New Zealand’s tourism authority is now planning to cash in on the trend, buying a $1400 DJI Phantom 2 Vision+ drone to tour the country’s ski slopes, as well as Queenstown and Lake Tekapo, to capture tourist dronies.
Category Archives: Non-Military & Commercial UAS
UAS to Inspect Levees in Louisiana
South Lafourche’s levees will be viewed through an unconventional eye in the coming months. Levee District Director Windell Curole said the district is in the early stages of working on an agreement to have its levees inspected by unmanned aircraft equipped with a camera operated by a local company.
UAS Finds Trapped People Using Phone Signal
A Swiss masters student has created a system to help UAS home in on the location of people trapped underneath rubble, land or snow – by detecting signals given off by their mobile phones and so giving rescuers a clue as to where to focus their search efforts.
DJI Phantom Caught Smuggling Phones into Bangkok Jail
A DJI Phantom equipped with a video camera and two mobile phones were intercepted by guards at Khao Bin prison, widely known to have the best security protection system of all prisons in Thailand.
UAS Help Private Investigators
Private Investigators are taking UAS to new heights — using the remote-controlled aircraft to catch New Yorkers cheating on spouses, lying about disabilities and endangering their kids. Continue reading
Aermatica Receives First Italian Authorization to Conducty a Crtitical RPAS Operation
Italian company Aermatica, using its Anteos RPA has received the first authorization to conduct a critical operation in Italy. This authorization was issued in accordance with the Regulations on Remotely Piloted Aerial Systems (RPAS) brought out by ENAC, the Italian Civil Aviation Authority (2004.01)
San Diego Gas & Electric Gets FAA Approval for UAS Tests
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recently granted San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) a Special Airworthiness Certificate for a small Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS), allowing the utility to research, test and train flight crews on the UAS in a sparsely populated airspace in Eastern San Diego County. SDG&E is the first utility in the nation to be granted FAA approval for this technology. Continue reading
NASA Needs Long Endurance UAS
NASA has launched a concept study to evaluate options for acquiring a new fleet of large payload, long endurance unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) within five to 10 years, the agency says. Continue reading