323 Drones and Low Altitude Operators

An FAA Request For Information from low altitude operators, drones with super-fast reaction times, the Northern Plains UAS Test site wants to deliver packages, drone deliveries are underway in a small Virginia town, a European program to integrate drones into the airspace, UPS and Wingcopter plan for drone deliveries, using quadcopters to map inaccessible historic ruins, and Reaper replacements. UAV News FAA Seeks Information on Low Altitude Operators for UAS Rulemaking The FAA wants to hear from operators who fly at low altitudes, such as pilots who fly aerial firefighting, agriculture, survey, pipeline and infrastructure patrols. The FAA Request for Information is titled: FAA Low Altitude Manned Aviator Participation In UAS Remote Identification Request for Information . “This RFI seeks input from the manned aviation community regarding whether and/or how they can potentially receive and use UAS remote ID information to further enhance safety, by reducing collision risks at lower altitudes.” Responses will be accepted until April 16, 2020. Researchers from the University of Zurich have demonstrated a drone that can detect and avoid fast-moving objects Researchers have fitted a quadcopter with what they call “Event Cameras” and used algorithms that allow a reaction time of a few milliseconds. The results are published in the journal Science Robotics. The PhD student that authored the paper says, “Our ultimate goal is to make one-day autonomous drones navigate as good as human drone pilots. Currently, in all search and rescue applications where drones are involved, the human is actually in control. If we could have autonomous drones navigate as reliable as human pilots we would then be able to use them for missions that fall beyond line of sight or beyond the reach of the remote control.” ND Sen, UAS test team working with FAA on drone delivery waiver The Northern Plains UAS Test site had asked the FAA to consider allowing drone delivery operations. Now Senator John Hoeven, has asked the FAA’s Administer, Stephen Dickson, to allow the use of drones to deliver supplies to areas in urgent need: “Small UAS can accelerate the delivery of critically-needed supplies across the country, such as food and medicine, saving time and money, while also reducing the risks of transmitting COVID-19. We’re working with the FAA to get the right waivers in place so these kinds of low-risk, high-reward operations can move forward.” Virginia Town Where Drone Deliveries are Daily Christiansburg, Virginia is a small town of about 22,000 people south of Roanoke, right on I-81. In October 2019, the Wing subsidiary of Alphabet started deliveries by drone and Christiansburg became the first town in the U.S. to see drone delivery to a customer’s doorstep. SUGUS kicks off, a European project for integrating drones into airspace SUGUS is an 18-month, 485,000-euro, European Union R&D project – the “Solution for E-GNSS U‑Space Service.” It’s designed to speed up the takeup of GNSS and Galileo in the UAV segment. GMV has been awarded the project to lead the consortium. A series of trials will be held to show the benefits of E-GNSS for drone operators as well as its approval by aviation authorities. Wingcopter flies into delivery partnership with UPS UPS Flight Forward (UPSFF) and German UAV startup Wingcopter are collaborating to develop a next-generation delivery drone solution for packages. UPS Flight Forward says they are “building a network of technology partners to broaden our unique capability to serve customers and extend our leadership in drone delivery.” Wingcopter VTOL drones have four rotors that swivel 90 degrees, a range of 75 miles, autonomous flight capabilities, and the ability to fly in extreme weather. Exploring Shetland’s uninhabited Kame of Isbister with GNSS and UAV The Kame of Isbister is an uninhabited rocky promontory in Shetland. There are old structures there that are not visible from the sea or the nearby land. This inaccessible location is being studied using drones to create a 3D model as well as an orthomosaic and digital terrain model. The team consists of Shetland Flyer Aerial Media , Shetland College UHI , and the Institute for Northern Studies . Could a commercial drone replace the MQ-9 Reaper? The Air Force is considering it. The Air Force assistant secretary for acquisition, technology and logistics, said the service is working on a study for the fiscal 2022 budget that will describe how the General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper can be replaced, possibly by several different unmanned aircraft.