UAV News Talk – Drone News, eVTOLs, UAS Policy & Air Mobility

Open source UAV software, safety with a soccer ball sized drone, a drone landing on a moving vehicle, combining rotors and wings for overall efficiency, the FAA blocks sUAS registration site outside the U.S., and UAS rules for public safety organizations. News Dronecode Project Advances Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for Commercial Applications In its first year, the  Dronecode Project  has fo...

Anti-drone systems and shooting down drones, more legislation from California, the authority to control the airspace, the FAA clamps down on R/C and drone clubs in Washington, D.C., formation flying, drones in television and film, stealth UAVs, and the B4UFLY app. And now, for something completely different… Instead of recording this episode over Skype for an audio program, we tried a bit of an ex...

Registration of model aircraft moves to the courts, FAA releases an app and answers more registration questions, a cargo delivery UAV makes a first untethered flight, and a new drone challenge. News FAA Sued In Federal Court Over Drone Registration Rules Attorney and model airplane enthusiast John A. Taylor from Silver Spring, Maryland believes that the FAA requirement for sUAS registration is a v...

Small UAS registration is proceeding in the U.S., but AMA says to hold off, package delivery robots, drone registration in the Bahamas, security drones chase thieves, the FAA gets tough with states legislating drones. News sUAS Registration The  FAA sUAS registration website  is open for operators of small UAS intended for non-commercial use. Reportedly, 45,000 registrations were filed i...

The Hivemapper community-edited mapping and real-time navigation system for drone fliers. Guest Ariel Seidman is co-founder and CEO of  Hivemapper , which has been called “Waze for drones.” With Hivemapper, drone operators have a real-time view of obstacles and no-fly zones to help guide a safe flight. The growing database is a combination of data supplied by Hivemapper, observations from dro...

On December 14, 2015, the U.S Department of Transportation and the FAA held a media briefing to announce the new registration requirements for small UAS. This special episode provides the audio from the announcement. The rulemaking will appear in the Federal Register December 15, 2015. The requirement applies to sUAS from 0.55 pounds to 55 pounds. sUAS purchased before December 21, 2015 have until...

DaVinci Challenge Princess Aliyah Pandolfi created the non-profit  Kashmir World Foundation  to integrate art, science, and technology for sustainable projects that transform social and economic structures. One of these projects is the  DaVinci Challenge: Build a Drone Workshop , which helps students see robotic aircraft from a broader perspective. The workshop trains students and t...

The UAS Registration Task Force issues its report to the FAA, and industry responds. A free, worldwide UAS course for new users, and package delivery by drone down under. UAS Registration Task Force The Registration Task Force provided its sUAS  registration recommendations  [PDF] to the FAA. The FAA will now consider those recommendations, as well as the public comments received, and is...

DJI and 3D Robotics bring real-time airspace restrictions to UAV software, a UAV flagship store is planned to open, ArcadiaSky opens a marketplace for commercial UAV operators, FAA gives a UAV registration warning, and another municipality regulates drone flights. News DJI Introduces New GeoFencing System For Its Drones DJI plans to introduce a dynamic geofencing system that continuously provides...

“Polivation” policy briefing, UAS registration update, multicopters crash in Seattle, charges of misrepresenting UAS to the US Government, Google and Facebook want to be ISPs, and the tower industry looks ahead to UAS. Implementing Polivation to Achieve Autonomy: A Path Forward David tells us about the policy briefing he attended where panelists addressed issues of “polivation,” the intersection o...

Systems that allow drones to avoid obstacles, impediments to package delivery by UAV, the UAS registration task force kicks off and gets some help, and interviews and presentations from the UAS Industry Days conference. News A Drone with a Sense of Direction The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich has demonstrated a multirotor drone that creates 3-D maps of its environment. The first f...

Guest Kevin Kelly describes how Stampede is including UAV products and services in its portfolio so resellers can then offer complete drone video systems to business customers. Guest Kevin Kelly is President and COO of  Stampede Presentation Products , a large, value-added distributor of professional audio-visual (ProAV) products. They represent more than 150 technology manufacturers through...

Analysis of the DOT/FAA announcement that operators will be required to register their unmanned aircraft. News U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx Announces Unmanned Aircraft Registration Requirement Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx and FAA Administrator Michael Huerta announced the creation of a task force to develop recommendations for a registration process for unmanned aircraft. Se...

