UAV News Talk – Drone News, eVTOLs, UAS Policy & Air Mobility

The Commercial Drone Alliance seeks to repeal Section 336, the FAA Reauthorization ACT of 2018 is introduced, Apple might not like drone flights over its new corporate headquarters, Temple University students build an autonomous drone for campus tours, and the DARPA Gremlins drone swarm program.

UAV NewsCommercial Drone Alliance Calls for Section 336 Repeal: ‘Times Have Changed’

The FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 prohibits the FAA from regulating model aircraft flown as part of a community-based organization. The Commercial Drone Alliance wants Congress to repeal Section 336 of the Act because all drones need “rules of the road.” Lisa Ellman, co-executive director of the Commercial Drone Alliance says the alliance “understand[s] why model aircraft proponents want to remain exempt, as they have been flying safely for decades. However, times have changed, and hobbyists are no longer flying alone.” Gretchen West, co-executive director of the Alliance, says, “Technology has improved. To promote innovation and the budding commercial drone industry, we need to enable the FAA to craft some common-sense rules around remote identification and more.”

FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, Sec. 336 (in part):

(a) …the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration may not promulgate any rule or regulation regarding a model aircraft, or an aircraft being developed as a model aircraft, if–

(1) the aircraft is flown strictly for hobby or recreational use;

(2) the aircraft is operated in accordance with a community-based set of safety guidelines and within the programming of a nationwide community-based organization;

(3) the aircraft is limited to not more than 55 pounds unless otherwise certified through a design, construction, inspection, flight test, and operational safety program administered by a community-based organization;

(4) the aircraft is operated in a manner that does not interfere with and gives way to any manned aircraft; and

(5) when flown within 5 miles of an airport, the operator of the aircraft provides the airport operator and the airport air traffic control tower …with prior notice of the operation…

(b) Statutory Construction.–Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the authority of the Administrator to pursue enforcement action against persons operating model aircraft who endanger the safety of the national airspace system.

(c) Model Aircraft Defined.–In this section, the term “model

aircraft” means an unmanned aircraft that is–

(1) capable of sustained flight in the atmosphere;

(2) flown within visual line of sight of the person operating the aircraft; and

(3) flown for hobby or recreational purposes.

Brief Summary of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018

Rupprecht Law provides a good summary of the drone-related items in the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 introduced on April 13, 2018, by Representative Shuster. The Act addresses the roles different government levels, user fees, unmanned air traffic management, recreational and commercial drones, registration, and other topics.

Petesch: Drone regulations make investments difficult

Missouri State prohibits the use of UAS systems on campus without specific permission from the university.

Drone Videographer Duncan Sinfield: ‘Only a Matter of Time’ Until Apple Park Shuts Down Drone Flights

Duncan Sinfield uses a drone to creates videos of Apple Park. He thinks “it’s only a matter of time until the campus becomes shut-off to drones completely… with a geo-fence, or something similar.”

APPLE PARK: A Very Private Corporate Campus | mid-April 2018

Video: APPLE PARK: mid-April 2018 | A Very Private Corporate Campus

Students make drone for campus tours

A group of senior electrical engineering majors from Temple University are building an autonomous drone for their senior design project. The drone would give self-guided tours of the campus to prospective students. The team is utilizing two types of machine learning: a convolutional neural network and imitation learning.

DARPA Will Reel-In Its Gremlins Drones and Pluck Them Out Of The Sky Like Flying Fish

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is proceeding to the third phase of its Gremlins drone swarm program. Dynetics has been awarded a contract for the system which envisions a C-130 Hercules aircraft towing a docking system behind it that the unmanned Gremlins can latch onto for retrieval. Ground and limited flight tests will begin in 2018, and flight tests of the system should be completed by January 2020.

UAV Video of the WeekTop 5 Drone Fails

Operators of recreational drones flying for commercial purposes, upset Google employees, arrests for illegal anti-drone systems, drone technology and the travel industry, UAS ID and tracking proposals, a business competition winner, mapping with a LIDAR-equipped drone, and an outdoor drone testing facility that is really indoors.

