Regulators Approve Brazil’s First BVLOS Drone Delivery Operation

Speedbird Aero team with ANAC officials after successful live parachute deployment

Latin American drone delivery company, Speedbird Aero, announced it has received regulatory approval from Brazil’s National Civil Aviation Agency, also known as ANAC, to operate two experimental drone delivery routes in Brazil. Speedbird Aero operates a proprietary delivery drone with an integrated ParaZero parachute recovery system, and is now the first company in Latin America to win regulatory approval for a drone delivery operation. Continue reading →

Japan Airlines Joins Tokyo Drone Delivery Test

Japan’s flagship airline has joined a consortium of transportation and technology specialists to test drone deliveries of medicines and food in Tokyo. Japan Airlines, along with KDDI Corp., East Japan Railway, Weathernews and Terra Drone Corp., announced the project with the Tokyo government. Continue reading →

Honeywell Unveils Next-Generation Avionics Lab for UAS and UAM

A new research and development lab built by Honeywell is demonstrating the company’s technological capabilities in both hardware and software for the unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and urban air mobility (UAM) markets. The lab, which resembles a conceptual UAM vehicle flight deck with real hardware, is the first of its kind to demonstrate actual fly-by-wire controls and vehicle avionics integrated in a lab setting. Continue reading →

Ardenna Introduces Rail-Inspector Track Health Software

Rail-Inspector analysis (inset) of track image captured from aerial data collection

Ardenna has announced the general availability of Rail-Inspector, its cloud-based software that accurately processes and analyzes imagery captured during drone surveys. Rail-Inspector identifies and measures railway features, classifying anomalies and determining the health of railway features, while reporting on areas of concern to railroad decision makers. Continue reading →

Martin UAV V-BAT to be Evaluated During Operational Coast Guard Patrol

Martin UAV, in collaboration with the Coast Guard Research and Development Center (RDC), began a contractor-owned, contractor-operated deployment on-board a Coast Guard cutter in the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility on Aug. 13-14, 2020. Continue reading →

FAA Selects New York UAS Test Site for Next Phase of Drone Integration Program

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced two new participants for phase two of the unmanned aircraft traffic management pilot program (UPP) – The New York UAS Test Site at Griffiss International Airport in Rome, NY and Virginia Tech Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership in Blacksburg, Va. Continue reading →

Noodles Delivered by Drone in Lagos – Really ?

A drone was hovering over a balcony carrying a carton of Indomie noodles. Following the command of the person behind the camera, it dropped the carton on a table and brought out a PoS device, seemingly out of nowhere. The person recording then went on to make payment by swiping their card through the PoS. And that was it. No PIN or few seconds of network delay. A simple swipe and the drone glided away. Continue reading →