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

We talk with MissionGO about the unique challenges of human organ delivery with UAS and the benefits to the medical community. MissionGo is developing their own aircraft that is specialized to the requirements of this medical cargo, and their team includes a diverse group of individuals with hardware, software, and even regulatory experience.

Frank Paskiewicz is Executive Vice President of Cargo Operations at MissionGO. He leads aircraft certification and manufacturing, FAA regulatory consulting services, UAS integration strategies, and air cargo operations. This includes running MissionGO’s cargo operations and supporting UAS client FAA certification programs. Frank also leads the development of products and services for MissionGO’s air cargo operations, including research studies, airspace analysis, and flight activities.

Ryan Henderson is Lead Pilot at MissionGo. His responsibilities include overseeing all flight operations, managing pilot and crew currency and qualifications, managing all SOP’s/Instructions, directing all Operation Readiness Reviews, curriculum creation and facilitation, and maintaining all UAS records. Ryan is an airspace analysis expert and has been called upon multiple times for Certificates of Waiver or Authorization (COA) and Part 107 Waivers.

Correction: Dr. Joseph R. Scalea, MD is a Multi-Organ Transplant Surgeon at the University of Maryland Medical Center. In this episode, the doctor was inadvertently associated with Hopkins.

Get ready for drone soccer! Also, a heavy lift unmanned rotorcraft, David get’s to say “attritable” again, making a drone invisible, a drone ground station for the military, the sound of the Mars helicopter, drones and avigation easements, flinging drones off an aircraft carrier, and Chicago’s secret drone program.

In this educational “e-sport” from United States Drone Soccer, participants learn to build, program, fly, and repair drones. The racing drones are surrounded by plastic exoskeletons and the game is played in a netted arena. Each team tries to fly their drones into the opponent’s hoop. They keep the other team from doing the same by blocking and bumping the drones. In March 2021, the Academy of Model Aeronautics recognized U.S. Drone Soccer as an authorized STE(A)M program.

First flight of the heavy-lift K-MAX Titan unmanned rotorcraft was conducted by Kaman Air Vehicles. Two Marine Corps K-MAX aircraft are being upgraded with the K-MAX Titan unmanned system and the sensor-based autonomy suite from Near Earth Autonomy. 

In a 2h 10min test flight April 29, 2021, the US Air Force’s Skyborg autonomy core system flew aboard a Kratos UTAP-22 Mako tactical UAV at Tyndall AFB in Florida. This was the first time the autonomy core has flown Kratos Mako UAV. This represented “Milestone 1” of the ongoing “Autonomous Attritable Aircraft Experimentation” campaign.

Current 360-degree cameras use two lenses to capture the entire world view but put one on a drone and you get the drone in the video. Now NewBeeDrone uses the Insta360 ONE R camera in its Invisi360 drone. You provide the camera and mate it with the Invisi360 and you’ve got 360-degree video without the drone.

Video: Introducing Invisi360

The Easy Aerial Easy Guard ground station was certified to MIL-STD 810G. The station looks like the familiar Pelican case and allows a drone system to take off, land, and charge in the field. The system is mobile and easily deployable. The Easy Guard has an automated roof opening and closing system, can be deployed from a pickup truck traveling up to 25 miles per hour, and has sensors and external cameras for situational awareness.

NASA’s Perseverance Rover recorded the sound of the Ingenuity helicopter as it flew on Mars.

Video: NASA’s Perseverance Rover Hears Ingenuity Mars Helicopter in Flight

According to USLegal.com, an avigation easement is a right of overflight in the airspace above or in the vicinity of a particular property. It includes the right to create noise or other effects as may result from the lawful operation of aircraft as well as the right to remove any obstructions to such overflight. AUVSI worries that avigation easements could be used to create “toll lanes” for drones.

The Turkish navy is modifying a new assault ship to include a winch-and-pulley system and a bow ramp. This would allow fixed-wing drones to easily launch from the ship. The illustration of the carrier shows Baykar TB-2/3 drones on the deck.

