sUAS News

Israeli Drone in a box startup Airobotics who have raised US$108.1 funding over 5 rounds appear to be in a bit of a pickle. A darling of UAM proponents Airobotics may be a victim of moving too soon. Regulations hamper true rollout of a fully autonomous set and forget system. I was directed to look […]

ideaForge Technology Pvt. Ltd. and Aaronia AG (Germany) announced a strategic partnership to integrate their solutions to provide end users with a complete and unique intrusion monitoring solution that can track dynamic threats, in the air or on the ground through both operating and monitoring drones via an integrated control center. By integrating ideaForge drones […]

MADISON, AL – GeoCue Group introduces their new hardware as a service (HaaS) Evergreen Subscription for their True View UAV LIDAR/Imagery Fusion Sensors to the drone industry. GeoCue Group has introduced a unique business model that provides customers access to the True View 410 LIDAR/dual camera imaging sensor under an “Evergreen” subscription pricing model. A […]

Blue Bear’s Blackstart drone completes first ADS-B equipped flights in the National BVLOS Experimental Corridor (NBEC). The Blackstart drone took off from Blue Bear’s flight test facility and successfully covered a 6km (EVLOS) round trip flight along the NBEC whilst broadcasting its position over ADS-B. The signal from the small, lightweight ADS-B transponder was picked up by a number of third […]

Washington: The Eno Center for Transportation, a non-profit charitable foundation, is asking the UAS industry for data to help them in developing recommendations to improve how UAS systems are integrated into the NAS. From now until October 18, 2019, Eno is conducting a survey of operators asking them details of their experience applying for waivers under Part […]

Yuneec and Leica Camera AG announced the beginning of a strategic partnership today. The first result of this collaboration was presented today in the form of the Typhoon H3 with ION L1 Pro camera. It is a drone equipped with a high-end 1″ sensor camera that was specially developed for sophisticated aerial photography and, thanks […]

KOREC is delighted to announce that the Drone Pilot Academy, our training partners in the provision of flight training and Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) accredited pilot training courses, have successfully launched their Operational Safety Case consultancy service to assist KOREC senseFly eBee users to attain EVLOS (Extended Visual Line of Sight) approval. A UK eBee user has already […]

The African Drone Forum, or ADF2020, has scaled up and moved to Rwanda, scheduled to take place from 5-7 February 2020. Why the change, you ask? Tanzania set the pace in 2018 with Africa’s first-ever historic gathering of drone advocates, and we thank them for their commitment for year zero and now as they pass […]

New Disaster Relief Program Will Provide Emergency Responders With DJI Drone Technology And Training DJI, the world’s leader in civilian drones and aerial imaging technology, today unveiled a new Disaster Relief Program to support first responders in the United States with access to DJI’s industry-leading drone technology, for response and recovery efforts during and after major disasters such […]

FreeRail Project – Automated recording of vegetation near the tracks and of storm damage along the Deutsche Bahn network with autonomously operated drones (Trinity) The “FreeRail” project, which has been running since September 2019, will be funded under the Modernitätsfond (“mFUND“) funding directive with a total of EUR 2.82 million from 1 September 2019, 67% […]

Former Intel Business Operations Manager to drive creation and expansion of Aurora Technology Arts’s new drone light show business unit. Aurora Technology Arts (ATA) is proud to announce Krešimir Dulić as CCO (Chief Customer Officer) and CTO (Chief Technology Officer) for their new drone light show business unit. With more than seven years of experience and deep knowledge […]

DJI, the world’s leader in civilian drones and aerial imaging technology, is setting a new standard for easy-to-use agricultural drone applications with P4 Multispectral, the world’s first fully integrated multispectral imaging drone designed for precision agriculture and environmental management. P4 Multispectral combines data from six separate sensors to measure the health of crops, from individual […]

