SkyDrones Tecnologia Avionica in Brazil was able to inspect and estimate the cost of repairing a 104-year-old chimney by reconstructing it using UAV-acquired images and image processing software.
Jammer Hunting with a UAV
A fully autonomous, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-based system for locating GPS jammers, currently under development, seeks to localize a jammer to within 30 meters in less than 15 minutes in an area comparable to that of an airport.
LiquidPiston Gets $1M DARPA Contract to Develop Heavy-Fueled, Rotary Combustion Engine Technologies
LiquidPiston, Inc., a developer of advanced combustion engine technology, has announced that the company has entered into an agreement with the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to advance the development of its highly efficient, power-dense rotary internal combustion engine for portable and small-engine applications. Continue reading
North American T-6 Texans / Harvards Display
The New Zealand Warbirds Assn ‘Roaring Forties’ Harvard (aka Texan) formation team put on a noisy display at Ardmore Airport, Auckland, New Zealand. Continue reading
FAA-Industry Initiative Will Expand Small UAS Horizons
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has announced a partnership with industry to explore the next steps in unmanned aircraft operations beyond the type of operations the agency proposed in the draft small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) rule it published in February. Continue reading
RQ-4 Global Hawk Achieves Milestone C
The U.S. Air Force RQ-4 Global Hawk high altitude, long endurance autonomous unmanned aircraft system (UAS) successfully completed Milestone C approval from the Defense Acquisition Executive.
UAV Vision ISR Payload Selected by Airbus Defence and Space for High Altitude Pseudo-Satellite Programme
UAV Vision has been selected by Airbus Defence and Space to supply an ISR payload for the Zephyr 8 part of the High Altitude Pseudo-Satellite (HAPS) programme.
Tropical Cyclone Damage Assessment by UAS
Following the devastation of Cyclone Pam, the Government of the South Pacific island of Vanuatu and the World Bank contacted Australian operator Heliwest, who deployed Lockheed Martin’s Indago small unmanned aerial system (UAS) to conduct a rapid damage assessment. The Indago collected imagery of the damage over a two week mission and provided the data to operators, without risking a life.