UAV NewsNBAA Warns of Commercial UAS Violations

In UAS Operators Must Understand What Commercial Use Entails, the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) expresses concern about “the unwelcome matter of recreational operators flying drones for compensation.” The organization is worried that some drone operators don’t understand what “commercial use” means.

3100 Google employees protest company’s involvement in Pentagon drone project

Google has been working with the United States Department of Defense under Project Maven, which applies machine-learning and AI to weapon systems. Google algorithms would analyze drone footage and identify objects. Some Google employees feel this violates the Google “don’t be evil” motto.

Swiss engineer arrested for illegal anti-drone system sales

Rome, Italy financial crime police arrested a Swiss engineer and an Italian entrepreneur for selling anti-drone systems. The systems can allegedly detect, track, and neutralize UAVs by jamming the communication signal as well as the global satellite navigation system.

Drones, phones changing way vacationers plan their trips

At the annual National Association of Broadcasters show (NAB), travel marketing experts envision the use of drones and VR technology to impact the $1 trillion travel industry.

FAA’s ARC Submits Recommendations On UAS ID and Tracking, Despite Lack of Consensus

While the UAS Identification and Tracking Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC) lacked complete consensus in the recommendations they sent to the FAA, some options were provided for UAS ID and tracking requirements. Reviews at the Department of Transportation and the Office of Management and Budget are pending.

Drone maker Fotokite wins $1 million Genius NY competition

Swiss-based Fotokite won the grand prize in the Genius NY business competition. Their fully autonomous tethered drone can stay aloft almost indefinitely. Applications include firefighting, law enforcement, broadcasting, and sports events.

MentionedLIDAR map for fully self-driving cars

Toll-road operator EastLink used a LIDAR-equipped drone to create a map of the inside of the Mullum Mullum tunnel. Future self-driving cars will require this detailed data.

Drone captures 3D LIDAR data for fully self-driving car trials in EastLink tunnel

University of Michigan opens up its M-Air UAV testing facility to students

The University of Michigan has opened the M-Air outdoor drone testing facility. Students and companies can use the five-story, 80 by 120 foot netted enclosure to test experimental algorithms and aircraft.

Ella Atkins | Drone Policy or Not? Data Crunch Podcast

Deep research into niche artificial intelligence and machine learning industries.

The UL 3030 certification standard for small commercial drones that use lithium-ion batteries.

UL is a global safety consulting and certification company that was established in 1894. Previously a non-profit organization known as Underwriters Laboratories, the company transformed in 2012 into UL LLC, a for-profit company. UL has been developing a new certification called UL 3030 to help prevent safety incidents involving lithium-ion batteries in drones.

We talk with two UL experts about the development of UL 3030 and what it means for the industry. We consider the safety issues with lithium-ion batteries in drones, the current state of the drone and lithium-ion battery markets, and how manufacturers can help mitigate the risks.

Guests

Ken Boyce is Principal Engineer Director, Energy & Power Technologies at UL LLC. Ken has decades of experience in safety engineering across many sectors. Most recently he has served as UL’s technical leader for the energy and power sectors, overseeing global standards development and technical operations for renewable energy technologies, batteries and energy storage systems, advanced technology grid infrastructure, electric vehicle systems, power distribution, factory automation, and related equipment. Ken is very active in the standards and code development community and serves as the Chairman of National Electrical Code Panel 1. He represents UL in numerous global energy initiatives such as the IEC Renewable Energy Scheme and serves as the Chairman of UL’s Renewable Energy Council. He works closely with US National Laboratories and academic institutions to advance scientific knowledge in the energy sector, including leading a number of significant renewable energy research projects. Ken holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology and is a Registered Professional Engineer in Illinois. Ken is a Corporate Fellow in the William Henry Merrill Society at UL.

eIbrahim Jilani is a UL Business Development Manager with over 12 years of experience running high-value projects in battery and energy storage technology. He leads UL globally in technical services for OEMs and system integrators for stationary battery and energy storage systems. Ibrahim serves UL’s mission and the market’s needs by addressing global industry matters, such as advisory, due diligence, evaluation, testing, and certification. He represents UL in a variety of industry trade groups (i.e. Energy Storage Association, National Alliance for Advanced Transportation Batteries, and India Energy Storage Association) and product segments, including batteries, chargers, and energy storage. Previously, Ibrahim launched and supported accreditation of UL’s safety standards – most notably UL 9540 for Energy Storage Systems & Equipment, which is now adopted as the United States’ and Canada’s national standard for ESS safety. He has also been a certified as a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt since 2009 and holds a Master’s Degree in Computer Engineering from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

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.