The Sun-Times reports that last summer, the Chicago Police Department started a drone program without telling the public. The Electronic & Technical Support Unit (Counter-terrorism) funded this with off-budget cash. Training was underway in June 2020 and at the time the director of police research and development, wrote in an email, “Some of the Drone uses will be for missing persons, crime scene photos, and terrorist-related issues.” This comes to light because a transparency nonprofit called Distributed Denial of Secrets leaked hacked city emails.

Epic Footage From Drone Getting Wrecked By A Tornado

The drone didn’t survive, but some video did.

Video: 05-02-2021 Yazoo City, MS – Damaging Tornado Close Range Drone

Mentioned

FAA Safety Briefing – Sharing the Skies Safely | May/June 2021 [PDF]

Feature articles include:

• Sharing the Skies Safely: An Overview of Unmanned Traffic Management
• Rolling Out the Rules: New Drone Rules Advance the Vision
• Don’t Fear the Drone!: Let’s Reap the Benefits that Drones Have to Offer
• Engaging with Academia: How the FAA is Helping Prepare Tomorrow’s UAS Workforce
• You’re Not Alone with Your Drone: Building Safer Skies Through Education

The NASA/FAA ASRS safety reporting system is now extended to UAS operators. Also, an autonomy Level 4 drone, learning from dragonflies, a triple-drop drone, a possible ADS-B solution for UAVs, getting your groceries delivered in Ohio, and a virtual UAS Symposium.

NASA’s Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) collects confidential information about near misses from pilots and others. The data is used by the FAA to make aviation safer while maintaining confidentiality to maximize the number of incidents reported. Aviation Safety Reporting Program (ASRP) for UAS describes how “NASA’s ASRS has a reporting form tailored to the UAS community. This will ensure that the safety data that is collected will result in actionable information for the entire aviation community.”

Drones from Exyn Technologies have reached “Level 4A” autonomy and can explore a designated 3D area without a remote operator and operate without GPS. All spatial and mapping computations are done onboard, and unlike Level 3 autonomy, they do not require an operator who can take over if required.

The company says, “We developed an autonomous system that can take you into dark, dirty, dangerous environments. Place it at the edge of danger and send it off to collect the information that you need. Oftentimes the information you need is beyond the line of sight, both in terms of communications as well as visual.”

See The 6 Levels of Vehicle Autonomy Explained for more.

Researchers at the University of South Australia designed and tested components of a dragonfly-inspired drone. They describe the dragonfly as the “apex insect flyer” because of its flying abilities. The team modelled the aerodynamic properties of the dragonfly’s body, studied dragonfly wing geometry of 75 species, and created 3D images of the wings. The researchers believe drones that mimic dragonflies could perform many tasks, such as collecting and delivering unbalanced loads, safely operating near people, exploring delicate natural environments, and executing long surveillance missions.

Published in the journal Drones, 27 March 2021: Biomimetic Drones Inspired by Dragonflies Will Require a Systems Based Approach and Insights from Biology

Wingcopter is a German startup that calls their Wingcopter 198 “the world’s first triple-drop delivery drone.” It’s fully autonomous, fixed-wing, BVLOS, and one operator can manage up to 10 Wingcopter 198s simultaneously. It has quick-swap batteries and can deliver up to 3 packages in a single flight. The company is currently pursuing certification from the FAA that would allow it to operate commercial flights in the United States.

The patent from uAvionix (U.S. Patent 10,991,260) is titled “Intelligent Non-Disruptive ADS-B Integration for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS).” The uAvionix patent claims to allow UAS to use ADS-B in a way that minimizes spectrum use. Under the Inert and Alert Concept, the UAS ADS-B solution stays “inert” or in a “listen” mode that is not broadcasting. However, when a safety-critical event takes place, the UAV begins broadcasting its ADS-B position as an “alert.” Once the conditions are safe again, the system reverts to its “inert” state.

Supermarket chain Kroger wants to deliver groceries with autonomous drones, and they are starting a pilot program in Centerville, Ohio, south of Dayton using drones from Drone Express. Test flights near the Kroger Marketplace in Centerville will be managed by licensed Drone Express pilots from an on-site trailer, with additional off-site monitoring. Customer deliveries should begin within a few months and a second pilot is scheduled to start this summer at a Ralphs store in California.

