QinetiQ Australia has been awarded a contract to design and construct a UAS flight test range (FTR) at Cloncurry Aerodrome in North West Queensland on behalf of the Queensland Government.
The FTR will include access to a commercial quality runway, dedicated hangar and workshop, a range control center, and a range control system that includes a primary surveillance radar and other surveillance and tracking equipment. The FTR will also have dedicated airspace and regulatory approvals for UAS FTR operations.
Testing
Testing
JTA, Florida State College at Jacksonville expanding JTA's autonomous vehicle program
Through new testing and educational initiatives on the campuses of Florida State College at Jacksonville (FSCJ), the Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA) and FSCJ have agreed to expand the JTA’s autonomous vehicle program.
The JTA Board of Directors approved a memorandum of understanding with FSCJ on May 28. The MoU includes the expansion of the Ultimate Urban Circulator (U2C) Test & Learn Program to FSCJ’s Commercial Driver’s License Test Track on the school’s Cecil Center Campus; the development of an autonomous vehicle deployment or “Agile Plan” on an FSCJ campus; and the development of curriculum and educational initiatives relative to autonomous vehicles, and related technology.
EHang granted approval to use EHang 216 passenger-grade AAV for air logistics purposes
EHang has obtained the world’s first commercial pilot operation approval to use passenger-grade autonomous aerial vehicles (AAVs) for the purpose of air logistics. The approval came from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), and is for the EHang 216 AAV.
Sonardyne demonstrates tech that will help autonomous vehicle ops in challenging environments
Under a project funded by the UK’s national Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA), Sonardyne International Ltd. demonstrated technologies that it says will help autonomous vehicle operations in challenging environments.
Sonardyne worked with a 12-meter-long SEA-KIT X class USV, and tested and validated sensors already used by UUVs for use on USVs in support of missions in coastal waters.
The SEA-KIT X was equipped with Sonardyne’s SPRINT-Nav hybrid inertial navigation instrument, which was tested against local real-time kinematic (RTK) GPS positioning as part of the DASA program to fast-track autonomous vehicle capability in challenging or harsh conditions.
Volansi receives Airmanship Special Award from African Drone Forum
The African Drone Forum awarded Volansi the Airmanship Special Award for its outstanding participation and operational excellence during the Lake Kivu Challenge unmanned aerial vehicle flying competitions.
The Lake Kivu Challenge was part of the 2020 African Drone Forum, which was held in February in Rwanda. The Forum and Challenge were a collaboration between the Government of Rwanda, the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID/UKAID), and the World Bank Group. The goal of the Forum and Challenge was to demonstrate real-world use cases for autonomous drone delivery across Africa.
GE Additive AddWorks helps GA-ASI complete milestone first flight with 3D-printed metal part
GA-ASI has spent the last nine years building deep experience with polymer-based additive technologies. Over the last few years, the company has made improvements in the development of its metal additive roadmap, as well as a dedicated additive manufacturing team.
After establishing the required ecosystem requirements to develop its metal additive manufacturing application space, the GA-ASI Additive Manufacturing (AM) team identified a series of parts and families of applications that had potential favorable business cases.
Fortem Technologies ensures safe airspace during first phase of UAS IPP in North Carolina
Fortem Technologies has completed the first phase of the FAA’s UAS Integration Pilot Program (UAS IPP) in North Carolina.
Under the program, Fortem is performing tests to monitor the airspace around WakeMed Hospital in Raleigh, tracking manned flights alongside the UPS Delivery Corridor, and using UAS to deliver medical test samples safely and quickly.
Fortem says that it was able to accurately and consistently track incoming medical helicopter traffic, and provide real-time alerts to unmanned service supplier AirMap to ensure a safe and secure airspace for flight.
“Ensuring the safety of manned aviation is paramount for unmanned flight operations, yet successful coordination of the two is not an easy task,” explains Basil Yap, UAS Program manager, NCDOT.
Locomation to test its autonomous truck platforms at Ohio's Transportation Research Center
Locomation, the provider of what it calls the world’s first trucking technology platform to offer human-guided autonomous convoying, has announced a research project with the Transportation Research Center Inc. (TRC) in East Liberty, Ohio.
Alongside TRC’s extensive research and development team, Locomation will actively test at the research center to advance its autonomous truck platforms, in an effort to facilitate more innovation on the testing and validation of the company's autonomy technology.
U.S. Navy, Northrop Grumman begin flight testing MQ-8C Fire Scout equipped with AN/ZPY-8 radar
Northrop Grumman and the U.S. Navy recently began flight testing of the MQ-8C Fire Scout UAS equipped with the Leonardo AN/ZPY-8 radar.
The Fire Scout’s first flight with the radar took place on Feb. 27 at Webster Outlying Field. Before that flight, several weeks of ground tests were conducted. As the entities consider mission expansion opportunities for the UAS, testing will continue to progress.
Dive Delivery granted permission to conduct drone deliveries in California
A delivery service focusing on residential and commercial drone delivery called Dive Delivery has received permission from the FAA to perform drone deliveries under existing Part 107 rules and regulations.
