Vietnam has acquired the Orbiter 2 unmanned air system (UAS) for use as an aerial forward observation asset for its artillery corps. Continue reading
Snakebot and QuadCopter Combo for Search and Rescue
Everyone has different ideas on what the perfect search-and-rescue robot is, and for a University of Pennsylvania Mod Lab team, it comes in the form of a snake drone-quadcopter chimera. The Hybrid Exploration Robot for Air and Land Deployment or H.E.R.A.L.D. is composed of two snake-like machines that attach via magnets to a UAV. Continue reading
Micro Systems Gets $5M US Navy Control System Order
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. announced that its Micro Systems, Inc. subsidiary of the Kratos Unmanned Systems Division (KUSD) recently received a delivery order from the U.S. Navy valued at $4.8 million for unmanned aerial system command and control systems and services.
FAA says Air Traffic Control isn’t Ready for UAS
The Federal Aviation Administration is facing significant problems with integrating UASinto US airspace. The AP reports that plans for modernizing air traffic control can’t cover the unique challenges posed by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), given that they were made years before UAVs were used for more than military missions. “It’s becoming painfully apparent that in order to get [drones] in there, there is going to have to be a fair amount of accommodation, at least in the beginning,” National Air Traffic Controllers Association representative Chris Stephenson is quoted as saying. Continue reading
Nixie, the Quadcopter that Fits on your Wrist
Earlier this year, Intel kicked off its Make it Wearable challenge, a mission to take wearable technology and do things with it that haven’t yet been done — that, maybe, no one had even thought of yet. Team Nixie has begun developing a quadcopter that fits on your wrist. Continue reading
Smart Atoms Replace Spaxels
Smart Atoms are the latest enhanced and upgraded version of the spaxels, developed by Ars Electronica Futurelab. Instead of being equipped with LEDs, the quadcopters are interlinked as flying building blocks. This will make it possible not only to form visual likenesses but also to generate objects with material-virtual characteristics. Continue reading
AeroVironment Gets $22 M RQ-12 Wasp AE S Order for US Marine Corps
AeroVironment, Inc. announced it has received a firm fixed-price order valued at $21,779,408 for RQ-12 Wasp®AE small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and initial spares packages for the United States Marine Corps. Continue reading
Kirin Beer QuadCopters
Japanese brewery Kirin unveiled a new campaign for their Off White brand of imitation beer products known as happoshu. To help promote their cheaper beer substitute, Kirin will be dispatching six drones painted like pigeons to fly around and record the people of Taketa City in Oita Prefecture. Continue reading