In Washington state, the Grant County Sheriff’s Office UAS program will soon expand to include two more UAS that are equipped with FLIR thermal cameras.
The program currently has two UAS, which have been used for a variety of tasks including search and rescue operations, as well as collision investigations.
“We have the capability at night time or even during the day, if somebody’s lost or takes off and runs on us, we will have the ability to find the heat imagery from the person, whether they’re lost or hiding out in a field,” says Chief Deputy Darrik Gregg, who oversees the UAS program, via iFiber One News.
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AeroVironment selected for small UAS sustainment under five-year IDIQ contract
AeroVironment Inc. has announced that on April 10, the United States Army selected it, along with six other suppliers, for small UAS sustainment under a five-year Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract.
Over the duration of the contract, the seven awardees will compete for LRRS and MRM UAS, Tactical Open Architecture Controller system and spare and repair parts procurement task orders.
The maximum value of the contract is $248 million over five years.
MQ-8C Fire Scout undergoes first Initial Operational Test and Evaluation
On June 29, USS Coronado (LCS 4) and Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 1 (VX-1) completed the first comprehensive Initial Operational Test and Evaluation (IOT&E) for Northrop Grumman’s MQ-8C Fire Scout UAS.
The results from the IOT&E will help decision-makers determine how best to integrate the Navy's newest unmanned helicopter with littoral combat ships (LCS), as well as other platforms.
The MQ-8C Fire Scout performed a number of mission scenarios aboard Coronado off the coast of southern California during the IOT&E. Considered an important milestone for the LCS and Fire Scout programs, these operations demonstrated “cohesion between the surface and aviation platforms.”
Asahi Power Service Co. develops drone-powered flying umbrella
A Japanese company called Asahi Power Service Co. has developed a drone-powered flying umbrella called “Free Parasol.” The umbrella is meant to free people’s hands, and protect them from the sun in the future.
Equipped with an artificial intelligence (AI) camera, the UAS can hover above the user’s head, and by tracking the real-time position of the user, it can follow their steps as they walk or move.
The umbrella is based on the idea that “it's bothersome to open an umbrella when your hands are full,” the company says. It is expected to enter the market by next year at a retail price of $273 dollars. Additionally, the umbrella could be put into use as early as the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics.
Drone use in construction industry skyrocketing
Ryan Moret, Field Solutions Manager at McCarthy Building Companies Inc., is part of a new generation of construction workers utilizing UAS in the construction industry.
A recent report on commercial drone trends by DroneDeploy shows that drone use has risen exponentially across a variety of fields; most notably, in the construction industry, where the use of this technology has skyrocketed by 239 percent year over year.
“The cost of the tool is low enough the quality of data we’re receiving is just intrinsically valuable when we see it,” Moret says via CNBC.
Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore and DFS Aviation Services to collaborate on air traffic management-related activities
The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) and DFS Aviation Services have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to work together on a variety of air traffic management (ATM)-related activities.
DFS Aviation Services, which is the commercial subsidiary of the German air navigation service provider DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung, and CAAS will collaborate to further optimize safety management systems and benchmark performance indicators. The entities will also develop “future air traffic management concepts, solutions and technologies.”
Utah's Lindon Police Department and Orem Fire Department acquire UAS
In Utah County, Utah, the Lindon Police Department and Orem Fire Department recently acquired new UAS.
The UAS, which were acquired thanks to donations from Profire Energy, Inc., are expected to offer the departments a number of capabilities while dealing with various scenarios.
“This will be used for traffic accident investigations as well as other post-event investigations within Utah County, search and rescue and documenting Lindon city property,” says Sergeant Josh Edwards of the Lindon Police Department, via the Daily Herald.
AeroVironment’s new project slated to fly over Mars
Monrovia, California-based AeroVironment, which has built everything from a hummingbird-sized drone to high-flying solar aircraft, has built components for a new drone helicopter intended to fly much further afield: across the surface of Mars.
AV is working with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena to build the helicopter recently selected by the Mars Exploration Program, which is planned to fly across the Red Planet in less than three years.
“AeroVironment’s deep, rich and diverse history of innovation, combined with our experience with near-space aircraft like Pathfinder and Helios make us uniquely suited to collaborate with NASA and JPL on this historic, interplanetary venture,” says Wahid Nawabi, AeroVironment’s president and CEO.
GA-ASI to fly first trans-Atlantic flight of a MALE RPA in July
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA-ASI) plans to make the first-ever trans-Atlantic flight of a Medium-altitude, Long-endurance (MALE) Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) on July 10-11.
GA-ASI’s company-owned MQ-9B SkyGuardian RPA is scheduled to fly from GA-ASI’s Flight Test and Training Center in Grand Forks, North Dakota to Royal Air Force (RAF) Fairford in Gloucestershire, UK.
GA-ASI has partnered with Inmarsat—the leading provider of global mobile satellite communications (SATCOM) services—for the trans-Atlantic flight. The MQ-9B’s ground control station will use Inmarsat’s SwiftBroadband SATCOM to communicate and control the aircraft.
KT Corp.'s emergency network service platform features UAS for search and rescue operations
South Korea's second-largest mobile carrier, KT Corp., has unveiled an emergency network service platform that features UAS for search and rescue operations.
Co-developed by a local UAS maker named Metismake Inc., the Skyship platform features a helium-powered airship and a high-resolution camera that can scan for mobile signals of people who need to be rescued.
Capable of scanning for LTE or high-end fifth-generation (5G) signals, the airship can determine a person's position “to within 50 meters” before sending UAS to find their exact location.
Once the signal of a survivor is picked up by the airship, the platform will deploy smaller UAS that will deliver emergency kits and supplies before actual rescue personnel arrive at the site.