Matternet, a Swiss company, began a three-year test programme of its delivery drones under a program run by the N.C. Department of Transportation and authorized by the Federal Aviation Administration. The North Carolina program is one of 10 the FAA chose nationwide to try to determine how drones, or unmanned aircraft systems, can be put to commercial use in the United States. Continue reading
Category Archives: Non-Military & Commercial UAS
VTOL BVLoS Flight Testing Nears Completion in Brazil
FT SISTEMAS has successfully advanced in the Flight Testing campaign of its new design the FT-100FH Rotorcraft. The company is about to conclude the Visual-Line-of-Sight flight testing necessary to go further in the development, getting RBAC-E94 Beyond-Line-of-Sight flight authorization by ANAC, the Brazilian civil aviation authority. Continue reading
3D UAS Mapping of a Copper Mine
In May 2018, the Erdenet Mine in the north of Mongolia was mapped in just three days. The open pit mine measures 5km by 2km and has an elevation difference of 200 metres. The dusty and complex circumstances called for the use of an unmanned aerial system (UAS). Continue reading
African Mine Drone Service Contracts for Rocketmine
Rocketmine, a subsidiary of the international Delta Drone Group, continues to affirm its’ position as the drone service providing leader in UAV (drone) solutions for the mining sector. The company has procured contracts with mining giants throughout Africa. Continue reading
Drone Inspections Reduce Commercial Real Estate Investment Risks
The commercial property industry is expansive, totalling $750 billion across real estate, management and insurance. There’s also a certain amount of inherent risk for investors, particularly to property and infrastructure. Physical asset risk, which includes equipment or ageing roofs that need replacing, is one of the top-10 sources of risk in commercial real estate, according to CrowdStreet. Continue reading
SKYF Develops Blockchain-Based Cargo Drones
A metal frame with four small and two large propellers – carrying a container the size of a refrigerator – rises into the air with a roar, hovering above an empty road amidst snowy fields. The video was shot on the airfield near the Russian city of Kazan, which is located to the south-east of Moscow, and the machine is a SKYF drone, designed by a team of Russian aviation engineers. Continue reading
Colombia Tests Drones to Destroy Coca Plants
With drug crops booming, Colombia’s police are busily testing whether drones carrying defoliants can efficiently kill the leaf used to make cocaine and win the support of Trump administration officials concerned about this country’s growing capacity to supply drugs to American consumers. Continue reading
BVoLS Fights Launch at Grand Sky
Grand Sky, the first and only fully operational commercial unmanned aerial systems (UAS)-focused research and development park in the U.S., announced beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) flight operations for large UAS have begun at the park. Continue reading