The FAA has announced that it will be hosting a two-part virtual UAS/drone symposium in 2021. What the FAA is calling Episode III is scheduled for June 9-10. Episode IV is September 14-15. The FAA notes, “Each episode will feature keynote presentations, expert panels, guided and non-guided networking discussions, one-on-one meetings with experts in the FAA UAS Support Center, and informational sessions with live Q&A.”

Episode III in June will focus on international operations, STEM, public safety operations, recreational drone operations and commercial drone operations.

Episode IV will address UAS traffic management, technology, the FAA BEYOND program, advanced air mobility and international operations.

The symposium is co-hosted by the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI).

FAA UAS Symposium program

Showcasing the global commercial UAV industry, with a special focus on solutions in the Americas region and urban air mobility. Collocated with the Urban Air Mobility Summit.

In its third year, this show co-locates with Amsterdam Drone Week for 2021. This leading pan-European conference and expo is focused on commercial drones.

Video of the Week: 

The makers of that Bryant Lake Bowl drone video now have a Mall of America version

Rally Studios of Minneapolis released a first-person video from the Mall of America and its indoor theme park, Nickelodeon Universe.

Video: The Quack Attack is Back

An interview with Great Lakes Drone Company, producers of drone light shows. Also, first responders and augmented reality controlled UAVs, drones that locate trash, Wing drone delivery expansion plans, QR codes in the nighttime sky, and a drone that launches a drone.

We talk with Ashley Munson and Lindsay Nitz from Great Lakes Drone Company about producing drone light shows. Recorded at the 2021 Sun ‘n Fun Aerospace Expo on April 17, 2021.

Researchers want to support firefighters in Montréal during fire-related emergencies. Their solution is a swarm of drones and an augmented reality headset. They designed an AR interface using the Magic Leap 1 headset that can manage the UAVs in stressful situations.

California researchers are using imagery from unmodified DJI Mavic 2 Pro drones and AI to find plastics and trash along the banks of creeks and streams. The idea is to collect the rubbish before it washes into the bay or the ocean.

Wing wants to grow its drone delivery service beyond the Christiansburg, Virginia residents that are now supported. Wing is petitioning the FAA to consolidate remote pilot operations from local facilities “to regional operations facilities that are capable of safely controlling a larger number of aircraft simultaneously.” They also want to use a derivative version of the drones and change the operator line check requirement to every 12 months instead of every three months. The FAA says they’ll accept public comments on the petition before making a decision.

Chinese video sharing and streaming site Bilibili created a large nighttime drone display that included a QR code in the sky using 1,500 drones. This was part of a light show celebrating a video game anniversary. Bilibili posted a video with the entire performance:

Video: Princess Connect! Re:Dive drone show

A Kratos XQ-58A Valkyrie experimental “attritable” drone successfully released an ALTIUS-600 autonomous drone. The ALTIUS-600 is a small tube-launched drone made by Area-I and it was released from the Valkyrie internal weapons bay. The XQ-58A Valkyrie is designed and built by Kratos for the USAF Low-Cost Attritable Strike Demonstrator program. The ALTIUS-600 is part of the ALTIUS family of autonomous UAS that can be launched from the air, sea, and ground from systems like the Common Launch Tube (CLT), Pneumatically Integrated Launch System (PILS), and other launch systems.

Lukas Fraser is a LiDAR Specialist working in the Geospatial Group at NV5. He creates engineering-grade 3D mapping deliverables from UAV LiDAR and imagery, and specializes in topographic and topo-bathymetric LiDAR data collection, processing, analysis, and product development. Lukas turns raw datasets into useful information such as AutoCAD drawings and surfaces, GIS databases, or online interactive web maps. He’s a graduate of the Geodesy and Geomatics Engineering program at the University of New Brunswick.

Lukas describes how UAVs with the sensors now available are changing data collection and making applications possible that would have been difficult previously.

