One giant touchdown for mankind? The first drone landing took place on the vertiport of Future Mobility Park (FMP) last Wednesday. One of the driving forces behind this landing platform and our in-house drone expert is Robin Provilij. A great opportunity to talk to him about this project and his love for everything that flies. Robin once dreamed of becoming an airline pilot but became more interested in the technical aspects of aircraft rather than the occupation of flying them. In 2014, he also had a revelation about the future of drones. “Much like the human immune system acts to safeguard our health by detecting potential issues, drones in the future could serve as watchful caretakers of our infrastructure by spotting signs of wear and helping to extend the lifespan of our built environment.” Galileo-port M4H And now it’s all coming together with the vertiport at FMP. “Galileo M4H is a fixed platform on which any drone can land, and it is the first of its kind in the Nether...

The FAA announced that it’s eyeing beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) exemption approvals  for four top aviation firms, opening the door to expanded unmanned operations. Now we know exactly what permissions they’re asking for. The FAA has now published  the requests of the four companies— Phoenix Air Unmanned ,  uAvionix ,  UPS Flight Forward , and  Zipline —and is seeking comments from the public. Stakeholders have until June 14 to share their suggestions or concerns with the requests. Considering the agency’s reliance on granting exemptions to gather information as it  works toward a final BVLOS rule , the FAA will likely approve the four requests, even if they require the inclusion of special conditions or restrictions. But if granted, what exactly would these permissions do? Let’s break down what the requested exemptions mean for each of the four companies. Describing itself as an aerial data acquisition services provider,  Phoenix Air Unmanned  is looking to operate BVLOS as well...

Dronamics Black Swan Cargo Drone Completes First Flight by DRONELIFE Staff Writer Ian M. Crosby Premier cargo drone airline Dronamics announced the successful first flight of its Black Swan flagship aircraft at Bulgaria’s Balchik airport, showcasing the potential for the logistics industry to improve the efficiency of the transportation of products. Continue reading below, or listen: Brothers Konstantin and Svilen Rangelov formed Dronamics out of a mutual desire to determine a faster, more affordable and environmentally-friendly method of delivering goods. The company’s ultimate goal is to make day delivery available to everyone, everywhere. Its successful completion of this milestone achievement is the result of months of ground testing and subscale flights. Two commercial airline pilots operated the Black Swan aircraft remotely from the Dronamics ground control station. The Black Swan offers a maximum cargo capacity of 770 lbs, and is able to reach a speed of 200 kmh / 125 mph. It i...

uAvionix Corporation defense customer, SURVICE Engineering of Belcamp, MD has been awarded a production contract from the Navy and Marine Corps Small Tactical Aircraft Systems Program Office. The production efforts will successfully equip U.S. warfighters using Tactical Resupply Unmanned Aircraft Systems (TRUAS) with innovative multirotor drones that augment logistical operations at the forward edge of the battlefield. uAvionix’s  AIMS-certified  RT-2087/ZPX Combat ID and Air Traffic Control surveillance system has been selected for inclusion in the production effort to satisfy the TRUAS Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) Transponder and ADS-B requirements for UAS operating both in the battlefield and in civilian airspace. “We congratulate SURVICE Engineering on this important award.  The TRUAS program will provide an important function to the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps and demonstrates how innovative small UAS can support the warfighter in multiple roles.  The RT-2087/ZPX delivers u...

One year after the Port Authority launched a new  Girl Scout badge  to encourage and educate girls in science, technology, engineering and math careers, the agency marked the partnership by sending a box of  Raspberry Rally cookies  across the Hudson River. In just 15 minutes, the 10-ounce box of cookies traveled from Greenville Yards in Jersey City, N.J., to Brooklyn, N.Y., without crossing a bridge or a tunnel or riding a boat. The precious commodity of cookies, procured by a neighbor of the agency’s program director of innovation, provided the payload for the agency’s first test of a small, unmanned aircraft used for delivery purposes. Program Director Seth Wainer chose the cookies to highlight the Port Authority’s support of the Girl Scouts Heart of New Jersey (GSHNJ)’s Port Authority  educational patch  for cadettes, seniors and ambassadors. On a recent May morning with clouds threatening to rain on a small crew of the agency’s emergency management staff, Port Authority police, N...

