Textron Systems Weapon & Sensor Systems announced that a pair of successful live-fire demonstrations of its new Fury lightweight precision guided glide weapon off of a Shadow Tactical Unmanned Aircraft System at the U.S. Army’s Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona.
JARUS – New Appointments & Announcement of Secretariat
JARUS (Joint Authorities for Rulemaking on Unmanned Systems) is a global grouping of national aviation authorities developing and proposing regulations for Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS). Several important decisions were taken at the JARUS plenary meeting, which took place in Helsinki, Finland on 15-19 September 2014. Continue reading
Flying Lampshades by the Cirque du Soleil
If anyone could turn quadcopters into romantic, magical, flying lampshades, it’s the Cirque du Soleil. The Cirque, the worldwide, billion-dollar-plus entertainment empire, on Monday unveiled a video (see below) showcasing its use of quadcopters as a lyrical storytelling tool. Continue reading
Taiwan Nationals Admit Scheme to Export US Military UAS Technology
Two Taiwan nationals today admitted their roles in a scheme to export sensitive U.S. military drone technology overseas, federal prosecutors say. Hui Sheng Shen, 47, and Huan Ling Chang, 43, pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate the Arms Export Control Act during a hearing today before U.S. District Court Judge Esther Salas. Continue reading
Autonomous Structure Assembly
A European project led by the Center for Advanced Aerospace Technologies (CATEC) and the University of Seville created flying robots capable of reaching places too dangerous for humans and work independently in a wide range of tasks. The autonomy and skills of the robots is being developed to build or disassemble structures for a host of future applications, from rescue missions to inspection and maintenance in the energy and space sectors. Continue reading
IAI’s M19 – a Surveillance Payload for UAS Capable of Long-Range HD Photography
The M19 was designed for long ranges,” says Igal Mevorach, Head of the Marketing & Business Development Administration at the TAMAM Division of IAI. “You can install it on large UAVs that operate at high altitudes, like the Heron and Heron-TP. The objective is to enable these vehicles to fly inside Israeli territory while photographing targets located outside this territory (stand-off intelligence). Continue reading
NOAA to Launch UAS into Hurricane Edouard
Hoping to get a better understanding of why some hurricanes grow into monster storms while others just fade away, federal scientists are launching drones to fly into Hurricane Edouard to see what makes it tick. This marks the first time that unmanned aircraft have been dispatched from “hurricane hunter” planes flying through Atlantic tropical storms. Continue reading
UAS Turns Valves
“Towards Valve Turning using a Dual-Arm Aerial Manipulator,” by Christopher Korpela, Matko Orsag, and Paul Oh, from Drexel University. Continue reading