A commercial UAS software provider called Converge has announced that during its first seed funding, the company raised more than $750,000. The initial round of funding included investors such as Samsung NEXT, Techstars Ventures, and Kima Ventures. Founded by alumni from The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Converge is developing artificial intelligence (AI) fueled software for UAS that enables them to handle dull, dirty, and dangerous work. Converge says that its software has already been piloted by a selection of UAS service providers, as well as one of the largest construction companies in Florida.

UAS services and agricultural intelligence provider GreenSight Agronomics has announced that on Dec. 15 of last year, it was granted a waiver from the FAA to operate its UAS beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS). With this waiver, GreenSight, which provides daily monitoring services at top-5 agrochemical company test sites, golf courses, and farms, will be able to operate its UAS remotely from its Boston command center. The waiver still requires a local visual observer, though. GreenSight, which says that it is just the ninth company to obtain a BVLOS waiver from the FAA, will use this waiver to begin testing BVLOS operations at a customer site.

Schiebel has announced that as part of an ongoing homicide investigation in Stiwoll, Austria late last year, its CAMCOPTER S-100 UAS demonstrated its suitability for search and rescue missions, during a first of its kind operation. During the operation, Schiebel provided Austrian law enforcement with its CAMCOPTER S-100 UAS and operating personnel to help in the search for a double homicide suspect assumed to be hiding in a forest region. “This is a prime example for the potential civil use of a UAS such as the S-100,” says Hans Georg Schiebel, Chairman of the Schiebel Group.

Just a few weeks before Christmas on Dec. 7, 2017, audio/visual and journalism students at Pflugerville High School in Pflugerville, Texas received a DJI Mavic Pro UAS and accessories. The UAS was a gift from an anonymous donor, who presented it to the Pflugerville Education Foundation specifically for use by PHS. A source close to the donor says that the donation came about “partly because of the impressive work done by PHS A/V and journalism students over the years.” Equipped with a 12-megapixel camera that can stream video at full high-definition, a guidance system that allows it to avoid flying into obstacles, and a tripod mode for precision usage, the Mavic Pro UAS is meant to “give the program a leg up.”