Category Archives: Non-Military & Commercial UAS

senseFly Drones Monitor Lake Winnipeg Ice Hazards

senseFly fixed-wing drones have been used to track and monitor the formation of lake ice hazards on Lake Winnipeg by NextGen Environment Research Inc., a Canadian company based in Winnipeg. The project, conducted as part of the Canadian Space Agencies Earth Observation Applications Development Program (EODAP), aimed to identify and monitor the levels of lake ice and detect cracks and pressure ridges to raise awareness among local communities and first responders about the risks of lake ice travel. Continue reading →

IAI Introduces MultiFlyer – A Fleet of Small Helicopter Non-Military UAVs

Israel Aerospace Industries has introduced MultiFlyer, a UAV squadron of small unmanned helicopters that can fulfill a large range of non-military tasks. MultiFlyer provides advanced monitoring capabilities for large areas and is based on commercial, off-the-shelf helicopter UAVs from Alpha Unmanned Systems integrated with components from IAI and several Israeli startup companies. Continue reading →

Regulators Approve Brazil’s First BVLOS Drone Delivery Operation

Speedbird Aero team with ANAC officials after successful live parachute deployment

Latin American drone delivery company, Speedbird Aero, announced it has received regulatory approval from Brazil’s National Civil Aviation Agency, also known as ANAC, to operate two experimental drone delivery routes in Brazil. Speedbird Aero operates a proprietary delivery drone with an integrated ParaZero parachute recovery system, and is now the first company in Latin America to win regulatory approval for a drone delivery operation. Continue reading →

Japan Airlines Joins Tokyo Drone Delivery Test

Japan’s flagship airline has joined a consortium of transportation and technology specialists to test drone deliveries of medicines and food in Tokyo. Japan Airlines, along with KDDI Corp., East Japan Railway, Weathernews and Terra Drone Corp., announced the project with the Tokyo government. Continue reading →

Noodles Delivered by Drone in Lagos – Really ?

A drone was hovering over a balcony carrying a carton of Indomie noodles. Following the command of the person behind the camera, it dropped the carton on a table and brought out a PoS device, seemingly out of nowhere. The person recording then went on to make payment by swiping their card through the PoS. And that was it. No PIN or few seconds of network delay. A simple swipe and the drone glided away. Continue reading →

FAA Issues Part 135 Air Carrier Certificate to Amazon Prime Air

The Federal Aviation Administration approved an exemption allowing Amazon’s Prime Air to move forward with operations while working towards formal certification of the MK27 UA aircraft and the airline operations. The approval comes with significant limits, but allows the company to continue development of the platform and supports progress towards the necessary certifications. Continue reading →