Throughout the Middle East, falcons have been flown for hunting and sport for thousands of years. But devotees of this ancient tradition have brought falconry into the technological age with falconers using quadcopters to train their birds. Continue reading
Category Archives: Non-Military & Commercial UAS
Ship-Based UAV Ice Monitoring Mission in Arctic
ING Robotic Aviation, Canada’s leading provider of robotic aircraft solutions, has just completed its two week mission to Canada’s North on board Fednav’s ice-breaking cargo ship MV Arctic. Primarily a research and development initiative, this project (led by Enfotec) was designed to assess various operational and technical aspects of ship-based UAV ice monitoring.
Drones with Heat-Tracking Cameras Monitor Koala Population in Queensland
Queensland researchers are hoping drones will aid in the conservation of threatened species like koalas. Traditionally, koalas were counted by people on the ground but now they can be tracked by robots from the air. Continue reading
NOAA Tests Unmanned Systems for Research and Management in National Marine Sanctuary System
NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries has successfully tested the integration of two different types of unmanned systems for potential use in research and management of national marine sanctuaries. The tests earlier this month in Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary involved NOAA’s Puma unmanned aircraft system and Liquid Robotics, Inc., Wave Gliders. Continue reading
K-State Salina Gets Statewide Access for sUAS Flights
Kansas State University Salina has reached a national milestone in the unmanned aircraft systems industry, becoming the first entity in the country to receive approval from the Federal Aviation Administration, or FAA, for statewide access during flight operations.
DroneBall Game
Zyro Games is currently running a Kickstarter campaign to fund final prototype rounds and game development for its drone ball. Continue reading
Drones Collecting Cell Phone Data in LA
Using a fleet of readily available consumer drones, AdNear – a Singapore-based location-marketing firm – is able to determine a cell phone’s location as well as its movement by collecting signal strength and other wireless data from passersby below. With this data in hand, AdNear could then deliver hyper-targeted ads and other promotions to potential customers as they’re walking past a storefront in the hopes of incentivizing a customer to enter the store.
UAVs to Map Africa’s Unmapped Rural Areas
Ivan Gayton with Doctors Without Borders in London has created a low-cost drone which he says says will help map parts of Africa where infrastructure is poor — one of many new ways drone technology is being used in Africa. Continue reading