About this episode
The Commercial Drone Alliance wants to see regulations for large drones, sUAS are vulnerable to impacts, using AI-enabled drones to identify specific individuals (human and otherwise), drones donated to universities for precision ag, and BVLOS for the UAS Integration Pilot Program. UAV News DON’T SAY ‘DRONES,’ Beg Drone Makers This is the first story we covered, from Episode #1. Commercial Drone Alliance calls for focus on large UAS in letter to new FAA administrator The Commercial Drone Alliance sent a letter to the new U.S. chief technology officer and to the new FAA Administrator. The letter notes that the FAA has mostly focused on sUAS and the Alliance wants to see regulators look at large UAS. Lisa Ellman, executive director of the Commercial Drone Alliance and partner at Hogan Lovells, said: “The Commercial Drone Alliance looks forward to working with newly sworn-in FAA Administrator Stephen Dickson and recently confirmed U.S. CTO Michael Kratsios to develop common sense and business-friendly regulations for large UAS.” Lessons for drone defense from a tennis ball XKCD cartoonist Randall Munroe asked Serena Williams to try and take out a DJI Mavic Pro 2 with a tennis ball. She did. On her third serve, Serena nailed the quadcopter. Consumer drones are not very hardened against impact. Little Ripper deploys croc-spotting AI drones In Episode 287 we talked about Little Ripper drones being used in New South Wales and Queensland to spot sharks. Now the same drone technology is being used to spot crocodiles in Queensland. Drones that recognize you? Amazon has a patent for that. This article describes two patents granted to Amazon.com: One includes launching unmanned aircraft from freight cars and the other utilizes one or more drones to locate the delivery customer. In other package delivery news: Bell’s eVTOL cargo drone makes first autonomous flight Elroy Air’s massive cargo drone completes its first test flight Video: Bell Autonomous Pod Transport 70 Achieves First Autonomous Flight AeroVironment Donates 87 Quantix Drones and AV DSS Ecosystems to 35 U.S. University Agriculture Departments to Advance Drones in Farming The AeroVironment 2019 Quantix and AV DSS University Collaboration Project seeks to advance academic research, applications, and crop production practices through the use of UAS and advanced data analytics. Video: The Next Generation of Quantix & AV DSS Drones on the farm: Using facial recognition to keep cows healthy An automated drone system that can monitor the health of cattle in the pasture is being developed by a team of professors and student researchers in the UK. Testing is being conducted with 3DR Solo drones modified with a Raspberry Pi. The autonomous drones could identify each animal, determine its location, and measure health information like weight, size, facial features, and physical activity. FAA OKs Airbus Aerial UAS Operations in North Dakota The FAA authorized Airbus Aerial to operate UAS at the Grand Forks, North Dakota, test site under the UAS Integration Pilot Program. Airbus Aerial will use a SenseFly eBee drone to survey power distribution lines, BVLOS. Press release: Airbus Aerial Receives Waiver for Urban BVLOS UAS Flight Operations Over Populated Areas in North Dakota . GA-ASI Receives FAA No-Chase COA for Unmanned Flights in North Dakota The FAA also granted General Atomics Aeronautical Systems a Certificate of Waiver or Authorization (COA) for BVLOS. They will use a Ground-based Sense and Avoid (GBSAA) system that incorporates the Grand Forks Air Force Base Air Surveillance Radar (ASR) and the L3Harris Technologies VueStation and RangeVue systems. These meet the “see and avoid” requirements over large airspace. Videos of the Week Video of man fishing while dangling from drone under investigation by CASA The man posted a video on social media showing him fishing, drinking beer, and even catching a fish. Now the Civil Aviation Safety Authority is investigating. Your new best travel buddy is this autonomous suitcase that’s always by your side “Self-driving technology allows the Ovis Suitcase to follow alongside its owner, while computer vision tech lets it see and avoid obstacles.” Ovis is equipped with GPS location tracker, smart alarm, embedded weight sensor, TSA-approved digital lock and removable airline-compliant LiPo battery that doubles as a charging station. Video: Introducing Ovis by FowardX, the World’s First Vision-Powered Side-Follow Suitcase