Mark Zuckerberg announced on Facebook (where else?) on March 26th that the company had successfully completed its first test flight of its unmanned aircraft in the UK.
Category Archives: Applications & Testing & Experience
Drones Hold Great Promise For Medical Applications
In some remote parts of the world, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are already being field-tested for medical uses. Drones successfully delivered small aid packages after the Haitian earthquake in 2012, and in Papua New Guinea, Doctors Without Borders used them to transport dummy TB test samples from a remote village to the large coastal city of Kerema.
Swedish SWAT Team Considers Drones for Special Operations
Swedish police are testing the use of drones, with a special emphasis on SWAT and possible search and rescue operations. It’s unknown how many drones the police in Sweden plan to order, but they would be used in select cases, with testing beginning sometime this summer.
nEUron Flight Tests Move to Italy
Testing of the pan-European nEUron unmanned combat air vehicle demonstrator is due to move to Italy following the completion of French testing of the aircraft. Following 100 test flights by Dassault Aviation in France, during which the sensor, data-link and stealth characteristics of the demonstrator were tested, responsibility for the six-nation nEUron aircraft will be transferred to Alenia Aermacchi ahead of a follow-up test phase by Saab in Sweden.
China’s SF Express Delivers 500 Parcels per Day
China’s largest mail company is set to deliver more than 1,000 packages a day by drone. S.F. Express has revealed it already has a fleet of aircraft flying 500 parcels a day to remote areas, and it is now looking to double the capacity. The all-weather drones deliver parcels between couriers before automatically return to base, according to People’s Daily Online.
Micro Aerial Vehicle Type Wall-Climbing Robot
As civil structures become massive and high, the maintenance and inspection for the structures are getting important, however most of the conventional maintenance and inspection methods are labor-intensive. It has a problem of the large cost due to the staffing professionals, lack of professional manpower and high risk for hard to reach areas. Continue reading
Google Scraps ‘Wing’ Design
Google has scrapped its initial drone design because it was difficult to control and is now working on a new version, according to Astro Teller, head of the Internet company’s Google X research lab.
Boeing to Conduct Unmanned Systems Demos in Denmark
Boeing will conduct Denmark’s first-ever beyond visual line of sight unmanned airborne system (UAS) flights under civilian authority in May, another aspect of a partnership with Hans Christian Andersen Airport designed to help Denmark become an unmanned aerial systems leader.