Category Archives: Non-Military & Commercial UAS

How to Dig a Hole with Two Drones and a Parachute

The NIMBUS Lab at the University of Nebraska has been developing drones that have the unique ability to dig holes in the ground and then fill those holes with sensors. If this sounds like a complicated task, that’s because it is: The drone needs to be able to carry a portable digging system a useful distance, locate a diggable spot, land, verify that the spot it thought was diggable is in fact diggable, dig a hole and install the sensor, and then fly off again. Continue reading

Solar-Powered Drones Help Pojoaque Pueblo Monitor Vast Land Holdings

Wildflower International employees pose with their Silent Falcon drone at their office in Santa Fe. From left, Karen Sandoval, Laura Salazar, Michael Wahl, Rob Scism, all flight crew members, and Jenna deCastro the outside account executive for DOE.

Under a new partnership with Santa Fe-based Wildflower International, unmanned aerial systems made by Albuquerque-based Silent Falcon UAS Technologies will assist the Pojoaque Pueblo in managing its roaming herd of wild bison, map cultural sites on Pojoaque land, and improve fire control and search-and-rescue efforts. Continue reading

UAV-Based Thermal-Imaging Protocol to Find Toylike “Butterfly” Land Mines

A type of land mine called the “butterfly” has a particularly insidious reputation for two reasons: It is known for killing or crippling children who may pick up what looks a lot like a green plastic toy, and its mostly nonmetallic construction means it often evades traditional mine detectors. Butterfly mines’ light-touch detonators go off easily if stepped on by a fighter—or farmer—and their relatively small charge often maims people without immediately killing them. Continue reading