Recent drone news and a few predictions for the unmanned aircraft industry in 2019.

UAV NewsNYC police to use camera drones for security at Times Square NYE party

What’s the best anti-drone technology? Rain, it turns out. The New York Police Department had planned to utilize drones with cameras for the Times Square New Year’s Eve party, but inclement weather prevented their use.

Drones likely to be regulated by state, city governments in 2019

With Gatwick and the Aeromexico 737 incident, safety is on people’s minds. State and local governments are likely to continue to legislate drone rules that address safety and privacy.

Gatwick Cops: Some of Those Drones Could’ve Been Ours

The Sussex Police department’s chief constable says some of drone sightings might have been police surveillance drones. However, 92 of the 115 reported sightings have been confirmed.

Gatwick drones: Army withdrawn from airport

The Ministry of Defence has confirmed that the “military capability” has been withdrawn from Gatwick. That capability is believed to include the Israeli-developed Drone Dome system. Also, Gatwick said it had spent £5m to prevent future attacks.

‘Just look at Gatwick’: Drone regulations welcomed, but WA Senator calls for ‘deeper’ focus

A bipartisan Senate inquiry into drone safety regulations reported out in July 2018, but the Australian federal government didn’t respond. Until now.

Severn Bridge shuts after man scales tower to fly a drone

On Dec 31, 2018, the M48 motorway crossing the Severn River between England and Wales was closed for a time until the drone operator came off the tower. He was arrested and is out on bail.

Camera drones to hunt killer sharks in new patrols on Australian beaches

A fleet of drones will monitor 50 beaches along a 1,300-mile coastline for sharks. The drones will use “SharkSpotter” software developed by the University of Technology Sydney. From the Press Release:

In a collaboration with industry partner The Ripper Group, SharkSpotter is a world-first software system that allows for faster reaction times to potential shark threats. Westpac Little Ripper has a suite of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVS, drones) created to react quickly and efficiently to situations at sea where lives are at risk. The drones are loaded with the SharkSpotter AI application which can efficiently distinguish and identify sharks in real-time using image processing techniques, state-of-the-art sensors and software.

Video: Little Ripper Lifesaver Drones Spot Sharks Electronically

See SharkAttackData.com for worldwide shark attack data.

Predictions for 2019

David and Max offer a few industry predictions for 2019.

Mentioned

The Lego Sky Police Drone Chase.

Counter UAS Conference 2019

The UAV Digest is pleased to be a media partner for Counter UAS Conference 2019 aimed at the defense industry and to be held April 16-88, 2019 at the Hilton London Kensington, 179-199 Holland Park Ave London W11 4UL, United Kingdom.

Counter UAS 2019 addresses the key questions being asked by joint forces about the nature of the growing UAS threat and the appropriate tactics, techniques, technologies, and procedures to counter it.

The UAS industry has grown considerably in recent years and our ability to counter these new threats is becoming more strained. These rapidly developing systems are becoming harder to identify and track, as well as being capable of carrying larger payloads. Their potential is devastating and the consequences of inaction are growing larger.

The third annual C-UAS Conference provides a platform for military and industry to discuss the current developments in C-UAS capabilities, emerging technologies, and the latest case studies to give a real-world context to the conceptual and theoretical discussions. The proliferation of inexpensive commercial UAS democratises capabilities previously held by militaries and enhances asymmetric threats.

Attend this conference to:

• Gain understanding of what the future C-UAS operating environment will look like and how to prepare your forces for it.
• Align your current plans for C-UAS capabilities with the latest solutions and recommendations from leading experts.
• Make the correct decisions in this rapidly changing space in order to equip your force by examining new concepts and approaches to emerging technologies.
• Acquire the knowledge of how to better protect your forces be they static, on the move, at home or abroad.
• Implement cost-effective solutions to defend against the increasing number of UAS threats by learning how to use the latest C-UAS technologies effectively.

Speakers:

• Lieutenant General Thomas Sharpy, Deputy Chief of Staff Capability Development, Allied Command Transformation, NATO.
• Dr. Juanita Christensen, Director, US Army Aviation and Missile Research, Development and Engineering Centre, US Army.
• Brigadier General Brian Gibson, Commandant, Air Defence Artillery School, US Army.
• Colonel Giles Malec, Commander Joint-GBAD, British Army.
• Colonel Cornelius Kliesing, Head of Capability, Situation, Analysis and Development Branch, German Army HQ.
• Colonel Claudio Icardi, Chief of Concept Development, Centre for Defence Innovation, Italian Armed Forces.
• Full speakers list can be found on the event website.