Northeast UAS Airspace Integration Research (NUAIR) has partnered with DroneResponders to help enhance UAS educational services and training programs for public safety organizations.
“Our partnership with NUAIR will help accelerate the adoption of UAS by first responders across New York State and beyond to help save lives and property,” says Charles Werner, director of DroneResponders and retired fire chief from Charlottesville, VA.
“Our DroneResponders Major Cities Working Group members will also be working closely with NUAIR to conduct research and testing on the use of public safety UAS in large urban and metropolitan areas.”
Technology
Technology
AFRL, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions complete fourth flight test of XQ-58A Valkyrie UAS
On Jan. 23, 2020, the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and its partner Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Inc. successfully completed the fourth flight test of the XQ-58A Valkyrie low-cost UAS demonstrator at Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona.
The Valkyrie demonstrator’s flight not only successfully met all of the test objectives during the flight test, but the envelope was also expanded beyond prior tests before the UAS landed safely in the Arizona desert.
Flying at a higher altitude allowed researchers to collect data in an “operational environment more representative of real-world flight conditions,” according to AFRL XQ-58A Program Manager Michael Wipperman.
Uber Advanced Technologies Group begins collecting self-driving tech data in D.C.
Uber Advanced Technologies Group (Uber ATG) has selected Washington, D.C. as its next location to collect data for its self-driving vehicles.
Uber ATG’s self-driving cars will begin operating on the roads of D.C. beginning Friday, Jan. 24, to collect data, but the vehicles will be in manual driving mode, so a Mission Specialist—a specially trained vehicle operator—will always maintain control of the vehicle.
“We are using a phased approach to develop and deploy our self-driving vehicles, taking the necessary steps to operate safely in every city,” Uber ATG says.
GA-ASI begins Multi-Domain Operations demonstrations with Gray Eagle Extended Range UAS
Using a company-owned Gray Eagle Extended Range (GE-ER) UAS, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA-ASI) completed the first in a series of internally-funded Multi-Domain Operations (MDO) demonstrations on Nov. 19, 2019, the company has announced.
The flight series will continue in 2020, and is expected to showcase that a GE-ER UAS equipped with long-range sensors and Air Launched Effects (ALE) is able to Detect, Identify, Locate and Report (DILR) targetable data to support Long Range Precision Fires (LRPF) systems.
“Gray Eagle ER is a critical tool, along with the Army’s manned platforms, for operations in an MDO environment,” says David R. Alexander, president, GA-ASI.
Deloitte, Rady Children's Institute for Genomic Medicine examining benefits of using UAS to deliver medical samples
Deloitte and Rady Children's Institute for Genomic Medicine (RCIGM) have announced that they are looking into how drone technology can help cut the time it takes to get medical samples to the laboratory.
The plan would be for UAS to fly genomic testing specimens to the lab to get results back to acutely ill babies and children in a quicker fashion.
Boeing, Tactical Robotics partner to explore development of ducted fan propulsion technology
Boeing has signed an agreement with Urban Aeronautics' subsidiary Tactical Robotics to explore the development of a ducted fan propulsion technology, which could potentially be used for piloted and autonomous light aircraft.
The companies will use a joint working group to determine what opportunities may exist for the development, production and marketing of Fancraft–based vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) products such as Tactical Robotics’ Cormorant.
Thanks to its compact, Humvee-sized footprint, Cormorant is capable of conducting emergency response missions such as delivering food, water and supplies during natural disasters or in combat environments. The vehicle can also carry up to four patients for medical evacuations.
Dynetics' X-61A Gremlins Air Vehicle completes first flight
Dynetics, the performer for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Gremlins program, has announced that in Nov. 2019, it successfully flew its X-61A Gremlins Air Vehicle (GAV) for the first time at Dugway Proving Ground near Salt Lake City, Utah.
Testing operations involved one captive-carry mission aboard a TBM Inc. C-130A and an airborne launch and free flight of the X-61A, which lasted one hour and 41 minutes.
Some of the test objectives included demonstrating a successful launch of the GAV from the C-130, collecting data on GAV subsystem operation and performance, and demonstrating the flight termination and ground (parachute) recovery of the GAV (demonstration system only - not part of the operational system).
Mavoljic Technology's new camera allows UAS developers to get high resolution jello free stable videos
Mavoljic Technology’s new Full HD 30x Optical Zoom Global Shutter Camera is now available. Described as the lightest camera of its kind in the world, the camera allows UAS developers to obtain high resolution jello free stable videos.
According to Mavoljic Technology, the camera (model no. PM1080-GS-30) outputs H264 compressed 1920x1080p video over Ethernet. Weighing just 150 grams, the camera provides ~59° to 2° field of view, and supports low resolution analog secondary stream.
