UAS manufacturer Drone America and aircraft manufacturer Thrush Aircraft have formed a strategic alliance to begin the development of the world’s first autonomous air tanker, which would add to the arsenal of airborne tactics available to firefighters and first responders when fighting wildfires.
The new tanker is expected to mix Thrush’s large airframe and airborne delivery system expertise with Drone America’s “Ariel” amphibious platform, producing an aircraft capable of delivering approximately 800 gallons of water or fire retardant, autonomously.
Business Solutions
Business Solutions
Development of self-driving vehicles one of the focus areas of GM Canada's new Canadian Technical Centre
On Jan. 19, GM Canada opened its new Canadian Technical Centre (CTC) in Markham, Ontario, Canada.
One of the areas of focus at the CTC Markham Campus will be software development and innovation in the area of software and controls related to GM’s development of self-driving vehicles.
The CTC Markham Campus will be the largest new automotive and mobility software center in Canada, with more than 700 staff, as it leverages a large network of university and local company partnerships.
AUVSI Launches Tampa Satellite Chapter
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Jan. 22, 2018
Contact: Tom McMahon, tmcmahon@auvsi.org, (571) 255-7786
Optimus Ride receives approval to carry passengers in autonomous vehicles in Boston
After receiving approval from city officials, Optimus Ride, a developer of self‑driving technologies, will begin using its autonomous vehicles to carry passengers in Boston, according to the Boston Herald.
To start, the vehicles will only carry passengers in the Raymond L. Flynn Marine Park in South Boston, where Optimus is based. Optimus has been talking to other Marine Park-based companies about giving rides and getting feedback from their employees.
Ryan Chin, chief executive officer of Optimus Ride, says that a software company called Autodesk has agreed to take part in the rides.
Unifly and HERE Technologies partner to enable airspace maps for UAS
Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM) software provider Unifly and digital mapping and location services provider HERE Technologies have announced that they will work together to “jointly enable airspace maps for drones.”
The collaboration between the two companies will consist of two phases.
During the first phase of their collaboration, Unifly and HERE plan to enable an airspace map for UAS that covers both rural and urban areas, and marks out no-fly zones such as airports, residential areas and sensitive government installations.
AUVSI Innovation Challenge to Showcase Startups at Unmanned Systems – Defense. Protection. Security., Feb. 7
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Jan. 17, 2018
Contact: Tom McMahon, tmcmahon@auvsi.org, (571) 255-7786
Using UAV Imagery and Deep Learning for Wind Turbine Inspection
When it comes to using a UAV to collect imagery for wind turbine inspections, maneuvering a drone around a huge turbine isn’t the only challenge involved. There’s also the issue of capturing extra positional information so images can be projected onto a plane, which is necessary since the camera is not positioned to look directly down as in most UAV imagery applications. Then there’s ensuring the quality of the capture while in the field to avoid the costs associated with having to re-fly a job. Finally, there is the time and rigor required to analyze all that data to identify and locate damage and other abnormalities on turbine blades.
Media Advisory: Webinar on Drones for Government Operations, Jan. 17
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Jan. 17, 2018
Contact: Tom McMahon, tmcmahon@auvsi.org, (571) 255-7786
Indianapolis Motor Speedway set to begin using Sharp INTELLOS A-UGV for security purposes
The Sharp INTELLOS Automated Unmanned Ground Vehicle (A-UGV) has been named the “Official Security Robot of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.”
The automated, driverless security robot is expected to provide an extra layer of safety and security protection for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS), which is the world's largest spectator sporting facility.
“Sharp Electronics' outdoor security robot is ideally suited to help safeguard the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's expansive, fenced property,” says Cliff Quiroga, Vice President for Sharp Robotics Business Development.
Cicer One Technologies and AVIDRONE Aerospace partnering to secure UAS fleets
Cicer One Technologies Inc., which provides data privacy technologies, and commercial and industrial UAS manufacturer AVIDRONE Aerospace Inc. have announced a new strategic partnership that the companies say “ends the risks around cloud-based data capture services.”
Through the partnership, AVIDRONE’s proprietary flight control and mission planning software will be combined with Cicer One’s point-to-point, globally-accessible information management system to deliver a “secure, fully private, flight control and data capture” technology for UAS.
