During the Air Force Association’s annual Air, Space and Cyber Conference, Insitu announced its Integrator Extended Range UAS.
The UAS, which is a beyond line of sight (BLOS), SATCOM-enabled small UAS capable of “ranging modern combat theaters,” delivers Group 4 and 5 capabilities in a Group 3 aircraft.
Some of these capabilities include “high quality, full motion video on par with current ISR systems while flying at acoustically and visually undetectable altitudes; bandwidth throughput up to 10 megabits per second with a less than 1.5 second latency,” and a significantly reduced manpower footprint for operations, as it only takes a team of 12 operators, maintainers and mission commanders to operate the system.
Technology
Technology
Lockheed Martin and Drone Racing League's innovation competition focuses on AI and drone racing
Lockheed Martin and the Drone Racing League (DRL) recently announced an innovation competition that will challenge participants to develop artificial intelligence (AI) technology that enables an autonomous UAS to not only race a pilot-operated UAS, but win.
Known as the AlphaPilot Innovation Challenge, the competition will see participating teams, made up of university students, technologists, coders and UAS enthusiasts, compete in a series of challenges for their share of over $2 million in prizes, as they seek to “push the boundaries of AI, machine learning (ML) and fully autonomous flight.”
Volvo Trucks' new transport system includes autonomous electric commercial vehicles
Volvo Trucks has introduced its new transport system, which is made up of autonomous electric commercial vehicles that can contribute to “more efficient, safer and cleaner transportation.”
According to Volvo Trucks, the long-term goal is to provide companies that need continuous transport services between fixed hubs a complement to what's offered today.
“The transport system we are developing can be an important complement to today's solutions and can help meet many of the challenges faced by society, transport companies and transport buyers,” says Claes Nilsson, President Volvo Trucks.
Weekend Roundup
This Week in the Unmanned Systems and Robotics World
U.S. law firm Fisher Phillips has launched its Autonomous Vehicles Practice Group, which will seek to help guide employers through emerging workplace issues that could begin as a result of the rapid advancements in autonomous vehicle technology. According to Fisher Phillips, the Autonomous Vehicles Practice Group is the “first practice group of its kind among the nation’s leading labor and employment law firms representing employers that will focus entirely on the technology’s impact on the workplace and workforce.” (Fisher Phillips)
Teledyne Marine and industry partners conduct maritime demonstration during ANTX
During the 2018 Advanced Naval Technology Exercise (ANTX) from Aug. 29 to 31, Teledyne Marine and its industry partners showcased an Autonomous, System of Systems approach to expeditionary Mine-Countermeasures (MCM) using multi domain unmanned assets.
Teledyne Marine has provided a description of the demonstration.
The demonstration, which included multiple vehicles and several companies, begins with a Power Docks Blue Isles Autonomous Power Microgrid platform simulating providing power to all vehicles. The exercise starts with a Teledyne Oceanscience Z-Boat 1800 RP ASV performing a “bathymetric and LiDAR survey” of the basin.
Zoox offering autonomous rides as part of Global Climate Action Summit
As part of the Global Climate Action Summit, which brings together a variety of parties to discuss climate action opportunities, self-driving car startup Zoox is offering autonomous rides in San Francisco this week.
The company has partnered with the Fairmont hotel in San Francisco to transport select summit guests between the Fairmont and Moscone Center in Zoox’s self-driving Toyota Highlander test cars. Guests that ride in the cars will be determined by Zoox, Fairmont and the Summit.
The objective of the tests is to showcase the potential of Zoox’s zero-emission autonomous technology—which hasn’t been fully realized yet—to guests.
NUAIR Alliance selects AirMap to provide UTM services for UTM 50-mile test corridor
The Northeast UAS Airspace Integration Research Alliance (NUAIR Alliance) and Rome, New York’s Griffiss International Airport have selected AirMap to provide UTM services to “visualize, manage, and support” UAS operations at the Griffiss New York UAS Test Site.
NUAIR Alliance is building a UTM 50-mile test corridor for beyond visual line-of-sight testing (BVLOS) in the U.S. Its partnership with AirMap will provide enhanced UTM capabilities for ongoing UAS operations.
“NUAIR Alliance is excited to bring in AirMap to power the test corridor with leading-edge UTM services,” says Maj. Gen. (ret.) Marke F. “Hoot” Gibson, CEO of the NUAIR Alliance. “Their global expertise is essential in accelerating the work we’re doing to advance UAS technologies.”
Xcel Energy makes history with BVLOS UAS flights
Xcel Energy has become the first U.S. utility company to fly UAS beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) for ongoing inspections.
The BVLOS flights are a part of Xcel Energy's inspections of transmission lines near Denver.
“Today’s flight takes us a step closer to fully integrating unmanned aircraft into our operations,” says Ben Fowke, chairman, president and CEO, Xcel Energy.
“This innovative technology is revolutionizing our work by improving the safety, efficiency and cost effectiveness of maintaining and protecting the grid for our customers.”
Colorado Northwestern Community College launches new UAS program
Colorado Northwestern Community College (CNCC) is launching a new UAS program.
Scheduled to start on Oct. 15 at both the Craig and Rangely campuses, the first course, known as “AVT 160 – Introduction to Unmanned Aircraft Systems,” is described as a hybrid class taught in-person and online. According to CraigDailyPress.com, it is the first of three UAS courses the college plans to offer.
“This is a stepping stone for where we are going with the course,” says CNCC Aviation Technology Program Director David Boles.
City of Reno, Nevada and Flirtey complete first flights under UAS IPP
The city of Reno, Nevada and Flirtey have successfully completed their first flights under the UAS Integration Pilot Program (IPP).
The city of Reno and Flirtey conducted the first multi-drone delivery demonstration under the program, as a single Flirtey pilot operated multiple Flirtey UAS at the same time, and simulated the delivery of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in the presence of the FAA.
The flights were conducted under a regulatory waiver that allows multiple small UAS to be operated by one pilot.
“Flirtey just demonstrated deliveries with multiple drones per pilot for the first time, which is a major milestone toward scaling drone delivery nationwide,” says Flirtey Founder and CEO Matthew Sweeny.