PrecisionHawk and Indiana State University have signed a research and development partnership that aims to advance the unmanned aerial systems industry from multidisciplinary perspectives. The university-business collaboration will focus on safety, education, training and algorithm development for PrecisionHawk’s DataMapper aerial data software. Continue reading
Category Archives: Research
Stanford Software Predicts and Prevents Collisions
The Stanford Intelligent Systems Laboratory (SISL) is part of a broad partnership led by NASA Ames to create an unmanned aerial system traffic management system, or UTM, to manage the expected surge in unmanned flights. “UTM is meant to fulfill a lot of the functions of air traffic control, but it will be in the cloud and largely automated,” said SISL Director Mykel Kochenderfer, an assistant professor of aeronautics and astronautics. Continue reading
UAV in Texas Piloted 13,000 Miles Away in Sydney
UAS uses NVIDIA Artificial Intelligence to Recognise Objects
Kespry, a developer of unmanned aerial systems for commercial applications, has announced that it has demonstrated a prototype drone that uses NVIDIA artificial intelligence technology to recognise objects. Continue reading
MIT Obstacle-Detection System Allows Autonomous Drone Flight at 30 mph
A researcher from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab (CSAIL) has developed an obstacle-detection system that allows a drone to autonomously dip, dart and dive through a tree-filled field at upwards of 30 miles per hour. Continue reading
DJI Moves R&D to Silicon Valley
DJI, the leading manufacturer of consumer drones, is building a new research and development center in Palo Alto, Calif., that could hold 75 or more engineers, according to several job listings posted in recent weeks. Continue reading
Harvard Scientists Develop Aerial-Aquatic RoboBee
Engineers have been trying to design functional aerial-aquatic vehicles for decades with little success. The biggest challenge is conflicting design requirements: aerial vehicles require large airfoils like wings or sails to generate lift while underwater vehicles need to minimize surface area to reduce drag. Continue reading
US Navy Funds Amphibious Drone Research
The Office of Naval Research has awarded Rutgers University a grant to develop a drone – equally adept at flying through the air and navigating underwater – that could speed search-and-rescue operations, monitor the spread of oil spills and even help the Navy rapidly defuse threats from underwater mines. Continue reading