UAV NewsSkunk 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

Video: 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 WeekTop 10 Waterfalls of Iceland (DJI Phantom 2 and GoPro HERO3+)

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

Picking up objects with a folding arm drone, a drone that protects dropped objects with an airbag, a large air freight drone, training drone photographers and videographers, a first night flight for the NTSB, a general aviation company partners with an unmanned company, and an autonomous vehicle accident.

UAV NewsThis Drone Has Retracting Arms that Allow it to Pick Up Objects

South Korean scientists have created a drone with folding arms that can pick up objects. They are calling it an “origami-robot” because it uses the origami principle of perpendicular folding. A collection of rigid rectangular boxes and elastic bands allows the arm with a gripper to extend from 40 millimeters collapsed to 70 centimeters fully extended. This is described in the in the Science Robotics journal article, An origami-inspired, self-locking robotic arm that can be folded flat.

Amazon receives patent to literally ‘drop’ packages from a drone on your doorstep or patio

Amazon received U.S. Patent 9,914,539 for an “Airlift package protection airbag,” or APP. The concept is for a drone to drop an airbag-protected package from some height. The Amazon drone would have cameras to verify that the drop-zone is clear. The patent also describes a package that travels “partially horizontally” to land on “an elevated balcony of a tall building.”

This Leviathan Could Disrupt Unmanned Global Air Freight: Natilus CEO Aleksey Matyushev

Natilus is the California company that wants to reduce global air freight costs by 50% through the use of large autonomous drones. Company CEO Aleksey Matyushev says the prototype was completed in December 2017 and low-speed taxi tests were conducted in February 2018. Modifications to the prototype are now being made and medium speed taxi testing should begin at the end of March 2018.

3rd Rock Air Announces Drone Training in Tampa, Fl

Tampa, Florida-based 3rd Rock Air announced a new drone photography/videography course to address a basic lack of understanding of camera controls. Students can bring their personal drone to the class and be taught how to use the camera controls on their specific model. The company provides drone training for both commercial users and hobbyists.

NTSB Deploys Drone at Night

Bill English is the senior NTSB investigator who developed the agency’s drone procedures for accident investigations. Contemplating the use of drones in investigations of aircraft crashes, the NTSB received a waiver from the FAA to fly night. However, the first night opportunity presented itself when a bus carrying a high school band veered off the road into a ravine at night. In that accident, the bus driver was killed. The NTSB used a DJI Phantom 4 Pro at night to try and capture what the bus driver would have seen.

Aspen Teams with Drone Company

Aspen Avionics and drone maker Sensurion Aerospace are partnering to develop avionics for autonomous air taxis and other unmanned aircraft. Aspen offers glass panels that fit in general aviation airplanes. Sensurion provides drone-based data collection services and has developed their own unmanned platforms.

Uber self-driving car kills pedestrian in first fatal autonomous crash

A woman walking her bicycle across a street in Arizona was struck and killed by a self-driving Uber Volvo being operated by an Uber test driver. Uber said it has stopped testing the vehicles throughout the United States and Canada.

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.

UAV NewsLarry 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

Video: 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.

Observations from the FAA’s 3rd annual UAS Symposium.

2018 FAA UAS Symposium

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) co-sponsored the FAA’s 3rd annual Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Symposium on March 6-8, 2018, at the Baltimore Convention Center. David attended the event and he gives us his observations.

Remote identification of unmanned aircraft was viewed as a key enabler to the goal of BVLOS (beyond visual line of sight) flight. A consensus is building that remote identification is necessary for drones flying below 400 feet, as well as for those flying above.

