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

AgEagle is set to acquire Agribotix, Skysense and Avansig partner on indoor surveillance drones, DARPA investigates high-speed indoor drones with partners, Boeing and SparkCognition bring AI and blockchain to unmanned aircraft system traffic management, GE Aviation links with Korea’s Kookmin University to study future systems and possible uses for UAVs. UAV News AgEagle Signs Agreement to Acquire...

A pseudo satellite drone with deformable wings, an agricultural drone that sprays crops, a project for drone applications in cities, the FAA makes a Federal preemption statement, a payment concept for drone package delivery, and a deformable drone that absorbs impacts. UAV News Prototype Solar-Powered, High-Altitude UAV Undergoing Flight Tests The  UAVOS Inc.  HAPS (High Altitude Pseudo...

A flock of drones that act autonomously, the Airbus Zephyr maiden flight, Teal Group predicts strong growth for the civil drone market, DJI improves their geofence unlocking process, another incident with an airliner, and suicide drones that take out hostile UAVs. UAV News How a Flock of Drones Developed Collective Intelligence These autonomous drones flock without any pre-programming or control s...

A General Atomics remotely piloted drone flew across the Atlantic, military drone documents found on the dark web, Google’s delivery drone project moves forward, and recreational drone registration reaffirmed. UAV News First ever trans-Atlantic drone flight lands in UK The civilian-registered and remotely piloted  General Atomics MQ-9B SkyGuardian  flew 3,760 nautical miles from the Gran...

Korean telecom KT proposes the Skyship platform for search and rescue operations, the EU takes a step to harmonize drone rules, China pushes ahead with deliveries by drone, a Japanese drone can change its shape, UAS success in the Arctic, and Transcend Air proposes a city-to-city VTOL aircraft. UAV News KT Unveils 5G Emergency Rescue Platform ‘SKYSHIP’ South Korean telecom company  KT Corpora...

Facebook cancels the high altitude, solar powered Aquila project. Matternet and DroneDeploy attract VC capital, Amazon patents drone hacking defense, lawmakers seek to make wildfire overflights a felony, China develops surveillance drones that look like birds, and Transcend Air proposes a VTOL transportation service. UAV News Facebook’s quest for fleet of solar-powered Internet drones grounded for...

A UAS for Venus from Black Swift Technologies, DJI building a new headquarters complex, MIT develops the Navion chip, DroneDeploy spells out commercial drone predictions for 2018 and beyond, and LiquidPiston is developing a rotary drone engine. UAV  News Black Swift Technologies Awarded NASA Contract to Develop UAS for Atmospheric Observations of Venus Black Swift Technologies  announced...

A report says FAA risk adversity limits use of drones, SenSat breaks U.K. BVLOS record, Japan set to loosen BVLOS rules, and FCC sends a strong message to drone makers, marketers, and operators. UAV News Risk-Averse Culture At FAA Stifles Progress On Drones, Scientists Say A study by the  National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine  was mandated by Congress and sponsored by...

AiRXOS creates partnerships to create an “air operating system,” a five-month Canadian UAS BVLOS proof-of-concept trial, using drones to identify violent crowd behavior, and a chain of custody drone program for law enforcement. UAV News Waze for the Sky: GE Drone Venture AiRXOS Takes Flight AiRXOS  is working with government agencies and others to help develop standard criteria for commercial...

Airbus pushes forward with a new Urban Air Mobility unit, law enforcement embraces drones, another Amazon drone delivery patent, and FAA UAS news. UAV News Airbus Steps Up Push for Flying Taxis, On-Demand Helicopters Airbus SE is creating an Urban Air Mobility (UAM) division based in Munich. The division will consolidate all UAM activities except current air vehicle projects. Eduardo Dominguez Pue...

A long endurance solar-powered drone, UAVs used for offensive and defensive applications, autonomous pollination drones, and DJI interest in the UAS Integration Pilot Program. UAV News Naval Research Lab Adds Solar Power to Hybrid Tiger UAV Project The  U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL)  will use  Alta Devices  solar technology to help power the Hybrid Tiger UAV, a long endu...

The DOT announces the UAS Integration Pilot Program selectees, and the Small UAS Coalition responds. The future of Aurora’s Hybrid-Electric VTOL X-Plane is uncertain, and Uber wants to be your air taxi service provider, but many others want to play a role as well. UAV News U.S.Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao Announces Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration Pilot Program Selectees The U.S. D...

