Continuing a process that kicked off at AUVSI’s Xponential conference in Dallas earlier this year, the International Civil Aviation Organization is seeking to develop a global concept of operations for an unmanned aircraft traffic management system.
ICAO’s remotely piloted aircraft program manager, Leslie Cary, issued a request for information for UTM systems at Xponential, and ended up receiving 76 proposals from industry, academia and others.
That led to the Drone Enable conference, held Sept. 22-23 in Montreal, at ICAO’s headquarters, where the developers of many of those proposals gathered to discuss what a global UTM framework should include.
Business Solutions
Business Solutions
Northland Community and Technical College receives grant to advance UAS and Geospatial Education
The National Science Foundation (NSF), Advanced Technological Education (ATE) division, has awarded a grant worth $599,997 to East Grand Forks, Minnesota’s Northland Community and Technical College (NCTC), in partnership with St. Cloud State University (SCSU), which is located in St. Cloud, Minnesota.
As an independent federal agency, the NSF supports research and education throughout the United States in all fields of engineering and science.
According to its website, the NSF receives “more than 48,000 competitive proposals for funding,” each year, and makes “about 12,000 new funding awards.”
Resource Group provides flight training in Kosovo focused on UAS use in mine action
After three months of working together, the Unmanned Aviation Services division of United Kingdom-based Resource Group and MAT Kosovo—which is part of the PCM Group, and specializes in international mine action standards training—organized a week-long flight school in Kosovo that focused on UAS use within the “specific requirements of the Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) field.”
During the flight training course, which started on September 16, operational users, system developers and academics received training from Resource Group, which allowed them to learn and share their current experiences.
So You Want to Fly a Drone
Recent industry analysis named drone pilots as one of the fastest growing job markets. As more companies and industries look to unmanned technology to improve their businesses, capable and licensed pilots are in increasing demand. Individuals interested in becoming a commercial drone pilot face questions such as, how to get certified, where to seek training, and what industries need drone pilots.
This webinar will feature input from remote pilot instructors and pilots working in industries from utilities and infrastructure to real estate and photography. Instructors will outline training resources and certification requirements; followed by a discussion of experiences entering the commercial pilot job market and the types of missions they have flown.
Oceans Unmanned’s ECO-Drone program to focus on possible disruption of wildlife caused by UAS
Oceans Unmanned, Inc. has launched a new program called ECO-Drone, for Environmentally Conscious Operations, to address concerns surrounding UAS possibly disrupting wildlife in a variety of remote habitats.
Acute or chronic disturbances can have a significant impact on the health and fitness of different species, by throwing off migratory patterns, breeding, feeding, or sheltering.
To address these potential issues, ECO-Drone works with federal and state agencies, industry, and education institutions to “develop and communicate “best practices” to minimize or eliminate resource disturbance issues due to scientific or recreational drone operations.”
Lockheed Martin Ventures invests in Ocean Aero, maker of the Submaran unmanned maritime vehicle
Lockheed Martin Ventures has announced that it is making a strategic investment in Ocean Aero, a company that has developed an unmanned maritime vehicle called the Submaran.
Built for ocean observation and data collection, the Submaran is a new class of unmanned underwater and surface vessel. The vehicle, which is powered by wind and solar energy, can travel for months, even in extreme conditions.
Easily deployable and recoverable, the vehicle can avoid surface traffic or conduct C4ISR operations thanks to its ability to dive to depths of 660 feet.
Drones, Droids and Unmanned Systems
Please join us at the beautiful Kah-Nee-Ta Resort and Spa for the Pacific Northwest's premier unmanned systems and robotics event. Celebrate the grandeur of central Oregon, enjoy superb hospitality, hear from industry leadership, see live UAS demonstrations and engage in awesome networking opportunities! We hope you will choose to support our 2nd Annual AUVSI Cascade Chapter STEM Benefit Dinner, the proceeds from which go to support STEM activities in Oregon and Washington. You'll even have a chance to take home a DJI drone! And please join us on Friday morning for our workshop on Part 107 to hear about common challenges for Remote Operators and then head for the Kah-Nee-Ta Golf Course to round out the conference activities. We look forward to seeing you there!
Lyft and Drive.ai partner to work on self-driving cars
In an effort to bring self-driving cars to the Bay Area on its open platform, Lyft has announced a partnership with Drive.ai, which is a Silicon Valley startup that uses deep learning to create artificial intelligence (AI) software for autonomous vehicles.
UAVOS launches projects for industrial use of UAS in Eastern Europe
UAVOS Inc., which a Mountain View, California-based developer of UAS and robotics, has announced the launch of several projects for the industrial use of UAS in Eastern Europe, which will feature UAVOS-developed UAS.
By introducing unmanned technologies, this long-term initiative by UAVOS will look to ultimately “increase the safety of inspection activities” by using robotic technologies to replace traditional methods of inspection in the oil, gas and energy sectors.
Another objective of the initiative is to reduce the budget that is typically spent by oil, gas and energy companies for “monitoring the use of ground vehicles, manpower, and manned equipment.”
2nd Annual Arizona UAS Summit & Expo
The second annual Arizona UAS Summit & Expo will once again highlight the crucial storylines and emerging trends shaping the unmanned aircraft systems industry on the national and regional levels. Produced by the team from UAS Magazine in collaboration with the Arizona Regional Economic Development Foundation, this year’s event will feature three days of expert commentary, high-level presentations and networking opportunities designed for decision makers currently or potentially linked to UAS.
With more than 1,200 aerospace companies and the largest government-based UAS center in the world located in Arizona, the Southwest’s role in furthering the breakout of commercial UAS activity or the continuation of mission critical UAS operations is primed to expand.