FAA Symposium: Drones Seeing “Massive Adoption,” Safety Concerns are a Primary Issue

FAA Acting Administrator Dan Elwell said, “If you want to fly in the system, you have to be identifiable, and you have to follow the rules.” The rules would need to apply to hobbyist aircraft as well, because “one malicious act could put a hard stop on all the hard work we’ve done on drone integration.”

U.S. officials pushing for drone identification requirement, new powers for Homeland Security and JusticeWhat’s Next: Whose Drone Is That?

Angela Stubblefield, the FAA’s deputy associate administrator for security and hazardous materials safety said: “Anonymous operations in the system aren’t consistent with moving forward with integration and expansion of operations.”

Brendan Schulman, vice president of policy and legal affairs at DJI noted, “The FAA is not going to create future rules for expanded operation of drones until the remote identification framework is in place.”

FAA Announces Real-Time Airspace Authorizations at 500 Airports, Starting April 30

FAA Acting Administrator Dan Elwell announced that Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability (LAANC) will be expanded to 500 airports beginning April 30, 2018. LAANC provides real-time airspace authorizations through an FAA UAS Data Exchange.

When Is LAANC Going Live in My Area?

The airports will be added in six waves across U.S. regions. Skyward provides a list of the impacted facilities. Currently, there are four LAANC providers: AirMap, Project Wing, Rockwell Collins, and Skyward. Beginning April 16, 2018, the FAA will also consider LAANC service agreements with others.

Drone legislation priorities for 2018, UAVs and university research, Piaggio’s latest P.1HH HammerHead, unmanned vehicles from Turkey, the drones made by DJI, drone applications in Maine, and hydrogen fuel cells for drones.

UAV NewsCommercial Drone Alliance: Legislative Priorities for 2018

Founded in 2016, the Commercial Drone Alliance is an independent non-profit organization led by members of the commercial drone industry. They “…advocate for the commercial use of drones by reducing barriers… creating value for commercial enterprise end users to facilitate adoption of drone technology… [and] educate on the benefits of drone technology for various end user communities.”

The Alliance has eight drone legislation priorities [PDF] they feel the U.S. Congress should support in the FAA Reauthorization bill or other relevant legislation:

1. Eliminate (or at the very least amend) the Section 336 hobbyist loophole, which endangers the safety and security of the airspace and slows innovation.
2. Require the FAA to require remote identification for all drones over 250 grams, including hobbyist drones.
3. Direct the FAA to swiftly implement a rule authorizing low-risk operations over people.
4. Direct the FAA to allow safe operations beyond visual line of sight in a timely way.
5. Direct the FAA to streamline and improve the operation waiver process.
6. Direct the FAA to implement a “Trusted Operator” program that establishes streamlined permitting and operational procedures for authorized commercial UAS operations.
7. State the sense of Congress supporting the industry-driven Unmanned Aircraft Traffic Management (UTM) System and its timely implementation.
8. Ensure that UAS programs, and relevant agency offices, are adequately funded and staffed to accomplish these priorities and support existing programs in a timely way.

Additionally, the Alliance wants Congress to pass appropriately-tailored UAS threat mitigation legislation as part of an FAA/DOD/DHS reauthorization, and design certain tax incentives.

UAV-ersity Research: The Soaring Rise of UAV’s and University Research

Researchers have found that UAVs represent a new tool for professional data collection applications. Plus, university-level unmanned aerial vehicle programs are widely available. Mike Hogan, Microdrones’ Sales Director for the Americas, recommends that a basic needs analysis is performed to understand what the researcher’s goal is, what data they are trying to collect, and how they are going to apply it.

P.1HH HammerHead Unmanned Aerial System to enter in service with UAE armed forces

Piaggio Aerospace showed its latest P.1HH HammerHead at the International Unmanned Systems Exhibition in Abu Dhabi. The HammerHead is derived from the P.180 Avanti II commercial aircraft, and is designed for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions. The UAV can be fitted with communications intelligence (COMINT), electronics intelligence (ELINT) and signals intelligence (SIGINT). According to the Defense Industry Daily website, Piaggio has eight orders to be delivered to the UAE from 2018, is an expression of interest from the Italian military.