Lukas explains how LiDAR works and some of the key applications. He talks about the process to collect LiDAR and image data with UAVs that meet accuracy standards, how that data is analyzed, and then how products are created that the client can use to get value from the project. Imagery from a UAV can result in RGB, thermal, multispectral, or hyperspectral products. LiDAR data can be used for topographic and topo-bathymetric products.

Using UAVs for applications like these is an emerging capability, and just one more example of how drones are changing commercial activity.

Robust detect and avoid capability is essential for integrating BVLOS flight into the National Airspace System. We talk with the CEO of a company on the forefront of this technology.

Jon Damush is the CEO of Iris Automation, which provides onboard detect and avoid technology for Beyond Visual Line of Sight drone flight.

Iris is primarily a computer vision and machine learning software company that is focused on helping unpiloted systems detect other airplanes. The company’s Casea product is a platform-agnostic 360-degree radial computer vision detect and avoid system for UAS.

Casea hardware includes an array of cameras and a central compute unit. The software employs machine learning techniques to determine the distance to a target. The targets detected by the cameras are classified and their size indicates their distance.

Jon explains the importance of detect and avoid for unpiloted aircraft and how the Casea system operates. He also discusses regulator desire for detection method consistency, but he argues that the future might lie with a multi-modal system using optical, auditory, and radar detection.

The Regulatory Resource Center (RRC) captures Iris learnings and provides a place to start for those considering building a drone business, or those who have a drone business and want to go beyond visual line of sight.

Iris is participating in a Canadian Pathfinder program with partners  Foremost UAS Test Range in Alberta and UAS Center of Excellence (CED) in Alma, Quebec. The program includes flight training, assistance gaining BVLOS approvals, a BVLOS safety system, engineering and regulatory support, and test center access. It is open to any organizations interested in operating BVLOS services inside Canada. See: Iris Automation Launches Canada Pathfinder Program to Advance Commercial Drone Operations Readiness, Approvals.

Jon also explains how the World Economic Forum is working to promote the value drones can provide. See: WEF Aerospace and Drones.

Jon has over 30 years of aviation technology experience and executive leadership. He led new business ventures at Boeing NeXT, he was Chief Growth Officer at Boeing subsidiary Insitu, and he was a Boeing executive liaison and board observer to SkyGrid, a joint venture between Boeing and SparkCognition. Jon was the CEO of 2d3 Sensing, a leading provider of computer vision-based image processing software for aerial surveillance. He is also an FAA-certified commercial pilot with multi-engine and instrument ratings and he’s a certified flight instructor.

A rescue drone with 2-way voice radio capability, using trained bees and drones to find landmines, telehealth drones that visit your home, quadcopters that work together to deliver large packages, and delivering lifejackets for water rescues.

UAV News

A rescue drone can be used to find you, but what if you could talk back to the rescue drone? Dotterel Technologies has a 2-way radio solution that could aid in search and rescue. This would allow a conversation with the person being searched for, or even the ability to listen for a cry for help to locate someone. A highly directional microphone array and real-time processor make this possible.

Video: Dotterel Aerial Audio – World’s First UAV with Two-Way Communication

Old landmines are a serious problem in some areas of the world. According to Landmine Monitor, 6,897 people were killed or injured by mines and explosive remnants of war in 2018. There are an estimated 80,000 landmines in Bosnia and Herzegovina and about 30,000 in Croatia.

The mines are difficult to find, however, bees can be trained to detect the scent of the explosives with their antennae. Now a team from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia have found a way to use drones to capture video of the bees that can be analyzed to indicate where landmines may be hidden in the ground.

Telehealth has grown tremendously during the pandemic. But not everybody has the Internet. Now four Inventors from three colleges at the University of Cincinnati have collaborated to develop a semi-autonomous prototype drone that can be sent to people’s homes. The small quadcopters use navigational algorithms developed by UC engineers to maneuver inside a home.

A Georgia Tech Indoor Flight Lab is using multiple drones to lift a heavy package. A control algorithm directs a team of small drones. They measure thrust and altitude to estimate the weight of the package and could even be sent to your location to pick up a large package. The demonstration used four drones, but the control algorithm isn’t limited to that number. This solution might be better than a fleet of drones of different sizes and lift capacity. In many ways, controlling a group of connected drones is more difficult than controlling a swarm of robots that fly independently.

