A San Francisco start-up is developing a UAS delivery service that promises to drug store items hovering outside of addresses in the Mission District in under 15 minutes. QuiQui hopes to start deliveries in July, taking advantage of a recent court decision that struck down Federal Aviation Administration guidelines barring UAS for commercial use.
Successful Simultaneous Manned, Unmanned Helicopter Flight Tests Aboard Littoral Combat Ship
Northrop Grumman Corporation and the U.S. Navy successfully flew the unmanned MQ-8B Fire Scout simultaneously with the MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter for the first time. The capability demonstrates how a mix of aircraft can increase a ship commander’s intelligence-gathering capabilities aboard the Littoral Combat Ship. Continue reading
senseFly Announces eBee RTK Integrated Survey-Grade System
senseFly announces the eBee RTK, a fully integrated, fully compatible survey-grade mapping system. The eBee RTK, available in Q3, 2014, will offer surveying and engineering professionals a highly accurate and flexible mapping solution that works alongside their existing base stations and does not require any third-party software.
BP and AeroVironment Launch First FAA-Approved Commercial Unmanned Aircraft Operations
AeroVironment announced that BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc., selected the company to provide mapping, Geographic Information System (GIS) and other commercial information services at its Prudhoe Bay oil field, the largest oil field in North America, for a five-year period. Continue reading
Global Hawk Needs $1.9 BN in Upgrades Before U-2 Can Retire
The Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned surveillance aircraft still needs nearly USD 2 billion in upgrades so that it can complete all the missions done by the manned Lockheed U-2, which the US Air Force (USAF) wants to retire to save money, a top service official said on 9 June.
Georgia Consortium Develops UAS for Agriculture
A Georgia statewide working group that includes state and federal government, industry and academia, has been working since 2009 to develop a type of UAS that can save a farmer’s time and resources during the growing season. Continue reading
UAS at the Golf Course
Laird Small is the longtime director of the Pebble Beach Golf Academy and has supervised the swings of tour players and celebrities and presided over the range at Pebble’s U.S. Opens and National Pro-Ams. He also helped design and outfit the Academy’s sleek new campus—which looks like a place you should get a lesson before spending $495 on a round of golf. Continue reading
Chocolate Quadcopter
Mike C from Zurich and his girlfriend have successfully created a fully functional chocolate quadcopter.The quadcopter has a frame made out of chocolate and the battery, motors and controllers were mounted on top of a different material to keep the chocolate from melting as long as possible. Continue reading