Category Archives: Non-Military & Commercial UAS

Ontario Police Use Drones for Snowmobiling Safety

Insp. Tina Maier speaks Monday at OPP General Headquarters in Orillia during the launch of Snowmobile Safety Week

The Ontario Provincial Police  is now utilizing drones and aircraft to enforce safe snowmobiling after a spike in fatalities last year and a half-dozen deaths already this winter. Provincial police are “dismayed by the recurring causal factors in snowmobiler deaths, most notably, those that stem from snowmobilers travelling on unsafe ice again this season,” Continue reading →

New York Power Authority to Integrate Lidar Technology with Its Drone Program

The New York Power Authority (NYPA) announced that it has received a $125,000 grant from the American Public Power Association (APPA) Demonstration of Energy & Efficiency Development (DEED) program to research and integrate light detection and ranging (LiDAR) technology into its existing in‑house Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) program for vegetation management inspections along NYPA’s transmission lines. Continue reading →

LAPD Releases Video of First SWAT sUAS Deployment


The Los Angeles Police Department’s Metropolitan Division, Special Weapons and Tactics Team (SWAT) utilized a small unmanned aerial system (sUAS) for the first time, during a barricade incident involving a robbery suspect.  Continue reading →

Microdrones Expands into Asia with Aircam Acquistion

As part of an ongoing global growth initiative, Microdrones has acquired Aircam UAV Technology (“Aircam”), a 64 employee Chinese company with its main location in Foshan, an hour-drive from Guangzhou in Southern China, and a branch in Beijing. Aircam has developed a large Chinese and Southeast Asian customer base with a focus on surveying & mapping, utilities, and oil & gas industries.   Continue reading →

India Considers Drone Corridors and Droneports

 To address various challenges for safety and expansion of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) in India, a task-force constituted by the Union government has proposed creation of “Drone Corridor” and “Droneports” in the country. Accordingly, the Ministry of Civil Aviation constituted task-force has recommended key principles and ideas in — Drone Ecosystem Policy Roadmap — that will guide the drafting of ‘Civil Aviation Regulations’ (CAR) 2.0. Continue reading →