Testing at the Northern Plains UAS Test Site utilized the Rockwell Collins CNPC-1000 UAS command and control data link, the DOT published procedures for obtaining operator exemption to hold economic authority, New Zealand police ask the public to report drones instead of shooting them down, drones as autonomous air ambulances, battlefield deliveries by drone, the Customs and Border Protection dron...

The Intel Falcon 8+ becomes the first drone certified under UL 3030, DJI responds to security and privacy concerns, hydrogen fuel cells for drones, combating the Zika virus with drones, and an air taxi startup draws on an outside designer. UAV News First Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) and Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) Certified by UL UL issued their first UL 3030 electrical system safety certific...

The Commercial Drone Alliance seeks to repeal Section 336, the FAA Reauthorization ACT of 2018 is introduced, Apple might not like drone flights over its new corporate headquarters, Temple University students build an autonomous drone for campus tours, and the DARPA Gremlins drone swarm program. UAV News Commercial Drone Alliance Calls for Section 336 Repeal: ‘Times Have Changed’ The FAA Moderniza...

Operators of recreational drones flying for commercial purposes, upset Google employees, arrests for illegal anti-drone systems, drone technology and the travel industry, UAS ID and tracking proposals, a business competition winner, mapping with a LIDAR-equipped drone, and an outdoor drone testing facility that is really indoors. UAV News NBAA Warns of Commercial UAS Violations In  UAS Operat...

The UL 3030 certification standard for small commercial drones that use lithium-ion batteries. UL  is a global safety consulting and certification company that was established in 1894. Previously a non-profit organization known as Underwriters Laboratories, the company transformed in 2012 into UL LLC, a for-profit company. UL has been developing a new certification called UL 3030 to help prev...

Lockheed Martin’s MQ-25 Stingray concept, UTM testing, nuclear power plant inspection, pizza delivery by drone, another near-miss, Canadian drone regulations, and a new drone racing idea. UAV News Skunk Works Reveals Stealthy UAV Demonstrator The Lockheed Martin Skunk Works is celebrating their 75th anniversary and they were a major sponsor at the LA County Airshow in California. Lockheed put the...

Picking up objects with a folding arm drone, a drone that protects dropped objects with an airbag, a large air freight drone, training drone photographers and videographers, a first night flight for the NTSB, a general aviation company partners with an unmanned company, and an autonomous vehicle accident. UAV News This Drone Has Retracting Arms that Allow it to Pick Up Objects South Korean scienti...

Testing the Cora electric air taxi in New Zealand, drone research at Ford, package delivery in the UK and in the U.S., UAS traffic management in Switzerland and in the U.S. UAV News Larry Page’s Flying Taxis, Now Exiting Stealth Mode The  Kitty Hawk  company calls  Cora  “your first step towards everyday flight.” Financed by Google co-founder and Alphabet CEO Larry Page, Kitty...

Observations from the FAA’s 3rd annual UAS Symposium. 2018 FAA UAS Symposium The Federal Aviation Administration ( FAA ) and the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International ( AUVSI ) co-sponsored the FAA’s 3rd annual Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Symposium on March 6-8, 2018, at the Baltimore Convention Center. David attended the event and he gives us his observations. Remote identifi...

Drone legislation priorities for 2018, UAVs and university research, Piaggio’s latest P.1HH HammerHead, unmanned vehicles from Turkey, the drones made by DJI, drone applications in Maine, and hydrogen fuel cells for drones. UAV News Commercial Drone Alliance: Legislative Priorities for 2018 Founded in 2016, the  Commercial Drone Alliance  is an independent non-profit organization led by...

A call for regulation of recreational drones, the accuracy of wildlife counts, a flying display device, the MQ-1 Predator retirement, using drones for automated inspection, and a Phantom may have caused a helicopter to go down. UAV News Airline Groups Call on US Congress to Regulate Drones Three groups want Congress to modify Section 336 of the 2012 FAA Modernization and Reform Act that restricts...

The changing landscape for drone services, drone swarms for urban tactics, a simulated drone attack in Idaho, European airport operators embrace the value of drones but look for protections, MIT develops a mapping system for drone navigation, the Department of the Interior uses UAVs with great results, and Intel at the Olympics. UAV News Here’s Why The Drone Services Industry is in Trouble In the...

Ehang flies their autonomous aerial vehicle with human passengers, reaction to a close encounter with an airliner, drone safety measures at the Olympics, drone video awards, drone package delivery by Airbus, and thoughts on cargo drones. UAV News Flying car? Watch as this drone flies around with passengers inside The Ehang 184 autonomous aircraft is rated for a 220-pound payload, a cruising altitu...