Boeing revealed that its MQ-28 Ghost Bat is hanging out stateside in a first public look at the drone on US soil, months after the Air Force said it wanted to conduct flight test experiments with the loyal wingman platform. Originally made for the Royal Australian Air Force, Breaking Defense  previously reported  in September that the US Air Force was “getting ready” to take possession of the drone for the service’s own testing purposes. It’s unclear whether that testing has actually begun, though the drone’s arrival at Boeing’s Phantom Works facility here outside St. Louis, which is adjacent to Scott Air Force Base, suggests that testing could begin soon if it has not already. Krystle Carr, Boeing’s director of autonomous collaborative platforms, acknowledged the drone had arrived for testing, but didn’t say when or for whom. She declined to elaborate, and Boeing officials referred all further questions to the Air Force. A spokesperson for the service did not immediately respond to a ...

Elroy Air, the company leading the race to develop a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aerial logistics system for middle-mile commercial shipping, humanitarian aid and military resupply, demonstrated the autonomous ground navigation and cargo-handling systems of its Chaparral aircraft for the United States Air Force senior and executive officers as part of the Golden Phoenix Technology Demonstration Event. Karl Purdy, Director of Federal Programs at Elroy Air narrates the demonstration of the Chaparral ground system at Travis Air Force Base. During the live demonstration, a developmental prototype of the Chaparral aircraft’s ground systems performed a series of autonomous manoeuvres without the use of GPS, which can be unreliable or jammed in contested environments. Without intervention from operators, the vehicle located and navigated autonomously to a cargo pod inside a hangar from a distance of 20 meters, then used its robotic grasping mechanism to pick the pod up and secure it ...

Dronamics, the world’s first cargo drone airline, announced today the successful completion of the first flight of its flagship aircraft, the Black Swan, at Balchik airport in Bulgaria; demonstrating the potential for the logistics industry to enhance efficiency in the transportation of products.  Born out of two brothers’ desire to find a quicker, greener and more affordable way to deliver goods, Dronamics is on a mission to enable same-day delivery for everyone, everywhere. This significant milestone is the culmination of months of ground testing and subscale flights. The Black Swan aircraft was remotely piloted by two commercial airline pilots from the Dronamics ground control station. The successful flight test validates the company’s licensed cargo drone technology for commercial flights in Europe, set to begin later this year, serving a variety of industries, with a fast and cost-effective solution to meet evolving consumer needs. “Since the day we first imagined what the Black S...

Everdrone Begins Collaboration with Air Ambulance Charity Kent Surrey Sussex by DRONELIFE Staff Writer Ian M. Crosby Drone solutions provider Everdrone and Air Ambulance Charity Kent Surrey Sussex (KSS) have announced a collaboration to begin implementing Everdrone First on Scene Grid™ technology in the UK. The goal of the collaboration is to allow KSS to broaden the scope of its rapid response service with the addition of drone delivery of time-sensitive essential medical supplies, advancing pre-hospital emergency healthcare across Kent, Surrey and Sussex. Drones offer the ability to greatly improve the efficiency of emergency response services through the delivery of time-critical medical supplies such as Automatic External Defibrillators (AEDs) faster than ground units, or in support of helicopter operations, all while granting the dispatch center visual situational awareness. “Our collaboration with Everdrone to initiate implementation of this technology is a first for an air amb...

NUAIR and NYNJ Port Authority Conduct Drone Delivery Over the Hudson River by DRONELIFE Staff Writer Ian M. Crosby A year after launching a new Girl Scout badge to encourage and educate girls in STEM careers, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey commemorated the partnership with the delivery of a box of Raspberry Rally cookies across the Hudson River, which served as the payload for the agency’s first test of a small unmanned delivery aircraft. The box of cookies traveled 3 miles from Greenville Yards in Jersey City, N.J., to the New York New Jersey Rail’s (NYNJR) eastern terminus in Brooklyn, N.Y. in only 15 minutes, and the drone made the return trip in 10 minutes. The delivery was made using an autonomous cargo drone in a pilot developed by Saleh Kojak, who manages the agency emergency management office’s drone program. Kojak coordinated the test, securing support from aviation and port department staff and signoffs from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The test...

