This Week in the Unmanned Systems and Robotics World

UAVOS has announced the creation of a qualitatively new main rotor blade, which will be installed on its UAS “with 77 lbs (35 kg) take-off mass and rotor diameter of 102,36" (2600 mm).” UAVOS says that the entire flight performance of the machine has been greatly affected by the “one-step blade molding technology using polymer composite materials and an improved aerodynamic shape.” (UAVOS)

Tactical Robotics has announced that on May 7, it successfully performed a first “mission representative” demonstration using its Cormorant UAS. Tactical Robotics says that the Cormorant UAS has the capability to be the first UAS fielded for unmanned casualty evacuation missions. (Tactical Robotics)

ENAV, which manages civilian air traffic in Italy, has selected Leonardo as its industrial partner for the development of an air traffic control system for UAS, and for the provision of related services. ENAV will reportedly set up a new company for the development of a UAS Traffic Management (UTM) system and the provision of related services, and ENAV will have 60 percent of the share capital of the new company, while the remaining 40 percent will be held by the industrial team—which includes Leonardo subsidiary Telespazio and Ingegneria Dei Sistemi (IDS)—led by Leonardo. (Leonardo)

The University of Waterloo recently deployed a self-driving sailboat that an engineering team from the university built. Built by second and third-year students divided into different teams, the boat was launched at Conestogo Lake in Ontario, Canada. (CTV Kitchener News)

DroneRafts has announced that it was selected as a top ten semi-finalist to participate in the public voting phase of the Inc. Small Biz Salute Pitch Off. DroneRafts has developed what it calls the “only commercially available, fully engineered all-terrain landing gear system for drones,” known as WaterStrider and TerraStrider. (DroneRafts)

Audi, Volkswagen and Porsche are currently testing autonomous parking at the Hamburg Airport in Germany. Since 2012, Christian Feist, who is responsible for the development of automated parking and maneuvering at Audi, and his colleagues have been working on a common ecosystem that will make parking faster and more comfortable. (Audi)

Gowanda Components Group (GCG) has announced that in connection with the acquisition of HiSonic in Olathe, Kansas, its offerings of RF and microwave passive magnetic components are expanding. GCG CEO Don McElheny says that “HiSonic’s designs, technologies and customers complement those within our Magnetics Division.” (Gowanda)

Researchers from the University of Bologna and the Swiss Federal Technology Institute (known as ETH Zurich) have built what they call the world’s smallest autonomous rotor UAS. The researchers say that they have essentially shrunk the weight and power needs of their autonomous UAS, resulting in the UAS only having to use minimal battery power to run its artificial intelligence. (Fast Company)

Jaguar Land Rover has announced that it is developing autonomous cars capable of “all-terrain, off-road driving in any weather condition.” The automaker plans on doing this through a project called ‘CORTEX’, which will take self-driving cars off-road, and make sure that they are fully capable of operating in any weather condition. (Jaguar Land Rover)

A UAS helped rescue a man in a lava-inundated section of Leilani Estates, Hawaii County, Hawaii. After learning that a man was trapped at his residence, the Department of Interior Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Kīlauea response team used its UAS to guide the man to safety. (Big Island Video News)

The Oro Valley Police Department recently used Drone Aviation Holding Corp.’s FUSE Tether System as part of the security and monitoring efforts at two high school graduation ceremonies held in southern Arizona in May. This was reportedly the “first-of-its-kind application” of tethered UAS technology by the department. (Drone Aviation Corp)

Nissan recently unveiled its autonomous robot called Pitch-R, which uses the company’s ProPILOT driver assistance technology to create a soccer field wherever there's space. In less than 20 minutes, Pitch-R draws lines on grass, tarmac or gravel with eco-friendly dissolvable paint using onboard four-camera vision, GPS location tracking and collision avoidance systems. (Nissan)