Turkey May Try to Build an Unmanned Tank

Turkey has been building unmanned aircraft for some time, but now Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan says, “We will carry it a step further [after domestically produced unmanned aerial vehicles] . . . We should reach the ability to produce unmanned tanks as well. We will do it.”

All 39 DJI drones ever made!

According to We Talk UAV, DJI has made 39 different drones since the company started in 2006, and they have a video illustrating the different models of the Wind series, Flame Wheel series, Phantoms, Mavics, Inspires, the Spark, Agras series, Matrice series, and the Spreading Wing series.

DJI has made 39 drones already!!

Video: DJI has made 39 drones already!!

Drones that reconstruct accidents, monitor crops could put 800 Mainers to work

Drone use by first responders and others is increasing across the country. The State of Maine provides some good examples of the value they can add, including the creation of new jobs.

HES Energy Systems Announces Smallest and Lightest Hydrogen Fuel Cell For Drone Applications

Hydrogen fuel cells offer the prospect of longer flight times, with a Wh/kg energy density 2 to 5 times higher than lithium batteries Singapore-based HES Energy Systems announced they now manufacture the world’s smallest and lightest hydrogen fuel cell for drones. With previous applications for the defense industry, HES is now deploying their technology for commercial applications. Their Aeropack Series is intended for drone manufacturers to integrate into their products. The Aerostak series is available for more advanced applications.

UAV Video of the Week

Drone vs Piper Cub, via Dave Homewood on the Flight – Audio & Video Facebook page.

Mentioned

David will be attending the 3rd annual FAA Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Symposium at the Baltimore Convention Center March 6th and March 7th, 2018. The event is cosponsored by the FAA and the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI). He hopes to see you there!

A call for regulation of recreational drones, the accuracy of wildlife counts, a flying display device, the MQ-1 Predator retirement, using drones for automated inspection, and a Phantom may have caused a helicopter to go down.

UAV NewsAirline Groups Call on US Congress to Regulate Drones

Three groups want Congress to modify Section 336 of the 2012 FAA Modernization and Reform Act that restricts the FAA from applying any rules or regulations to the operation of recreational drones or unmanned aircraft systems used as a hobby. The Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA), Airlines for America (A4A), and the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) sent a letter [PDF] to Congress stating, in part:

“We strongly urge you to remove legislative restrictions that have been placed on the FAA that limit its safety oversight of UAS. The likelihood that a drone will collide with an airline aircraft is increasing. By providing the FAA with the full authority to regulate all UAS operations, the safety of passenger and cargo flights will be protected.”

Should recreational drones be regulated as commercial drones are? Send your thoughts to us at [email protected].

Why Drones Are Counting Thousands of Decoy Ducks

How accurate are counts of wildlife, and can drones do a better job than people? Researchers at the University of Adelaide’s Environment Institute and School of Biological Sciences wanted to find out. They conducted an experiment and found “Overall, the drone’s counts were much more precise than the ground counts.”

Samsung Just Patented Display Drones Controlled by Your Eyes, Face and Hand Gestures

The United States Patent and Trademark Office granted Flying Display Device, U.S. Patent 9,891,885 to Samsung. It would consist of a quadcopter with a camera, a display, GPS, a “WiFi-based positioning system,” and voice-recognition. It’s a flying screen that reacts to you and presents information on the screen.

Air Force announces official retirement date for iconic MQ-1 Predator drone

On March 9, 2018, the Air Force will retire the General Atomics MQ-1 Predator and instead use MQ-9 Reapers for combat missions.

V-Cube Robotics Begins Offering SOLAR CHECK, a Solar Power Plant Inspection Package Service

V-cube Robotics will begin offering a solar power plant inspection package called Solar Check. Drones fly autonomously over a predetermined flight path and inspect the solar panels with infrared thermography cameras. The images are uploaded to the cloud and analyzed for discrepancies. Inspection time is drastically reduced and inspection accuracy is higher.

