AutoModality, whose technology allows drones to automatically conduct close-up inspections of bridges, buildings, power lines and other structures, has won the $1 million grand prize in the Genius NY business competition. Continue reading
Category Archives: Non-Military & Commercial UAS
South Korea to Train 1,700 Drone Operators Annually
South Korea is planning to train 1,700 drone operators a year to meet growing demand in the commercial drone industry, the transport ministry said on Tuesday.
Drone with New Sensor to Inspect Power Lines
Hydro-Québec subsidiary MIR Innovation is developing a drone with state-of-the-art applications for the nondestructive inspection and maintenance of power transmission and distribution lines. Continue reading
First BVLoS Power Line Inspection Flight in New Zealand
A Taranaki drone company has made history by flying an unmanned aircraft “beyond line of sight” to inspect power transmission lines in the Rimutaka Ranges. Continue reading
John Deere and Kespry Forge Global Alliance
John Deere and Kespry have announced an exclusive global strategic alliance through which John Deere Construction & Forestry dealers will provide the Kespry Aerial Intelligence System to their customers on job sites around the world. Starting in North America, the alliance enables John Deere customers to use Kespry’s fully integrated industrial drone platform to capture topographic data in minutes with survey-grade accuracy. Continue reading
China’s Rainbow Solar UAV to Make Maiden Flight
China’s aerospace engineers boast the “Caihong” is the world’s largest solar-powered drone, dwarfing NASA’s Pathfinder series that never made it into mass production. The prospect of the drone leading in disaster monitoring is in the horizon. Continue reading
Amazon Patents Drones with Telescoping Landing Legs
A diagram shows how an Amazon drone could land on a sloping surface while keeping its main frame level, thanks to telescoping landing legs. (Amazon Illustration via USPTO)
Amazon’s inventors are taking a page from Inspector Gadget’s playbook to design drones with adjustable landing legs and reconfigurable propellers. Those two design tricks are the focus of patents issued today. It’s hard to say whether they’ll become features on Amazon’s delivery drones, still in development. Continue reading
Hybrid VTOL Fixed-Wing Drone Flies for 2+ Hours
The Volanti from Sydney-based Carbonix is a carbon composite drone with a 2.7-m (9-ft) wingspan that uses a multirotor system for VTOL, then transitions to horizontal flight as a push-prop fixed-wing once in the air. It flies for over two hours on electric power or seven with a gas pusher, and Carbonix hopes it will fill the industrial-grade niche in between hobby and military UAV gear.