Sniffer Robotics , a leading environmental technology enabled services firm, has announced first and substantial close of a $2 million seed funding round, led by the Michigan Angel Fund . Other investors include Michigan Rise , Naruhisa Nakagawa (founder of Caygan Capital ), and Abhishek Desai of Desai Ventures (London). The start-up, founded in late 2016, developed a patented, drone-based solution to detect methane leak sources at ground level. Its Unmanned Aerial System (UAS), the SnifferDRONE , is a comprehensive system to automate a hazardous and labor-intensive methane emission monitoring method where technicians walk miles to manually inspect landfills, natural gas pipelines, and similar land-based applications. In December, 2022, the US EPA recognized the benefits of Sniffer’s technology with the first and only approval of their automated tool for compliance . This system is used throughout the United States assisting sites to more accurately account for methane leaks, enhances ...

Israeli provider of uncrewed traffic management technology joins a community of leading aviation companies and regulators and will participate in shaping global technology standards and policy decisions. Lausanne, Switzerland – the Global Uncrewed Traffic Management Association (GUTMA) has announced the addition of High Lander, an Israeli drone fleet management and uncrewed traffic management (UTM) software provider, as a member of its organization. As a member of GUTMA, High Lander will participate in working groups and other activities, taking on a significant role in the development of global UTM standards and the U-space in Europe and beyond. GUTMA was established in 2016 to promote the development of an ecosystem of drone services that operate in tandem with legacy aviation and provide real value to society. To this end, it works towards establishing a global standard of UTM services and building a U-space in which ATM and UTM services work harmoniously. The association’s activiti...

Read or listen to all of the headlines in one place: excerpts from the DRONELIFE drone news of the week ending May 26, 2023.  Click on the titles below for the full story. Continue reading below, or listen : The North Carolina Wing has been at the forefront of the Civil Air Patrol small Unmanned Aerial Systems (sUAS) program that culminated in the first locate and save within CAP in August of 2021. On May 6th, the program introduced an increase in training and equipment at the NCWG headquarters. The NCWG partnered with the North Carolina Division of Emergency Management to obtain ten Teal 2 drones, which were purchased by Emergency Management and given to the NCWG Civil Air Patrol to offer statewide drone support upon request. Altitude Angel Drone Assist Gets a Major Update, New Features UTM (Unified Traffic Management) technology leader Altitude Angel has announced that it will be releasing an updated version of its Drone Assist flight planning tool. The update will bring a suit...

Warrantless Drone Surveillance Case Will Be Heard at Michigan Supreme Court It’s a case which has become textbook material for the drone industry (there’s a great article in JDSupra here  discussing the potential impact on commercial drone operations.)  Can government or public safety agencies use a drone for surveillance over your property without a warrant – and then use that evidence in court?  Today, the Institute for Justice reports, the Michigan Supreme Court has agreed to take the case. The Case Todd and Heather Maxon own property in Long Lake Township, MI.  Town officials complain that the Maxons, who store multiple old cars and other items on their 5-acre rural property, are in violation of the zoning requirements.  To prove it,  zoning officials flew a drone over the Maxon’s property, taking photos and videos which they later used as part of a zoning violation case. “The Maxons, represented by the Institute for Justice (IJ), are asking the court ...

This paper by TSAW Drones discusses the need for less noise in UAVs, how these toroidals can benefit the drone industry, how these propellers came to be and how exactly they reduce the noise. Also, in this paper, an experimental validation study for the above-mentioned propellers is performed using a 3D-printed toroidal Propeller and a market-available standard propeller of the same size. The noise and thrust are compared for the propellers at varying throttle ranges. Introduction The Drone industry is on the rise. Researchers and Engineers have been working passionately to make these technologies more efficient and sophisticated so that they can become part of our daily lives like any other vehicle but there are lots of roadblocks to be cleared before we reach that point. One of the major problems that has come to light is noise produced by drones which at times can become annoying for people. A survey by mckinsey.com showed us that noise is one of the major concerns for people in va...