Inspecting infrastructure assets like bridges and dams is crucial to their maintenance, but it’s easier said than done. Since these structures are large, complex, and often out of the way, traditional methods like terrestrial LiDAR can be slow, expensive, and difficult to use. Continue reading
Category Archives: Non-Military & Commercial UAS
University of Pennsylvania – Aggressive Flight 2017
This video presents an autonomous 250 g quadrotor performing aggressive maneuvers using a qualcomm snapdragon flight and relying only on on-board computation and sensor capabilities. The control planning and estimation tasks are solved based on the information provided by a single camera and an IMU. Continue reading
Joint Call to Safely Integrate UAS into Europe’s Airspace
As drones continue to take the world by a storm, key stakeholders are warning that the safety risks of drone operations may be seriously underestimated and deserve urgent attention. A Joint Statement, signed by the entire spectrum of manned aviation stakeholders – from pilots to airlines, helicopter operators to air traffic controllers – calls for “a robust harmonized EU-wide regulatory safety framework”. Continue reading
100+ Speakers Lined Up for Drone World Expo
From discussions on the Realities of Drone Delivery to a forum on Finding Funding: The VC Community Speaks, Drone World Expo taking place November 15-16 at the San Jose Convention Center will offer something for everyone interested in the use of drones for commercial purposes. Of the speakers, there are dozens of prominent women who will take the stage to talk about their involvement in this fast- paced and growing industry. Continue reading
New UAV System for Cell Tower Surveys
Garuda Robotics, a provider of end-to-end enterprise robotics solutions, has announced the launch of Garuda TowerSight, a complete UAV system for cell tower surveys. Continue reading
Drones Cut Cost of Thermographic PV Panel Inspections
Drones could cut the cost of thermographic PV panel inspections to between €1,800 and €2,750 a day, covering two hectares an hour, Solarplaza has learned. The cost is a typical daily rate for a pilot and a sensor operator and drone inspections from a height of 15 metres yield “very accurate results,” said Benjamin Federmann, director of marketing and communications at specialist firm Aibotix. Continue reading
400 KM Flight on Single Battery Pack
After over a year of careful research and development, a New Zealand resident has achieved a long sought after goal. On Saturday, September 10th, Tim Vincent flew an RPFlightSystems, Inc. Vigilant C1 aircraft for a total of 425 kilometers on a single battery pack. Continue reading
Precise Auto-Follow Consumer UAV
Chinese manufacturer Skye Intelligence, will soon unveil Orbit – a hands-free, social sharing drone. Continue reading