Video: Small drones work together to lift and deliver packages

The San Mateo County Sheriff’s office announced they can deliver lifejackets to swimmers in need. A small quadcopter carries the lifejacket on a short tether and a button on the controller lets the officer drop the life jacket. The drone remains in the air some distance above the swimmer. This is part of their Water Safety Campaign. Video on Instagram.

Drone captures images of a reindeer ‘cyclone’

The video shows reindeer circling in a protective group with the fawns in the center. For more see Reindeer Cyclones Are Real, and You Definitely Don’t Want to Get Caught in One.

Video: This drone footage shows a reindeer cyclone in all its glory

An AI-based mesh network drone delivery test, Navy destroyers swarmed by drones, an Amazon double-coupon deal, an attritable Bell cargo UAV, a first amendment drone case, the target drone on the beach, drones replacing fireworks.

Airwayz is participating in a unique technology test in Israel where delivery drones will use AI and operate in mesh networks. Previous studies have used drone corridors, but that limits the number of delivery drones, doesn’t scale to commercial volumes, and if a part of the corridor goes down, the corridor fails. A mesh system doesn’t have these limitations. However, a human cannot manage a mesh network so AI is needed at each drone for quick decision-making.

In July 2019, as many as six drones pursued the ships and performed “brazen maneuvers.” An investigation included elements of the Navy, Coast Guard, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The Drive conducted their own investigation using iInformation not previously public that was disclosed through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.

The Tomzon D25 4K Camera Drone is listed on Amazon.com at $99.99 but at this time, Amazon is offering a $20 coupon, applied at checkout. BGR says you can apply the coupon code TOMZOND25 at checkout for another $20 off, making the final price $59.99. Note that Amazon states “Coupons are valid for a limited time only. Amazon reserves the right to modify or cancel coupons at any time.”

Bell believes it can produce the APT (Autonomous Pod Transport) at a low enough price that it could be considered “attritable.” The APT is a tail-sitting VTOL that uses a battery and 4 electric motors. An internal combustion engine would be more complex, less reliable, and louder.

The North Carolina the Board of Examiners for Engineers and Surveyors claims that conducting an aerial survey with a drone constitutes surveying without a license. The Board is warning drone operators they may face criminal prosecution. But drone entrepreneur Michael Jones is fighting back saying his images and maps were not being used to set legal boundaries. Instead, they were for informational purposes. Jones claims creating and sharing information is speech protected by the First Amendment and he’s filed a federal lawsuit with the Institute for Justice.

It’s a U.S. Air Force BQM-167A Aerial Target drone that is usually recovered from the ocean.

Ocean City, Maryland has frequent fireworks shows during the summer. Now they are planning to replace the fireworks with drones for many of those shows. But not to fear, fireworks will appear for the 4th of July.

That bowling alley drone guy? It may have paid off. Director James Gunn offered Jay Christensen an opportunity with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3. When Gunn saw the viral video, he said on Twitter, “Oh my God this drone shot is stupendous,” and in another tweet, “I want them to come with us to London later this year when we shoot Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.” To which Christensen replied, “What’s up James. I shot this.” Gunn may or may not have been serious.

Video: The light in the night!

Video: Iceland volcano: Drone footage captures stunning up-close view of eruption

Anthony Quintano Photography on Instagram and Twitter.

A drone company files a Remote ID lawsuit against the FAA over the rules going into effect next month, EASA publishes a drone incident manual for European airports, MIT builds tiny insect-inspired drones, Erickson plans an optionally-piloted S-64 Aircrane, and another spectacular video of the week.

The final rules go into effect on April 21, 2021, that require remote identification of drones, allow some flights over people and moving vehicles, and permit flights at night under certain conditions. Before flying under the new provisions a remote pilot must pass the updated initial knowledge test or complete the appropriate updated online training course.