Revolutionary FLIR MUVE C360 Drone-Mounted Gas Monitor Provides Faster, Safer Way to Remotely Sense Gas and Chemical Incidents ARLINGTON, Va., September 24, 2019 ― FLIR Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: FLIR) today announced the FLIR MUVE™ C360, the industry’s first multi-gas detector specifically built for unmanned aerial systems (UAS). The MUVE C360 will transform how emergency response teams approach chemical, industrial, or […]

Washington, D.C. – (September 24, 2019) – Measure is pleased to announce that the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) has approved the use of Measure Ground Control™, a drone program management platform, for LAPD’s Small Unmanned Aerial System (sUAS) Program. The LAPD will use the software to provide flight control, management, and oversight including detailed […]

UAV Turbines, Inc., a pioneer of microturbine technology, today announced the inaugural flight of its Monarch 5 engine, a first-of-its-kind microturbine propulsion system, at Griffiss International Airport. This new turboprop technology is engineered to provide mid-sized commercial and military unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) with a reliable, efficient, safe, heavy-fuel propulsion system. The Monarch 5 is […]

Research explores landscape and perspectives surrounding use of Chinese sUAS by America’s First Responders MIAMI, FL – As a bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers seeks to ban Chinese drone purchases by federal agencies, new research from DRONERESPONDERS – the world’s leading non-profit organization supporting public safety UAS – examines the perspectives of America’s first responders operating […]

Company has pioneered faster radio frequency technology to take down dangerous drones El Segundo, CA (September 24, 2019) — Epirus, the only U.S. company developing software-defined electromagnetic pulse (EMP) technology designed to take down dangerous drones, recently won a new type of Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract from the U.S. Air Force’s Space and Missile […]

Former Intel Exec to Drive Continued Expansion of Enterprise Visual Data Management Solutions; Makes Delair ‘Debut’ at Upcoming AirWorks Conference TOULOUSE, France – September 23, 2019 – Delair, a leading provider of visual data management solutions for enterprises, today announced the appointment of Baptiste Tripard to the position of Vice President, Global Business Development. The […]

Ben Marcus It’s been roughly 4 years since AirMap was founded with the mission of enabling more drones to operate more flights and deliver more benefits to society. Since then, we’ve made tremendous progress in extending digital, mobile, and automated technologies for both airspace authorities and drone operators in order to safely integrate drones into […]

How many times have we heard that the FAA needs/wants data, and every time the data comes from sources not on the payroll, it appears to contradict the urgency, money, and manpower necessary to stretch the NAS-integration dying show out for almost 30 years. Some light housekeeping and supporting information: The maps referenced in this […]

The UAV Challenge Technical Committee has now completed its reviews of the Deliverable 1 documents from teams that have entered the UAV Challenge Medical Rescue event that will be held in 2020. After some clarifications from some teams, 47 teams have been given a Go decision and progress to the next stage. Those teams have […]

The Department of Special Training of the Police Academy in Katowice, Poland, organised a seminar on: The use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) in the Police and the way police officers deal with UAV operators who violate legal regulations. This seminar was attended by more officers from the Police Headquarters, Warsaw Police, and others from […]

The large-scale collaborative project, which is both a UK-first and a designated Government Drone Pathfinder Project, is celebrating the successful completion of the first stage of beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) flight trials in segregated airspace. Conducted by Wiltshire based aviation specialists, Callen-Lenz, the completion of the trials (which covered an unprecedented total distance of 688km BVLOS over a combined 640 minutes), mark a […]

MMC UAV launched its brand new hydrone H that features a record-breaking 15-hour flight time on September 17th in Germany during the InterGEO 2019, the world’s largest conference and trade fair for geodesy, geoinformation and land management. It is a hydrogen-powered vertical take-off and landing drone with an integrated design. MMC-developed hydrogen fuel battery shows […]

Drone management platform SOARIZON by Thales has today announced that it has integrated with the location phenomenon what3words. Users of the platform, which is free to use, can search for a three-word address anywhere in the world when planning their drone flights. What is what3words? What3words is a really simple way to talk about location. […]

