According to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Google CEO Larry Page, the future of the Internet lies in the upper stratosphere. Facebook announced that it has set up a team to work on solar powered aircraft that would circle at a height of 20 kilometers to provide Internet access to suburban areas of the world where connectivity is scarce. Continue reading
FAA Intends to Establish FAA Air Transportation Center of Excellence for UAS
The FAA has issued a Notice of Intent to Establish an Air Transportation Center of Excellence – the FAA Center of Excellence (COE) for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS). Continue reading
Fly’s Rapid Wing Flutters Could Inspire Micro-UAS Flight
Flies have tiny muscles that allow them to make adjustments in mid-flight, and until recently, scientists were unable to get a good look at just how the muscles work. A 3-D, real-time video of insect flight could be used to design tiny, flying robots, or to create mini sensors for many applications, said study co-author Graham K. Taylor, a biomechanist at the University of Oxford in England.
U.S. Department of Agriculture UAS Monitors Plant Growth Cycles in New Mexico
A small group of researchers and technicians recently gathered on a dirt airstrip at the U.S. Department of Agriculture Jornada Experimental Range to launch a Bat 4 unmanned aircraft on a mission, flying through both military restricted airspace and the National Airspace System. Continue reading
Sheffield University 3D Prints UAS in Nine Parts
Engineers at the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) at the University of Sheffield have successfully printed a 1.5m-wide prototype unmanned aircraft system (UAS) for a research project looking at 3D printing of complex designs. Continue reading
Thales and Qatar Armed Forces to Develop Optionally Piloted Aircraft
Thales officials have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Qatar Armed Forces to assist in the development of an Optionally Piloted Vehicle – Aircraft (OPV-A), a high-performance intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance (ISTAR) system, and the delivery of an end-to-end training solution. Continue reading
University of North Georgia Test Brain-Controlled QuadCopter
Students at the University of North Georgia are developing an idea is for a human brain to send signals through the electroencephalogram-sensor headset to a small, unmanned helicopter. The wearer would then control a UAS via his thoughts, without using manual controls. Continue reading
Insitu ScanEagle to Compete for Brazilian Maritime ISR Programme
The Boeing/Insitu ScanEagle unmanned aerial system (UAS) is to soon compete for a place within Brazil’s maritime situational awareness system, officials announced at FIDAE 2014. Continue reading