The Los Angeles Police Department’s (LAPD) Metropolitan Division, Special Weapons and Tactics Team (SWAT) recently used a small UAS for the first time during a barricade incident involving a robbery suspect. On Jan. 9, a specialized small UAS pilot (SWAT officer) used a UAS to find the third suspect of an armed robbery that occurred at a convenience store the night of Dec. 13, 2018. While searching for the third suspect, Metropolitan Division police officers went to an apartment where they believed the suspect was located as a result of investigative techniques that they were implementing. The suspect refused to exit, though, and officers and detectives believed that the suspect could be armed with a firearm, which led them to requesting SWAT.

Japan's largest airline All Nippon Airways (ANA) has begun the second stage of testing for an autonomous, driverless bus at Tokyo's Haneda Airport. In collaboration with several companies, ANA began testing the autonomous bus on Tuesday, Jan. 15, in a series of trials scheduled to run through Jan 25. During the trials, the bus will operate autonomously, but a human driver will be present to take over if necessary (Level 3 automation). The vehicle will be limited to the restricted area of Haneda Airport where aircraft and cargo vehicles are located. ANA says that if the trials are successful, it will seek to implement the driverless bus technology into the airport by next year.

Drones and self-driving cars continue to be all the rage at CES, the former Consumer Electronics Show, but autonomous technology is also making its way into things such as motorcycles with self-driving capabilities, flying cars and even underwater drones.   BMW made a splash at the show with its iNEXT vehicle, which aims to answer the question about what a vehicle interior can look like when the car no longer has to be driven by a human.   “The interior can be a place for relaxation, interaction, entertainment, or concentration, as preferred,” the company says. “It is more like a comfortable and fashionably furnished “living space” on wheels — a new ‘favorite space.’”  

This spring, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) will launch a new UAS Certificate Program at UNLV Continuing Education. The 40-hour training course meets the requirements of AUVSI’s Trusted Operator Program (TOP) Levels 1 and 2. ​During the course, a variety of topics will be addressed, including operation, policy, safety, and the different applications of this technology within the UAS industry. UNLV says that those who complete the program will be eligible to become FAA-licensed commercial UAS pilots, ultimately putting them at the forefront of Nevada’s growing UAS industry. The first session is scheduled over two weekends, Feb. 22-24 and March 1-3.