In some remote parts of the world, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are already being field-tested for medical uses. Drones successfully delivered small aid packages after the Haitian earthquake in 2012, and in Papua New Guinea, Doctors Without Borders used them to transport dummy TB test samples from a remote village to the large coastal city of Kerema.
Category Archives: Non-Military & Commercial UAS
Swedish SWAT Team Considers Drones for Special Operations
Swedish police are testing the use of drones, with a special emphasis on SWAT and possible search and rescue operations. It’s unknown how many drones the police in Sweden plan to order, but they would be used in select cases, with testing beginning sometime this summer.
Unmanned Aircraft Inspect Energy Pipeline Route
The first Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership at Virginia Tech test flight using a fixed-wing unmanned aircraft to inspect an energy pipeline route—with a piloted chase plane following behind to ensure safety beyond the ground observers’ sight line —was completed last week. The flight was a step toward making aerial inspections of energy pipelines safer and more economical, researchers say.
Drone Racing at 150 KPH
True believers hope they’re at the start of what’ll be a global movement, but for now they gather in fields, beaches and even car parks for fun – which involves flying drones at night, seeing what the drone sees.
China’s SF Express Delivers 500 Parcels per Day
China’s largest mail company is set to deliver more than 1,000 packages a day by drone. S.F. Express has revealed it already has a fleet of aircraft flying 500 parcels a day to remote areas, and it is now looking to double the capacity. The all-weather drones deliver parcels between couriers before automatically return to base, according to People’s Daily Online.
Octocopters to Detect Unexploded Bombs in Laos
Austin-based ArchAerial‘s new drone mission could potentially save lives in war-torn regions that are prone to accidents and fatalities from unexploded bombs. Continue reading
FAA Streamlines UAS COAs for Section 333
The Federal Aviation Administration has established an interim policy to speed up airspace authorizations for certain commercial unmanned aircraft (UAS) operators who obtain Section 333 exemptions. The new policy helps bridge the gap between the past process, which evaluated every UAS operation individually, and future operations after we publish a final version of the proposed small UAS rule. Continue reading
Game of Thrones Bans Drones
Crafty Game Of Thrones fans have been thwarted from getting any sneak behind-the-scenes peeks after a ban on drones above the set. Signs erected close to the filming studios in Titanic Quarter, East Belfast, warn of a “no-fly zone” . Continue reading