The FAA announced that it’s eyeing beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) exemption approvals for four top aviation firms, opening the door to expanded unmanned operations. Now we know exactly what permissions they’re asking for. Continue reading
Author Archives: The Editor
Food Delivery by Drone is Part of Daily Life in Shenzhen
While I was in China, I learned that the dominant Chinese food delivery platform, Meituan, has been flying delivery drones in the city for more than a year now, and I wanted to check it out myself. I found that the reality of drone delivery is still far from ideal, and people may be turned away by the steep learning curve. Continue reading
Sniffer Closes $2M Seed Funding for Drone-Based Methane Leak Monitoring
Sniffer Robotics, a leading environmental technology enabled services firm, has announced first and substantial close of a $2 million seed funding round, led by the Michigan Angel Fund. Other investors include Michigan Rise, Naruhisa Nakagawa (founder of Caygan Capital), and Abhishek Desai of Desai Ventures (London). Continue reading
RigiTech and Spright Partner on Drone Deliveries for Healthcare
RigiTech, a Swiss provider of advanced drone delivery solutions, is proud to announce its partnership with Spright, the U.S.-based unmanned aerial system operator. This strategic alliance and commitment to deploy the Eiger delivery system further signals the reliability of RigiTech’s technology and comprehensive solutions. Continue reading
Upgraded Gray Eagle Extended Range UAS Featured in US Army Demo
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) is supporting a demonstration that began in March and is featuring two U.S. Army-owned Gray Eagle Extended Range (GE-ER) Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS). Continue reading
US Army Selects Final Four for FTUAS Program
The U.S. Army concluded the Base Period of the Future Tactical Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (FTUAS) Program of Record (formerly Increment 2) effort and awarded agreement option 1 to the following four Project Agreement Holders (PAHs): Griffon Aerospace, Incorporated; Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation; Sierra Nevada Corporation; and Textron Systems Corporation. Continue reading
Blohm & Voss BV 155 – Germany’s Stratospheric Interceptor
The Blohm & Voss BV 155 was a German high-altitude interceptor aircraft intended to be used by the Luftwaffe against raids by USAAF Boeing B-29 Superfortresses. Work started on the design as the Messerschmitt Me 155 in 1942, but the project went through a protracted development period and change of ownership, and prototypes were still under test and development when World War II ended. Continue reading
Wingtra Launches Improved Mapping Camera
Wingtra has unveiled the RGB61 payload. Engineers have customized the Sony Alpha 7 Mark IV 61MP RGB camera to offer the most efficient, data-light UAV data solution on the market. All of this while offering seamless, in-app light-settings control, and reliable, ultra-high accuracy image capture with every flight. Continue reading