UAS VISION
an independent online news service for the Unmanned Aircraft Systems world
Quanta Services has been granted a patent for a remotely controlled unmanned aerial device that can safely operate near high voltage powerlines. The device includes an electrically conductive shield that encapsulates the unmanned aerial vehicle, allowing it to transfer the powerline potential without affecting its components. The system aims to protect the vehicle from electrical charge while in contact with the powerlines. Continue reading
AeroVironment has been granted a patent for a system that improves the performance of vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aerial vehicles. The system includes two GPS antennas and a flight controller that utilizes the GPS signal from the antenna that is not being used for navigation when the vehicle is at a certain pitch level. The system also detects errors in the GPS antennas and adjusts the pitch level to minimize the use of the antenna with the error. Continue reading
AeroVironment has filed a patent for a UAV payload module retraction mechanism. The mechanism includes a payload that can be stowed and deployed, with a biasing member to deploy the payload and a winch and flexible drawing member to retract it back into the UAV. Continue reading
Textron Systems Corp. has emerged victorious in a legal battle against DJI, a leading manufacturer of drones. Textron claimed that DJI had infringed upon its drone-related patents and demanded access to DJI’s source code. After a lengthy court battle, the judge ruled in favor of Textron, ordering DJI to hand over its source code. Continue reading
Hypersonix has been awarded a US patent for technology used in its SPARTAN scramjet design. US Patent Number US11639700B2 protects for close to 20 years some key features of an “Airframe integrated scramjet with fixed geometry and shape transition for hypersonic operation over a large Mach number range”. Continue reading
U.S. aerospace company Textron Inc. won a $279 million verdict on Friday against Chinese drone maker DJI Technology, persuading a federal jury in Waco, Texas that DJI willfully infringed its patents. Continue reading
Global supplier of airborne ice protection solutions, CAV Ice Protection Limited, has filed for a patent for an anti-icing solution for small uncrewed aerial systems (sUAS) that it claims could revolutionise commercial drone use in cold climates. Continue reading
BMT, an international design, engineering, science, and risk management consultancy, has announced that it has been granted a patent by the U.K. Intellectual Property Office for a novel concept called ‘SPARROW’, an autonomous ‘air-ground payload transfer device’ with truly disruptive capabilities for drone delivery applications. Continue reading