Unmanned Aircraft Inspect Energy Pipeline Route

VirginiaThe first Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership at Virginia Tech test flight using a fixed-wing unmanned aircraft to inspect an energy pipeline route—with a piloted chase plane following behind to ensure safety beyond the ground observers’ sight line —was completed last week. The flight was a step toward making aerial inspections of energy pipelines safer and more economical, researchers say.

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China’s SF Express Delivers 500 Parcels per Day

China 1China’s largest mail company is set to deliver more than 1,000 packages a day by drone. S.F. Express has revealed it already has a fleet of aircraft flying 500 parcels a day to remote areas, and it is now looking to double the capacity. The all-weather drones deliver parcels between couriers before automatically return to base, according to People’s Daily Online.

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Israel Tops UAV Exporters List

Super-Heron-According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), in the period between 1985 and 2014, 60.7% of all exported unmanned aircraft in the world were produced in Israel. The United States comes second as a manufacturer of unmanned aerial vehicles, as it supplied 23.9% of all (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) UAVs exported during this period. Canada came third with 6.4%. Continue reading →

Micro Aerial Vehicle Type Wall-Climbing Robot

As civil structures become massive and high, the maintenance and inspection for the structures are getting important, however most of the conventional maintenance and inspection methods are labor-intensive. It has a problem of the large cost due to the staffing professionals, lack of professional manpower and high risk for hard to reach areas. Continue reading →