Drones are being used by councils in England to fly over the homes of people making planning applications, the Daily Telegraph has learned. A Freedom of Information survey of hundreds of councils found that a dozen had admitted to using or hiring drones. Two councils – Epping Forest and Moray – said the drones could be used to check on planning applications. Continue reading
Consumer Drone Manufacturers Create Own Lobby Group
DJI, 3DR, Parrot and GoPro have broken away from the Small UAV Coalition to launch their own drone advocacy group, The Drone Manufacturers Alliance, to lobby for “policies that promote innovation and safety, and create a practical and responsible regulatory framework.” Continue reading
Thrust Gets EMEA Distribution for FPV Racing Drones
PCS Edventures!.com, Inc., (PCSV) a leading provider of K-12 Science and Engineering (STEM) programs and leader in the design and manufacturing of precision technology for drone racing and robotics has announced a distribution agreement for the new Riot first person view (FPV) racing drone with Unmanned Aerial Systems Ltd. (UAS) from the UK.
Helicopter Drone Gets Green Light, Takes Off
The Volocopter, the world’s first helicopter drone that anyone can fly, even with no pilot experience, has received the green light from German aviation authorities to fly as an ultralight aircraft.
FAA to host Unmanned Aircraft Systems Symposium
On April 19-20, 2016, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) will co-host an Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Symposium in Daytona Beach, FL. Continue reading
German Authorities Struggle to Reel in Errant Drones
Drone sales are soaring in Germany, but so is the number of potentially dangerous near-miss incidents around airports. The authorities have now decided that it’s time to reel in the flying robots.
Picobug – Mesoscale Robot that can Run, Fly, and Grasp
The Vijay Kumar Lab at Penn Engineering just published this video of one of its current research projects. Continue reading
New Drone has Flexible, Bat-Inspired Wings
Scientists at Southampton and Imperial have completely reframed the design problem of drones by looking to the flight capabilities of bats