RaceDayQuads (RDQ) filed a lawsuit against the FAA in Federal court. They believe some provisions of the Remote ID rule will have “devastating effects on our hobby and on all of RC flight.” 

Specifically, “RDQ’s goal is to allow current and future drone and model aviation hobbyists to continue flying safely:

• without the need to broadcast their information 
• or be inhibited by any regulation which fails to comply with constitutional protections, 
• fails to follow rulemaking procedures, 
• fails to listen to the comments of those the rule would affect, 
• is founded upon inaccurate risk assessments and data, 
• or fails to provide an overall benefit to the American people.”

The Petition for Review was filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on March 12, 2021. RDQ was represented by Law Offices of Yodice Associates of Potomac, MD, Rupprecht Law of Palm Beach Gardens, FL, and Parlatore Law Group of Washington, DC.

From the RDQ website: RDQ vs. FAA – RaceDayQuads and FAA Legal Battle – Challenging Remote ID. For more information, follow the UAV Law News & Discussion group on Facebook.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has published the 35-page “Drone Incident Management at Aerodromes” (PDF) manual. It provides guidance to help aviation operators and national authorities address unauthorized drone usage near airports. This is Part 1: The challenge of unauthorised drones in the surroundings of aerodromes. The other two parts are addressed to those parties involved in the management of these incidents.

Generally, the smaller you make a drone, the more fragile it is. Insects, on the other hand, are very resilient for their size. The MIT lab recognised that if you are going to design an insect-sized drone, it needs to survive a collision. While older designs used rigid ceramic-based materials, the newer designs are built with soft actuators made with carbon nanotube-coated rubber cylinders that elongate when electricity is applied. These are used to simulate beating wings.

Erickson is considering upgrading the S-64 Aircrane helicopter to make it an optionally piloted combat cargo transport. Adding the Sikorsky Matrix retrofit autonomy kit to become the S-64F+, the helicopter would remove the risk to pilots during nighttime operation through mountainous terrain.

If you liked the FPV bowling video, here’s more by the same pilot

See other Videos by Jay Christensen from the Rally Studios production company in Minneapolis at his jaybyrdfilms YouTube channel.

Video: Movie Night FPV

The American Security Drone Act of 2021 incorporates drone detection and mitigation systems, an RFI is released for an MQ-9 Reaper replacement, one drone is on Mars and another is planned for Titan, the Choctaw Nation partners with the FAA, and US drone registrations plummet.

U.S. laws and regulations restrict what the public can do for drone detection and mitigation. To help non-federal public and private entities navigate federal laws and regulations, the Department of Justice, FAA, Department of Homeland Security, and the FCC published Advisory on the Application of Federal Laws to the Acquisition and Use of Technology to Detect and Mitigate Unmanned Aircraft Systems. The bipartisan American Security Drone Act of 2021 would modify the American Security Drone Act of 2019 to incorporate drone detection and mitigation systems.

The U.S. Air Force has released a request for information for the MQ-Next program to replace the MQ-9 Reaper. The Air Force seeks a drone with defensive counter-air capabilities so it can protect high-value manned aircraft, like tankers, and potentially fly red air aggressor missions. A previous RFI from June 2020 focused on intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) and strike capabilities. The scope of the RFI is now expanded.

Ingenuity flights are expected to begin in 30-60 days with a flight window is planned to last 30 days. The first flight is planned to be a simple 20-30 second low altitude hover test before landing with longer flights to follow. The Dragonfly large drone is set to launch in 2027 and land on Saturn’s largest moon Titan in 2036.

The FAA and the Choctaw Nation have partnered to study how UAS can best transport cargo, including parcels, at lower altitudes. The FAA’s Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center (MMAC), signed a three-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. The two will study human factors, supply chain management, and air traffic control using a virtual simulated urban environment. One goal of the MOU is to promote interest in STEM programs for students seeking possible careers in aerospace.

The total number of recreational flyer registrations and commercial-registered drones were aircraft 1,746,248 in December 2020. A large number of drone registrations expired in December 2020, after the three-year registration period. The FAA is continuing to review the registration data and plans to launch a drone registration information and awareness campaign later this year.

Right Up Our Alley