The FAA and several industrial partners have successfully concluded real-world testing of unmanned traffic management systems for integrating drones into airspace in the USA. “The Eldorado and Piute Valley has been the home of innovation in UAS airspace for commercial BVLOS operations. We started the nation’s first commercial droneport in 2015 and expanded our testing […]

Using the Wingcopter 178 Heavy Lift (HL) RPAS drone, both missions were to conduct aerial surveys of whales in Arctic waters. BVLOS permits are issue by Transport Canada and are rare and only issued to experienced RPAS companies. Arctic UAV’s chairperson & CEO Kirt Ejesiak says ‘We want to thank the leadership at Transport Canada […]

Link in the app makes reporting ‘just culture’ incidents easy London, UK; Altitude Angel, the world’s leading UTM (unmanned traffic management) technology provider, has today announced it has now incorporated the Incident Reporting service, as reported in its recent Just Culture initiative, in to all its apps and services. Launched earlier this month, the ‘just culture’ initiative […]

The African Drone Forum (ADF) explores the potential of unlocking Africa’s lower skies as a mobility resource. Envisioned to be the first event of its kind in Africa, it focuses on emerging transport technologies that can leapfrog the continent’s infrastructure deficit and address its public health and mobility challenges with a visionary, safe and scalable […]

Terra Drone group company participated in a mock oil spill response exercise to showcase the benefits of using drones over conventional methods Terra Drone Angola, a group company of the world’s leading provider of industrial drone solutions Terra Drone Corporation, has successfully demonstrated at an offshore oil field in Angola how drones can be used as […]

The DRONERESPONDERS Public Safety Alliance, the world’s fastest growing non-profit program supporting public safety UAS, today announced the creation of the DRONERESPONDERS International Advisory Council (DIAC) to serve the rapidly expanding constituency of international members joining the DRONERESPONDERS movement. DRONERESPONDERS Director Charles Werner announced the formation of DIAC while speaking to an audience of international […]

Internal combustion engines continue to be commonly used for powering unmanned vehicles, and in particular UAVs. In order to allow the autopilot (and by extension the operator) to control such an engine it is vital to ensure correct communications between the autopilot and the Engine Control Unit (ECU). The ECU not only provides throttle control, […]

U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL), Rick Scott (R-FL), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Josh Hawley (R-MO), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) introduced the American Security Drone Act of 2019, which would prohibit the U.S. government from procuring drones manufactured by covered foreign entities identified as national security threats, such as China. “American taxpayer dollars should not […]

RAF Brize Norton recently hosted a stakeholder meeting at which its latest and near-final design for a larger area of controlled airspace surrounding the airfield was described in detail (see image). The GA Alliance (GAA) including the BGA was represented at the meeting alongside others from the GA community. The revised design replaces previously proposed […]

Drone threats, including the attack on Saudi Arabia’s oil assets this weekend, have escalated at unprecedented speed and global scale. The United States Air Force (USAF) has tapped into commercial innovation from Citadel Defense Company to protect warfighters and high-value assets from drone threats. The U.S. Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security extensively validated Citadel’s counter-drone technology […]

This Monday, 16th of September 2019, INVOLI successfully showcased drones’ remote ID capabilities on its platform during a joint demonstration which took place in Bern, in an effort driven by some members of the Swiss U-Space Implementation (SUSI): ANRA, Orbitalize, skyguide and Wing. Known in the USA as “UTM” or “Unmanned Traffic Management”, the U-Space […]

Datumate, leading provider of construction data analytics and drone-based photogrammetry solutions, today announced the release of DatuBIM™ version 2.0, a platform for efficient, comprehensive and timely project execution management. The latest version boosts automation benefits to existing and new partners and customers, many of them being design partners of newly introduced capabilities. DatuBIM™ 2.0 serves the entire […]

DroneDeploy, the leading enterprise-grade drone software solution, today announced the agenda for its DroneDeploy Conference 2019, which brings together experts from agriculture, cybersecurity, mining, oil & gas, search and rescue, transportation, UAV, and more to discuss the future of drones and drone solutions. The fourth annual two-day conference takes place from October 16 to 17 at Bespoke San Francisco. […]

