Ascent Vision Technologies Gets $23M USAF CUAS Contract

Ascent Vision Technologies (AVT) was recently awarded a contract to deliver a full suite of counter drone vehicles to the U.S. Air Force. This unique capability, known as the eXpeditionary Mobile Air Defense Integrated System or X-MADIS, was selected by the Air Force after 18 months of testing, trials and evaluation across multiple military services and operational spectrums. The total contract value exceeds US$23mm and deliveries will begin later this year. Continue reading

University of Texas and Lockheed Martin Team on Unmanned Vehicle Project

A pair of University of Texas at Arlington researchers are teaming with Lockheed Martin Corp. to optimize how unmanned vehicles use sensors to gather information. Frank Lewis, the Moncrief-O’Donnell Chair and professor of electrical engineering, and Yan Wan, an associate professor of electrical engineering, are helping the company determine how to use sensors on vehicles that are underwater, on the ground and in the air to measure and predict the activities of a target. Continue reading

Swiss Post Suspends Drone Delivery Service After Second Crash

For about a year, Swiss Post and Matternet have been collaborating on a drone delivery service in three different cities in Switzerland, with drones ferrying lab samples between hospitals far faster and more efficiently than is possible with conventional ground transportation. The service had made about 3,000 successful flights as of last January, but a January 25th crash into Lake Zurich put things on hold until April. Continue reading