual line of sight, for example, the EchoFlight radar can increase mission safety, the company says. Read More
Large UAS Flying Beyond Line of Sight at North Dakota’s Grand Sky
Large unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) have begun flying beyond the visual line of sight (BVLOS) of the operator at Grand Sky, a commercial UAS-focused research and development park in North Dakota. At an event held on Monday, Heather Wilson, secretary of the U.S. Air Force, recognized the collaborative relationship between the U.S. Air Force, Grand Forks County, Grand Sky Development Co., the Northern Plains UAS Test Site and others that made federal approval of BVLOS flights at Grand Sky possible. Read More