UAVOS Inc. and Stratodynamics Aviation Inc. have successfully completed the next stage of flights tests for their HiDRON stratospheric aircraft. Reaching an altitude of 82,000 feet, the HiDRON carried an atmospheric measurement system onboard, as a result of a collaboration with researchers from the University of Kentucky. The night-time flight, which was conducted in collaboration with the regional Air Traffic Control Agency, lasted four hours. There was a one-hour weather balloon launch period that had an average climb rate of 22 feet per second. At release altitude, the HiDRON was 22 miles away from the launch site where it headed home and was above launch area at an altitude of 59,000 feet.

Through the National Robotics Initiative 2.0: Ubiquitous Collaborative Robots program, the United States Department of Agriculture-National Institute of Food and Agriculture has awarded Georgia State researcher Xiaolin Hu and collaborators a four-year federal grant worth $1.2 million to develop the use of UAS in wildfire management. The goal of the project is to provide more timely data that could allow authorities to give residents in affected areas more time to evacuate, while also helping firefighters working on the ground.

Ocean Infinity has announced that its partner, Brazilian offshore consulting company Cepemais, has been awarded a contract to provide high-resolution hydrographic mapping services to Brazilian national oil company Petrobras. During the project, which is for the Campos, Espirito Santo and Santos basins, offshore Brazil, Ocean Infinity will work under contract to Cepemais to map an area of 5,000 square kilometers and inspect 12,000 kilometers of pipelines using its AUVs. Ocean Infinity’s AUVs will operate from the company’s ‘Island Pride’ vessel, and will work in water depths between 50 and 3,000 meters. Cepemais will interpret and report on the data that Ocean Infinity collects during the project.  

In an effort to help assess the environmental impact of the Woolsey wildfire in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area of Southern California, AeroVironment is offering its UAS services to support the National Park Service Inventory and Monitoring Program. AeroVironment Commercial Information Solutions Unmanned Aircraft Systems flight operations and Geographic Information Science teams have launched a comprehensive UAS-based aerial imaging and environmental impact study to gauge fire damage in key areas of the park. The aerial imagery data collected will be used for a variety of purposes, including to quantify oak tree mortality and vegetation stress, and to document the dramatic changes in park visitor experience.