sUAS News

According to a U.S. Army memo obtained by sUAS News, the U.S. Army Research Lab and U.S. Navy have concluded that there are operational risks associated with DJI equipment, a move that was run up the flag pole last month but kept under wraps. Speaking to sUAS News via e-mail, DJI’s Public Relations Manager, Michael […]

Teledyne DALSA, a Teledyne Technologies company and global leader in image sensing technology, congratulates the University of Toronto Aerospace Team’s (UTAT) UAV and Aerial Robotics Divisions on their recent success at Unmanned Systems Canada’s national competition. Both teams were honored with awards for the design and performance of their custom-built unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) which […]

Measure, a U.S. provider of drone solutions for enterprise customers, today announced the expansion of its drone engineering and equipment sales capabilities with the acquisition of Pilatus Unmanned. Josh Kornoff, Pilatus Unmanned CEO and a pioneer in the commercial drone industry, will head Measure’s engineering team. The acquisition marks the latest chapter in Measure’s rapid […]

(Cape Town, South Africa) Aerial data-analytics specialist Aerobotics has secured a joint R8 million (8 million South African Rands) seed-funding round from 4Di, an independent early-stage technology venture-capital firm in Cape Town, and the Savannah Fund in Kenya. Aerobotics has developed data-analytics platform Aeroview, which uses satellites, drones and artificial intelligence to help farmers optimise […]

Drones have been flying over construction sites for years, but have often been regarded as toys or seen as useful for only specific scenarios with high-technology needs, or perhaps to market sites with video or photos. Pilot programs continue to spring up, and technology is being introduced internally at a small scale in many companies, […]

The ArduPilot project is pleased to announce the creation of a new initiative, “Open Solo”. This work is made possible by 3DR’s recent release of the SoloLink codebase to the Open Source community, and by the ever-ongoing work by the ArduPilot and Solo communities behind the scenes. 3DR’s press release is here: https://3dr.com/blog/announcing-opensolo The benefits […]

SkyLogic Research just released a new research report titled “Five Valuable Business Lessons Learned About Drones in Public Safety and First Responder Operations.” This is the fifth and final in a series of white papers intended to share lessons learned in specific industries and how to maximize the value drones can deliver in those industries. […]

Sheon Karol, a Managing Director of The DAK Group, has been selected by the UCC, in consultation with the Debtor (Lily Robotics, Inc.), as Trustee of the Drone LC Creditors’ Liquidating Trust. The Bankruptcy Court yesterday granted the motion of Lily Robotics, Inc. (the Debtor) for preliminary approval of the Disclosure Statement regarding its Plan […]

Farmers Insurance® today announced that it has enlisted a fleet of unmanned aerial aircraft systems (UAS) to enhance the claims experience for customers who have suffered significant damage to their roof following major weather events. After field tests to assess the most effective and customer-centric ways of leveraging drone technology with its existing claims operation, […]

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo last week announced that Gryphon Sensors, a SRC Inc. company based in Central New York, has developed a state-of-the-art mobile Unmanned Traffic Management system called Mobile Skylight. The development builds on the state’s investments in the region’s emerging Unmanned Aerial Systems industry. Last August, the Governor announced a $5 million commitment […]

JARUS is pleased to announce to the RPAS Community that the deliverable “JAR doc 06 on Specific Operations Risk Assessment (SORA)” is now available on the JARUS Website at http://jarus-rpas.org/publications. This document recommends a risk assessment methodology to establish a sufficient level of confidence that a specific operation can be conducted safely. Next to the […]

We’re looking for a sales engineer with a min of three years of sales experience. Must be very well spoken, technically minded with a passion to get things done in a fast moving, dynamic and competitive unmanned aviation industry. Salary negotiable depending on experience. Aviation or drone experience a plus. Please send CV and short […]

Recently there have been media reports of unauthorized flight control parameter modifications that enable DJI drones to circumvent built-in safety features, including geofencing restrictions. A recent firmware update issued for all DJI drones fixes reported issues and ensures DJI’s products continue to provide information and features supporting safe flight. DJI will continue to investigate additional […]

Insitu reached a milestone worth celebrating when the company’s unmanned platforms — ScanEagle, Integrator and RQ-21A Blackjack — hit a collective one million operational flight hours last week. This event represents the latest achievement in the company’s 23 years of professional aviation history. “Insitu’s path to one million operational flight hours has been navigated by […]

Today is a historic day for 3DR. We couldn’t be more thrilled to share not one, but two important milestones for Site Scan, which will transform how our customers use drones in their day-to-day work. First things first: we’re integrating our Site Scan software platform with DJI to make it compatible with their drones. This […]

Black Swift Technologies (BST), a specialized engineering firm based in Boulder, CO, announced today that their small Unmanned Aircraft System (sUAS), SuperSwiftTM, has been selected by The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as the sUAS Observation System (sUASOS) for wildfire measurements in support of NOAA’s FIREX field mission and their fire weather forecasting initiative. With […]

by Jim Crume P.L.S., M.S., CFedS We are coming upon the first year anniversary of the FAA Part 107 which was implemented in August of 2016. A lot has happened since that time for me. I have flown over 60 missions, mostly of which have been in the Phoenix Metro urban environment since August of last […]

