Researchers from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine recently transported human blood samples across 161 miles of Arizona desert using a Latitude Engineering HQ-40 UAS, and in the process, set a new delivery distance record for medical UAS.
During the three-hour flight, which took off and landed at the same airfield on a UAS test range, the UAS’ on-board payload system maintained temperature control, which helped make sure that the samples were usable for laboratory analysis after landing.
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UAS
AeroVironment delivers UAS to DoD customers, unveils new Pocket Digital Data Link AE
AeroVironment, Inc. has delivered M1/M2/M5-compatible Raven and Puma All Environment (AE) UAS to two DoD customers.
The company has also announced that in December, it will begin taking orders for M1/M2/M5-configured Wasp AE micro air vehicles (MAV), for delivery next spring.
“Integrating the new M1/M2/M5 radio frequencies into our family of small UAS gives our customers the ability to seamlessly and securely conform to the Department of Defense‘s new frequency spectrum allocation and proceed with certainty,” says David Sharpin, vice president of AeroVironment’s Tactical UAS Business Unit.
Oceans Unmanned’s ECO-Drone program to focus on possible disruption of wildlife caused by UAS
Oceans Unmanned, Inc. has launched a new program called ECO-Drone, for Environmentally Conscious Operations, to address concerns surrounding UAS possibly disrupting wildlife in a variety of remote habitats.
Acute or chronic disturbances can have a significant impact on the health and fitness of different species, by throwing off migratory patterns, breeding, feeding, or sheltering.
To address these potential issues, ECO-Drone works with federal and state agencies, industry, and education institutions to “develop and communicate “best practices” to minimize or eliminate resource disturbance issues due to scientific or recreational drone operations.”
Collaboration is key to integration, ICAO conference attendees told
Collaboration is the key to integrating unmanned aircraft into the airspace, keynote speakers from three countries said at the opening of the Second Global Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems Symposium, held at the Montreal headquarters of ICAO, the International Civil Aviation Organization.
Alessandro Cardi, deputy director general of Italy’s ENAC aviation authority, said his country began its regulatory work with mid-size UAS, such as the Piaggio P1HH Hammerhead, unveiled a few years ago at the Paris Air Show.
For that aircraft, and others of a similar size such as the Falco UAS, Italy is using segregated airspace for such operations as humanitarian missions and commercial cargo delivery demonstrations.
North Carolina Department of Transportation to host UAS workshop in Wilmington
In an effort to show the benefits of UAS, and help potential users learn about the technology, the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) will host its third UAS workshop of the year on Thursday, September 28.
The workshop, which is being hosted by NCDOT’s Division of Aviation Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Program Office, will focus on commercial and government UAS operations and data management, so state and local government personnel are encouraged to attend, but local commercial UAS operators are also invited as well.
The workshop will include presentations, networking opportunities, and live flight demonstrations.
New Jersey Innovation Institute and Maser Consulting P.A. conduct UAS video inspections of cell towers in Houston following Hurricane Harvey
In the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, the New Jersey Innovation Institute (NJII) Defense and Homeland Security Innovation Lab and Maser Consulting P.A. are working together to conduct video inspections of cell towers in Houston, Texas using UAS.
Wireless communications play an integral role in organizing rescue and recovery efforts in Houston for civil command and control operations, as well as for neighbors and concerned citizens who helped rescue residents from flooded homes.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection to test small UAS in Arizona, Texas and Vermont
As a part of a pilot program starting this month, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has announced that the U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) will begin evaluating small UAS (sUAS) in the operational environment.
During the pilot, three series of fixed-wing and rotorcraft sUAS—the Puma, Raven, and InstantEye Quadcopter—will be operationally tested in three USBP sectors, starting in Tucson, Arizona, and then transitioning to Rio Grande Valley, Texas, and Swanton, Vermont later this year.
Indiana’s Bargersville Fire Department uses UAS to find missing woman
A UAS is being credited with helping to rescue a missing woman in Bargersville, Indiana.
The Shelby County Sheriff's Office says that a woman was reported missing shortly after 2 a.m. on Thursday, September 14.
After police and other search members narrowed the search down, a Johnson County Sheriff's Office deputy who was present during the search recommended dispatch to call the UAS in to assist with the search.
Bargersville Community Fire division chief Eric Funkhouser arrived with the UAS two hours into the search, and within just 15 minutes of being in the air, the UAS found the woman alive.
Weekend Roundup
This Week in the Unmanned Systems and Robotics World
Elbit Systems’ multi mission USV, named Seagull, performed a live demonstration of a remotely operated Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) mission. Via Satellite Communication (SATCOM), the Seagull USV performed the operational ASW mission using control consoles located approximately 3,515 kilometers away in Elbit Systems' booth at the DSEI Exhibition in London. The Seagull USV was sailing in the Haifa Bay, Israel during the demonstration. (Elbit Systems)
Lockheed Martin unveils OUTRIDER UAS
Lockheed Martin has unveiled its new small UAS called OUTRIDER, which was designed and developed in the United Kingdom at the Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI).
Weighing just 1.7 kilograms, the canister launched, four-inch wide UAS can travel up to 50 knots despite its size, and Lockheed says that the UAS “boasts the best payload capacity and endurance when compared with similar UAS's.”
