Aviation experts are outraged over a YouTube video that shows a remote-controlled quadrotor flying close to an airplane at Vancouver International Airport. Continue reading
Category Archives: Non-Military & Commercial UAS
Non-profit Group Sues FAA Over UAS Flying Ban
The US Federal Aviation Administration faces a second legal challenge over its ban on non-recreational flying of unmanned aircraft – and the first coming from a non-profit organization dedicated to searching for missing people. Texas-based EquuSearch filed a lawsuit in the US Court of Appeals in Washington DC, asking the court to over-turn a two-month-old FAA order prohibiting the non-profit organization from using unmanned aircraft sytems (UAS) as part of its search efforts.
UAS Inspect Energy Sites in California
Skycatch, a year-old start-up based in San Francisco that has raised $3.2 million from Google and other investors, builds UAS for the energy industry. The company has already signed deals to test its technology with the construction giants Bechtel and DPR; First Solar, a developer of photovoltaic power plants; and SolarCity, a solar panel installer. Continue reading
UAS Can Help Parched California Farms Save Water
Farmers represent a growing share of the market for UAS, and in California, some farmers are looking at the technology as a way to save water during the drought. Continue reading
Aero Surveillance Partners with Aero Composites
Aero Surveillance has announced a new partnership with Aero Composites Innovations (ACInnov) to focus on advanced Small and Medium Tactical fixed wing surveillance solutions. Continue reading
Engineering Consultants Buy UAS Fleet for Energy Pipeline Inspections
A firm of engineers based at Newcastle-upon-Tyne in England, that offer services to global oil and gas operators has invested in a fleet of UAS to allow them to survey hard-to-reach locations. MACAW Engineering, based at Quorum Business Park, has bought the UAS to use on inspections at production plants, pipelines and other energy facilities. Continue reading
KATSU and The Graffiti Drone
KATSU is an artist and vandal. His work pushes our idea of what can be achieved with the graffiti artist’s limited tool set. Having established himself as one of New York City’s most prolific and imaginative taggers in the 1990s, KATSU garnered admiration from the arts community (and condemnation from the authorities) when he pioneered the fire extinguisher spray can, which has permitted him to expand the scale of his art by orders of magnitude. Continue reading
Thieves Use Heat-Detecting UAS to Target Cannabis Farms
Criminals are using cheap kit bought from supermarkets to build heat seeking UAS they can use to track down cannabis farms to rob. Tech-savvy thieves are buying UAS for as little as £60 from supermarkets such as Tesco and attaching infra-red cameras to them, which they can monitor via an iPad. Continue reading