FAA proposes $1.9 million penalty against UAS operator, Pathfinder expanded to detect UAS near airports, NAV Canada wants jail time for flying near airports, detect-and-avoid standards on the way, Boeing tests joined wing body UAS, and DARPA working to develop vanishing drones. News FAA Proposes $1.9 Million Civil Penalty Against SkyPan International for Allegedly Unauthorized Unmanned Aircraft Op...

We talk with U.S. Customs and Border Protection Deputy Director John Murphy, Jr. about the UAS they use. Guest Guest John Murphy, Jr. is Deputy Director, National Air Security Operations for U.S. Customs and Border Protection ( CBP ), Office of Air and Marine Operations ( AMO ). John is responsible for providing oversight, mission alignment, and associated administrative requirements for national...

Industry reacts to FAA missing the UAS integration deadline, lasers on drones, UAS testing at Wallops Island, a million drones for the holidays, and interviews from UAS Industry Days 2015. News Drones Armed With High-Energy Lasers May Arrive In 2017 Predator and Reaper manufacturer  General Atomics Aeronautical Systems  is looking at mounting a 150-kilowatt solid-state laser onto its Ave...

A first report on UAS Industry Days 2015 with the keynote by Lisa Ellman and an interview with Lawrence Brinker. NUAIR Alliance and Empire State Chapter of AUVSI Second Annual UAS Industry Days: Collaboration for Innovation Held September 22-23, 2015 at the NUAIR Alliance Hangar and at the Turning Stone Resort and Casino Events Center in New York, this conference offered speakers, exhibits, flight...

Lockheed Martin adds drone flight plans to pilot briefings, the AMA takes a closer look at FAA drone sightings data, Canadian farmers don’t want onerous regulations, California legislators want more drone laws, InterDrone product announcements, and the Reaper gets a long-range update package. Think Before You Launch Think Before You Launch (TBYL) is an awareness campaign that seeks to educate both...

An Interview with the National Retail Hobby Stores Association, bad drone legislation vetoed in California, UAS awards, and mass jackassery. Interview We wanted to know how hobby shop retailers feel about their responsibilities toward UAV buyers at point-of-sale. So we called Noel Bays, the president of the  National Retail Hobby Stores Association  (NRHSA), and asked him. He was happy t...

Local and state drone laws and regulations at odds with federal authority, a reported mid air collision and other reports by pilots, updated model aircraft guidance from the FAA, two UAS executive positions filled by the FAA, and Sony shows us its camera-equipped quadcopter. Guest Sarah Nilsson has both an aviation and a legal background. She holds an airline transport pilot certificate for single...

Drone legislation in the news: private property overflights in California, mandatory drone geofencing, and weaponized drones for law enforcement. Also, ALPA responds to pilot encounters with drones, counter-drone systems, and a Sony prototype drone. News Drone no-fly zone in California will stifle innovation, say industry advocates The California Assembly has passed a bill (SB 142) that prohibits...

We talk with Dr. Ella Atkins about UAS privacy regulations, regulatory and legislative jurisdiction over the airspace, developing a drone safety culture, and UAS air traffic management challenges. Guest Dr. Ella Atkins is an Associate Professor in the  Department of Aerospace Engineering  at the  University of Michigan , where she is director of the  Autonomous Aerospace System...

Reports of unmanned aircraft sightings by pilots on the rise, FPV racing gets a financial boost, Google tests package delivery, proliferation of rogue drones, and knocking down drones with light, sound, and shotguns. News Pilot Reports of Close Calls With Drones Soar in 2015 According to the FAA, pilots reported 238 unmanned aircraft sightings in 2014. Through August 9, 2015, more that 650 sightin...

We talk with faculty members from  Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University  about their unmanned systems degree programs. Embry-Riddle Worldwide’s College of Aeronautics currently offers a Master of Science in Unmanned Systems, a Bachelor of Science in Unmanned Systems Applications, and an undergraduate minor in Unmanned Aerial Systems. We talk about how programs are developed, the types of...

Observations from the NASA Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) Traffic Management Convention, including the Amazon Prime Air proposal for drone traffic management. Guest Max Trescott  attended the  NASA Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) Traffic Management Convention  (or UTM) and gives us his impressions of the event. Max is a general aviation pilot, a certified flight instructor, an aviation...