The Daytona Beach Police Department (DBPD) recently used a UAS to help apprehend a murder suspect.
According to DBPD Officer and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Professor Anthony Galante, the UAS served as a “force multiplier,” providing a lookout for the six-person team trained to apprehend the suspect.
Technology
Technology
DroneSeed partners with Nature Conservancy to restore Oregon rangelands using drone swarms
In an effort to help conserve the ecosystem and imperiled species such as the sage-grouse, a company called DroneSeed that restores forests and rangelands using drone swarms has signed a contract with the Nature Conservancy Oregon to use drone swarms to restore rangelands affected by invasive species and re-seed native plants.
By partnering with DroneSeed, the Nature Conservancy will have access to UAS swarm technology designed to scale to plant and protect significant acreage while planting in precision areas to boost survival rates.
PAE ISR demonstrates Resolute Eagle UAS during first meeting with NASA and FAA
PAE ISR recently hosted a joint kickoff meeting with NASA and the FAA as part of the UAS integration in the National Airspace System (NAS) Project.
During the meeting, which took place at the Pendleton Unmanned Aerial Range, PAE ISR presented an overview of its solutions package for the 2020 program, and conducted a flight demonstration of its Resolute Eagle UAS.
Mississippi State awarded $7.2 million defense contract to test emerging UAS tech
On Friday, Feb. 22, Mississippi State University was awarded a $7.2 million defense contract to test emerging UAS technologies.
Mississippi State was awarded the competitive U.S. Army contract to test and validate emerging UAS propulsion technologies. The contract extends through Feb. 2021, and is funded through research, development, test and evaluation appropriations provided to the Army.
Embry-Riddle's Minion ASV impresses during Maritime Robot X Challenge
Students at Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University recently debuted their Minion autonomous surface vessel during the Maritime Robot X Challenge in December 2018.
Built by engineering student members of the Robotics Association at Embry–Riddle, the 16-foot long boat navigated an open water obstacle course, adapted to the waves and wind on the bay, and launched and recovered a small submarine before returning to dock.
According to Embry-Riddle, the Minion was created to compete in the Maritime Robot X Challenge, which is a weeklong biennial international competition co-sponsored by the Office of Naval Research (ONR), RoboNation, and a Hawaii-based company called NAVATEK that designs ships and other amphibious vehicles.
DJI unveils new hardware and software tools for professional UAS operators
In an effort to give professional UAS operators improved control, safety, and security for high-stakes missions, DJI unveiled new hardware and software tools on Thursday, Feb. 21.
DJI says that its new Matrice 200 Series V2 UAS are redesigned with better reliability, safety, and security features, while the FlightHub UAS operations management platform gives organizations more implementation control and data security assurances.
Together, these improvements allow commercial organizations to scale and manage their UAS programs while laying the technical foundations for beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) and nighttime operations.
Scania and Nobina collaborating to test autonomous buses in Sweden
Swedish commercial vehicle manufacturer Scania and Nobina, the largest public transport operator in the Nordic countries, have announced that they will work together to begin trials of autonomous buses on regular routes in the Stockholm, Sweden area.
The trials will be conducted in two stages: first without passengers, and then with passengers. The buses will have a safety-driver onboard throughout the trials to monitor operations and help passengers.
