by AUVSI News

This week in the unmanned systems and robotics world, NASA tests a sense-and-avoid system, sensors are 3-D printed right along with the object and the U.S. Forest Service is testing UAS over an Idaho wildfire.

According to its website, the Federal Aviation Administration has now approved 1,546 commercial UAS exemptions out of over 3,000 requests.

Apple executives discussed their plans for an autonomous vehicle this week, with officals at California’s department of motor vehicles. (The Guardian)

Researchers at Queens University in Ontario, Canada have developed PrintPut, a novel method for 3-D printing objects with sensors in them all at once. (IEEE Spectrum)

The creators of the OpenROV underwater drone kit have developed Trident, an Oculus Rift-ready unmanned underwater vehicle that may assist with search and rescue, aquaculture, nuclear facility inspection and monitoring and even recreational photography. (Motherboard)

Northrop Grumman and its subsidiary Remotec are unveiling the Andros FX ground robot, which can counter vehicle-borne IEDs and other threats. (Defense Systems)

Over the next week, the U.S. Forest Service will be testing the use of Textron Systems’ Aerosonde Mark 4.7 over a wildfire in Idaho to see if it is capable of supplying real-time information to incident commanders on the ground. (Washington Times)

NASA has successfully tested a sense-and-avoid technology that enabled their Ikhana UAS to detect other aircraft in its flightpath and make adjustments autonomously. (Quartz)

The FAA held a meeting for the Nevada UAS test site where Tom Wilczek recapped that the Nevada site is the only one of the six FAA-selected UAS test sites to have a designated airworthiness representative that can certify aircraft. He also spoke about the development where each test site has received a broad-area certificate of authorization to fly anywhere in the country under 200 feet if the flight advances a public purpose. (Las Vegas Review Journal) 

Further reading from the FAA-sponsored meeting at Nevada’s UAS test site. (Las Vegas Sun)