Category Archives: Non-Military & Commercial UAS

FAI Ratifies Unmanned Plane Duration World Record

VA 001 Vanilla Aircraft

The FAI has ratified a duration world record for a unique experimental unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The VA001, an unmanned aircraft that looks like a glider but is powered by a diesel engine, successfully flew for 55hrs 56mins non-stop and without re-fuelling on 2 December 2016. Continue reading →

Norfolk Southern Completes 64 Bridge Inspections

Norfolk Southern has one of the most comprehensive drone-based railroad bridge inspection programs in the nation, recently surpassing more than 100,000 linear feet. To conduct this safety-critical task, NS in early 2016 contracted with Virginia Beach, Va.-based HAZON Solutions, a leading U.S. developer of small, unmanned systems operations, capability development, training, safety and testing programs for drone inspection services.

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AT&T Takes Cell Tower Inspections to the Next Level

AT&T already has contracted with vendors who conduct drone inspections of towers. Now, the video analytics team at AT&T Labs has joined forces with our National Drone Team to bring automated cell tower inspections a step closer to reality. With automation in the mix, we can do the job faster, better and more efficiently. With regulatory changes and further research, we hope that automated inspections will be possible. Continue reading →

Avion Unmanned and Huntsville Utilities Employ UAS in Daily Operations

With the help of Avion Unmanned, Huntsville Utilities will soon be able to employ UAS in their daily operations. This means a reduction in the level of risk and agency costs associated with the inspection of power poles, line connections, and associated equipment that is typically inspected using aerial vehicles (bucket trucks), or by the physical means of climbing a pole. Continue reading →