Report: Helicopter crash on Daniel Island may have been caused by drone

A Robinson R22 helicopter on a training flight in South Carolina, encountered a DJI Phantom, and crashed after attempting to take evasive action. The FAA is investigating.

UAV Video of the WeekWatch a Drone Crash Into Apple’s New Headquarters

A drone crashed into Apple Park. The pilot got in touch with another drone operator for help in finding it. The crash and the subsequent search were recorded.

Drone Crash at Apple Park Caught on Camera

Video: Drone Crash at Apple Park Caught on Camera

Mentioned A Message From APSA Regarding The New CAPS/COA Process

The changing landscape for drone services, drone swarms for urban tactics, a simulated drone attack in Idaho, European airport operators embrace the value of drones but look for protections, MIT develops a mapping system for drone navigation, the Department of the Interior uses UAVs with great results, and Intel at the Olympics.

UAV NewsHere’s Why The Drone Services Industry is in Trouble

In the “old” days, the Section 333 process was long and difficult. The hardware was tricky to operate and getting data from the drone was not easy. So companies used drone service providers to accomplish the desired missions. Now, a Part 107 is easy and cheap to obtain, flying drones is easier, and data from the drone is not as difficult to acquire. This means companies can create their own in-house drone capability.

PrecisionHawk Acquires Droners.io and AirVid to Launch the Nation’s Largest Network of Commercially Licensed Drone Pilots

PrecisionHawk has acquired Droners.io and AirVid to deliver on-demand, drone-based imagery to enterprise clients. The companies will merge and operate under the Droners.io name. Combined, they form a network of more than 15,000 commercially licensed drone pilots, which PrecisionHawk will use to service its enterprise customers in insurance, agriculture, energy, construction, and government. Part 107 certified pilots can join the network and start accepting jobs in their region by creating a profile at www.droners.io.

Participants wanted for UAV swarm-based tactics test bed

Northrop Grumman is the Phase 1 Swarm Systems Integrator for the DARPA OFFSET program (OFFensive Swarm-Enabled Tactics). The program “envisions future small-unit infantry forces using swarms comprising upwards of 250 small unmanned aircraft systems (UASs) and/or small unmanned ground systems (UGSs) to accomplish diverse missions in complex urban environments.” Northrop Grumman is about to launch its first open-architecture test bed and they are looking for participants to create and test their own swarm-based tactics on the platform.

Idaho Technology Company Black Sage Plans Drone Defense Demonstration at Idaho State Capitol

On February 21, 2018, Boise, Idaho-based Black Sage plans to demonstrate a drone defense system as they create a drone attack on the state capitol. Black Sage will create a virtual fence around the capitol, fly a swarm of drones directly into the protected area, and demonstrate the counter-UAS system to safely defeat the threat.

European airport operators call for adoption of drone rulebook

Airport Council International for Europe (ACI Europe) says safety issues involving drones and airports are increasing, and they want to see “an effective regulatory framework.” ACI Europe released the 6-page position paper on drone technology, ACI Europe Position on Drone Technology [PDF] in January. The paper recommends:

• Airport-specific protection policies, including standardized protected zones
• Technical systems to detect and neutralize drones
• Traffic management for drone operations at airports
• Readying the airport industry for future drone technology opportunities.

MIT teaches drones to fly with uncertainty

MIT researchers are developing the NanoMap system for drones. The system navigates a drone from point to point while avoiding random obstacles. Where other models have the drone map the environment, then fly through it, NanoMap creates maps on the fly.

Interior’s magic bullet: Drones that are DoD castoffs

The Department of Interior has a fleet of drones, many of which are hand-me-downs from the Department of Defense. Nevertheless, the drones are performing tasks that take one-seventh the time at one-tenth the cost, such as: land surveillance, wildlife monitoring, assistance with natural disasters, and dam inspections.

UAV Videos of the WeekHigh-tech drones steal the show at the Winter Olympics

Video: High-tech drones steal the show at the Winter Olympics

Intel | The Tech Behind a Record-breaking Drone Show at PyeongChang 2018MentionedQuestions remain after drone collides with helicopter on Kauai