An outdoor fly lab for testing autonomous aerial vehicles is coming to the University of Michigan’s College of Engineering this fall, adding to the university’s spate of advanced robotics facilities. M-Air will be a netted, four-story complex situated next to the site where the Ford Motor Company Robotics Building will open in late 2019. Construction […]

Atlas Dynamics (atlasdynamics.eu) announced today it has raised $8 million from private and institutional investors. Atlas will use the capital to advance the development of its Visual Line of Sight (VLOS) and Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) drone-based data solutions, and to build its presence in key markets, including North America. The company will […]

Volaero Drones, a Miami based Drone Tech Startup Company, has teamed up with Bill Booth Outdoors and Bruni Infrared. They have started a python tracking project in Everglades using drones and thermal technology. Utilizing advanced drone imagery to create solutions for the python problem in the Florida Everglades. “Volaero is excited to team up with […]

DJI, the world’s leader in civilian drones and aerial imaging technology, has announced that the RoboMaster 2017 competition finals will be live streamed exclusively on social video platform Twitch (except in China). RoboMaster 2017 is an annual robotics competition for teams of aspiring engineers to design and build next-generation robots and to complete with teams from around the […]

X-naut, developer of the “first to market” iPad overheating solution available- the Active Cooling Mount for iPads, has entered into the consumer and commercial Drone market with the launch of a new Drone Controller Bracket Compatible with DJI Phantom and Inspire Mobile Device Holders. “The Drone market is growing and certain business services require that […]

PhotoFlight Aerial Media’s UAV drone operation was featured during the Hansel & Gretel exhibit, curated at the Park Avenue Armory in New York City. Prize-winning architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron and artist/activist Ai Weiwei, leverage UAV technology to explore the meaning of public space in our surveillance-laden world, referencing the story of Hansel […]

A team of North Dakota State University students competed, for the first time in the university’s and state’s history, in the International Aerial Robotics Competition and won an award recognizing their technical design. The IARC is the world’s oldest aerial robotics competition for colleges and universities. NDSU’s team was recognized for excellence in the design […]

It has come to our attention that fraudulent emails, purporting to be from DJI, are directing recipients to purchase DJI shares via a NASDAQ Private Market Program. Please be advised that DJI is a private company and our shares are not available for sale on the public market. If you receive an email from ‘noreply-corpdev@dji.com‘ or […]

Paul Lindseth has had a lot to celebrate during his first year at the helm of UND’s John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences (JDOSAS). As dean, he’s seen the dedication of the state-of-the-art Robin Hall, a record number of student flight hours logged, and this week – another first. On July 21, the Aviation Accreditation […]

The Institute for Drone Technology and Macutex sign agreement to explore and advance drone technology use in property and facilities asset industry. The Institute for Drone Technology (IfDT) and Macutex have signed an agreement to advance the use of drone technology in major projects throughout Australia. This agreement will see enhanced integration of drone technology […]

Flight restrictions are in place until the 1st of August around the aircraft carrier George W Bush, that arrived yesterday in the Solent. So just beware if you are tempted to go and get some drone footage of it. If you want free access to accurate UK airspace data then I can’t recommend Altitude Angel […]

Petronas President and Group CEO, Datuk Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin, officially launched Sky-Futures Malaysia, the first Sky-Futures Franchise. The launch happened at the Oil & Gas Asia Exhibition at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre on July 12th 2017. The first franchisee is Essem Group of companies, who are regional operational integrity specialists in the South […]

Drone Manufacturers Alliance Europe (DMAE), the organization representing the manufacturers of the majority of civilian drones, calls on the United Kingdom Department for Transport (DfT) to release the full testing methodology and results of its Mid-Air Collision Study, in order to better understand how to mitigate the risks drones may pose to traditional aircraft. DfT released […]

On July 25, 2017, the Italian Civil Aviation Authority ENAC granted Ileron non-geographic authorization to undertake critical specialized operations, under VLOS conditions, using RPA with MTOM less than 25 kg. Non-geographic authorizations or permits to fly are concessions not related to a specific area of operations but to its feature in terms, for example, of […]

Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty SE (AGCS), the corporate insurance carrier of Allianz SE, is working with InsurTech startup Flock (www.flockcover.com) to develop digital insurance solutions for the growing drones or ‘Unmanned Aircraft Systems’ (UAS) market. The partnership’s first product, to be launched later this year in the UK market, is a mobile app (for […]

Aireon announced today that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Air Traffic Control the Netherlands (LVNL), the Dutch Air Navigation Service Provider (ANSP). LVNL operates the Amsterdam Flight Information Region (FIR), which extends above Dutch territory and a large part of the North Sea. LVNL will collaborate with Aireon to assess how space-based […]

