This Week in the Unmanned Systems and Robotics World

China’s Xiangying-200 unmanned helicopter recently completed test flights. The unmanned helicopter was jointly developed by Shenyang Institute of Automation and several units of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), according to Gu Feng, an associate researcher at the institute. (China Daily)

​The New York State Fair, scheduled to take place from August 22 to September 3, will host a nightly UAS light show at the expanded New York Experience area. The show will be performed by Great Lakes Drone Company, which recently performed a light show during 2018 EAA AirVenture Oshkosh. (Syracuse.com)

EasyMile is seeking state and federal government funding to test a number of its driverless bus fleets across Australia. EasyMile currently operates its driverless buses in 20 different countries. (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

23 companies have been awarded positions on a potential five-year, $794.5 million contract from the U.S. Navy to support the development and fabrication of UUVs. General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon were among the awardees. (GovCon Wire)

Enel Green Power North America, Inc. and Raptor Maps, Inc. have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the “co-development of cutting-edge utility-scale solar asset management technologies that will optimize the field operations and maintenance of solar assets.” Together, the companies will configure Raptor Maps’ “Raptor Solar” AI software with UAS hardware and EGP’s maintenance system, which will allow for “real-time identification and classification” of defects in solar facilities across the country.

U.S. Senator Mark Warner has introduced a bipartisan amendment to the FY19 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (T-HUD) portion of the ‘minibus II’ spending package that would provide $6 million towards UAS research to safely integrate the technology into the national airspace. The current FY19 T-HUD base bill makes $3 million available as matching funds for companies that partner with the UAS test sites working towards integrating UAS into the national airspace. (Mark R. Warner)

DARPA has selected Silent Falcon UAS Technologies’ UAS as the UAS for its Stand-off Ubiquitous Power/Energy Replenishment - Power Beaming Demo (SUPER PBD). The goal of SUPER PBD is to prove the feasibility of using a laser light source to recharge an electric powered UAS while in flight. (Silent Falcon UAS Technologies)

Boeing will open its new Boeing Aerospace & Autonomy Center in Cambridge, Mass. Employees from Boeing and subsidiary Aurora Flight Sciences will occupy the new center, as they work on designing, building and flying autonomous aircraft and developing enabling technologies. (Boeing)