The Alliance Drone Team, one of the UK’s largest police unmanned aviation systems (UAS) programs, has been able to expand and effectively manage operations covering almost 5,000 square miles, thanks to Centrik. The operational management system – the only one of its type approved by Regulators to manage both manned and unmanned operations – has […]

senseFly, the global leader in-fixed wing drones, is excited to announce its status as a Trimble Select Partner. With this new partnership, agriculture professionals in North America and Europe get direct access to senseFly’s platform of drones through Trimble’s trusted distribution network. “We’re pleased to be chosen as a Trimble Select Partner,” said Gilles Labossière, senseFly CEO. “senseFly is […]

2019 is coming to a close, and the commercial drone industry is facing a lot of hard questions in the regulation and technology department. Hear the latest current goings-on and predictions for the next 6 to 18 months regarding UAS NAS integration, RID, UAM, UTM, C-UAS, BVLOS, and more. For some, this has become a […]

MADISON, AL – GeoCue Group will present a True View Demonstration Day in Davis, California with the partnership of California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection and California Department of Transportation on October 3, 2019. This demonstration will consist of an onsite flight of GeoCue’s True View 410 sensor mounted on the DJI M600. The demonstration flight […]

Plan offers unlimited use of the delair.ai cloud platform for maps and 3D models, collaboration, data storage, photogrammetry, and manual analysis at a fixed low monthly rate. Delair, a leading provider of visual data management solutions for enterprises, today announced its unlimited photogrammetry plan, available through its cloud-based delair.ai visual intelligence platform. The flexible plan […]

DJI, the world’s leader in civilian drones and aerial imaging technology, is introducing a series of product updates that streamline existing surveying operations. With enhanced data accuracy and simplified workflows, DJI continues to expand the capabilities of its product portfolio to better support the commercial drone industry. “The product improvements we are introducing at InterGeo […]

German-based Quantum-Systems GmbH released the enhanced version of the Trinity F9, the Trinity F90+ at the Intergeo today. With a flight time of 90+ minutes combined with long-range telemetry solution of up to 7.5 km and PPK capabilities for more accuracy. Comprehensive and state-of-the-art features are available on both sides, hardware and software. Increased flight […]

UAVs, or drones, are an emerging technology for high-resolution aerial mapping and provide a powerful new tool for agriculture, forestry, and environmental monitoring throughout the growing season. However, accurate vegetation mapping can require more advanced skills, such as the use of multispectral cameras, the need to cover larger areas with fixed wings, and image processing […]

Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: IRDM) today announced that it has been awarded a $738.5 million, seven-year, fixed-price contract with the United States Department of Defense through the U.S. Air Force Space Command (AFSpC) to provide unlimited satellite services from its unique Low Earth Orbit (LEO) constellation. Through what is known as the AFSpC’s Enhanced Mobile […]

Organization announces expansion plans at INTERGEO, the world’s premier geospatial event Lausanne, Switzerland – September 17, 2019 – Picterra, a geospatial software organization that enables users to extract satellite and drone imaging insights through a combination of artificial intelligence and human expertise, today announced $3.3 million in new funding that will help further democratize geospatial […]

Everyone included in the 54,978 as of 9/1/17 (besides the Part 61 wildcard, aka data collection shortcoming) would have needed to take the recurrent knowledge test to be current. As of 9/9/19, only 14,219 RPC holders have taken the test, so 40,759 are not legally in a position to operate sUAS for commercial purposes. Down […]

Saudi Aramco continues to respond to drone attacks to their facilities. In May 2019, a drone attack occurred on the country’s main cross-country oil pipeline. As a precautionary measure, the organization, temporarily shut down the pipeline and contained the fire which caused minor damage to a pump station. However, the issue of unauthorized drones in their airspace persisted and escalated. […]