With the “DFS-DrohnenApp”, German aviation authority DFS is launching a new app for hobby drones pilots that shows users where they can fly their drone at any time and any location in Germany. It also provides comprehensive information on the applicable rules, regulations and restrictions. The free app is available for both iOS and Android […]

Huntsville, AL – GeoCue Group Inc. (GeoCue) is excited to announce a new GNSS positioning system that will allow users of DJI Phantom 4 Pros and Inspire 2 drones (as well as most drones using higher end cameras) to achieve survey-level accuracy with a minimum of ground control. Loki, our new direct geopositioning system for […]

While we may all be fascinated by the latest actuator or gimbal, the Connected Drone Application Movement (CDAM), which pertains to applications that can remotely and/or autonomously interact with and/or power single or multiple UAVs. An example of a CDAM application could be a drone fleet management application. Such an application could interact with the […]

FlyLogix, who specialise in long range operations to offshore installations with drones, is pleased to announce that is has conducted the farthest, beyond line of sight, civilian drone flight in UK. The flight, conducted on 17th July, saw Flylogix’s Condor Drone complete an inspection of the DP3 unmanned platform on behalf of oil and gas […]

FlytBase, are on a mission to empower drone developers and help them accelerate development of drone applications. Over last few months, we have introduced a suite of products, including, FlytOS, FlytSIM, web/mobile SDKs, FlytBase Cloud, FlytConsole. We have been working hard to improve the user experience to further simplify the drone application development process. Releasing the Internet of Drones platform is […]

Aerotenna is proud to announce its OcPoC™ with Xilinx Zynq® Mini flight controller now fully supports the PX4 autopilot. Being one of the smartest, most powerful and versatile flight controllers on the market, OcPoC has driven many revolutionary drone applications, agriculture dust spray, long haul transportation, and more. The support for both AMP and PX4 […]

The last few years have been amazing for the forward progression of military, commercial and recreational drone use. Improvements in battery technology have led to longer flight times, VR goggle technology has led to better precision flying with more detailed survey abilities and Vision Positioning has allowed for more controlled hovering flight. Along with these […]

Icaros Inc., a leading provider of aerial imaging software, is pleased to announce that version 5.1 of OneButton™ Standard and Professional image processing software for unmanned aerial systems (drones) contains advanced algorithms to process Thermal IR images from Radiometric microbolometer sensors. Icaros’ OneButton family for drone image processing, lets end users easily and automatically generate […]

To celebrate their 10 year anniversary Fruity Chutes has decided to pin down where their 3000 customers have come from. This October marks Fruity Chutes 10th year as the leading UAS parachute recovery manufacturer. When CEO, Gene Engelgau and his wife, Paula, crafted the first parachutes in 2007 their intention was to provide high quality recovery […]

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVAV), a global leader in unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) for both military and commercial applications, today participated in a signing ceremony here for the formal execution of contracts (first announced June 1, 2017) to deliver Wasp® AE unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) to the Australian Defence Force (ADF) over a three-year period commencing July 1, 2018. […]

In many regions of Norway, access to power lines is difficult, so helicopters are often deployed to inspect the grid. But power utilities are increasingly becoming aware of the potential of drone-based inspections as a cost-effective and powerful method of obtaining data about the condition of the grid – especially when the software to store, […]

UK Air Comms was formed by drone and rigging specialists, who deliver drone survey projects for various blue-chip organisations. With projects delivered for EE, MBNL and Arqiva, health and safety and risk management are a high priority when carrying out close proximity inspections and low altitude site surveys. With over 700 surveys carried out in […]

Cleveron has made commercial drone delivery a new reality by offering the customers an opportunity to order cold drinks delivered by drones at a public beach in Viljandi. Never before has drone delivery been that fast as Cleveron promises to fulfil orders in less than five minutes. This drone delivery service demonstrates the future of […]

Founded in 1901 the British Standards Institute has been putting down its mark for some time now. They are turning their focus to Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA). You have until August the 10th to add your thoughts. They don’t ask for much but in light of recent UK Government talks of mandatory registration, I think […]

The Department for Transport (DfT) has now published the outcome of their consultation on the safe use of drones in the UK. The document can be viewed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/631638/unlocking-the-uks-high-tech-economy-consultation-on-the-safe-use-of-drones-in-the-uk-government-response.pdf The document has evidently caused some concern within the model flying community and has set some ‘hares running’. As such, I thought that it would be useful […]

In a sign of the maturation and professionalism of the sUAS industry Australian UAV (AUAV) has been shortlisted into the finals of the Victorian Telstra Business Awards, the most prestigious business awards in Australia. Established in Melbourne in early 2013 with two of the first Sensefly eBees to arrive in Australia, the service business has had […]

In a region most known for endless kilometers of olive trees, UAV technology took a big step forward this June. Working together in the advanced ATLAS Flight Test Center, three industry leaders, Alpha Unmanned Systems, Sky Sapience and Sightec stabilized without gimbal and only with software a real-time video with extraordinary precision. Vibrations make video imagery hard […]