With no driver at the helm, self-driving vehicles are posed with the challenge of effectively communicating with their surroundings.
Drive.ai has addressed that challenge head-on, equipping its self-driving vehicles with external communication panels that convey a variety of messages to properly communicate with drivers, pedestrians, cyclists, and everyone else on the road.
“Our external communication panels are intended to mimic what an interaction with a human driver would look like. Normally, you’d make eye contact, wave someone along, or otherwise signal your intentions,” Drive.ai CEO Bijit Halder tells AUVSI via email.
Communications
Communications
Drone Aviation receives first contract award for its WASP Lite system
Drone Aviation Holding Corp. has received a contract award valued in excess of $1.1 million for its newly designed aerostat product, the WASP Lite. This is the company's first contract award for the product.
Under the contract, which is from a U.S. Army customer, Drone Aviation will provide multiple WASP Lite aerostat systems capable of enhancing and extending the modern networked battlefield supporting specialized waveform communications equipment and day/night Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) payloads.
DJI improving its geofencing technology to refine airspace limitations for UAS flights near airports
In an effort to provide smarter protection for airplanes in critical areas, DJI has announced that it is improving its geofencing technology to refine the airspace limitations for UAS flights near airports.
The updated Geospatial Environment Online (GEO) Version 2.0 will be phased in starting in November once the revised zones take effect for airspace around airports in the United States. DJI says that upgrades in other regions will follow in “due course.”
“DJI is proud to once again lead the industry in developing proactive solutions for safety and security concerns,” says Brendan Schulman, DJI Vice President of Policy & Legal Affairs.
L3 Technologies receives contract in support of U.S. Army Apache MUMT-X Program
Thanks to receiving a “production contract for multiple awards totaling $97 million,” L3 Technologies will support the U.S. Army’s Apache Manned/Unmanned Teaming – eXpanded Capabilities (MUMT-X) helicopter program.
L3 Technologies is a provider of a wide range of communication, electronic and sensor systems used on military, homeland security and commercial platforms.
MUMT-X facilitates communications and data teaming between manned and unmanned aircraft, which gives the Apache AH-64E helicopter a “transformational warfighting capability” that is notably more robust, lighter and less expensive than the original UAS control system.
Unmanned Systems: Security Without Compromise
With increasing deployment of autonomous vehicles and unmanned systems, security and data safety are key priorities for both manufacturers and consumers.
Networks are inherently vulnerable to cyber related threats and systems failures. Reliance on unverified or open channel communications and external input sources can open the door for false (or falsified) data, invalid mission throughput or other critical operational command failures. Whether these threats come via erroneous component failures or intentional malicious activities, building up your system's ability to defend against these threats is crucial.
DoD customer places order for Drone Aviation's Winch Aerostat Small Platform
Through a contract valued in excess of $800,000, an existing U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) customer has placed an order for Drone Aviation Holding Corp.’s Winch Aerostat Small Platform (WASP), which was recently upgraded, and is capable of performing multiple missions.
A manufacturer of tethered UAS and lighter-than-air aerostats, Drone Aviation expects to deliver the WASP, which can provide “day/night video and wireless communication range extension from either a fixed, stationary position or while being towed,” to the customer during the fourth quarter of 2017.
Webinar on Using Drones to Advance the Wireless Industry, Sept. 6
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Sept. 5, 2017
Contact: Tom McMahon, tmcmahon@auvsi.org, (571) 255-7786
UAS being used to monitor weekend traffic conditions at 2017 Great New York State Fair
Thanks to a joint effort between the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT), the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), and the New York State Police, for the first time, state-owned UAS will be used to monitor weekend traffic conditions at the 2017 Great New York State Fair, which takes place from August 23 through September 4.
The UAS will be used to help the New York State Police and the State Department of Transportation monitor traffic and parking lot capacity during the weekends, which tend to be the highest attended days of the 13-day extravaganza.
All parties are involved are excited about the use of this technology.
From Unmanned Systems magazine: UAS helping wireless industry fly toward 5G
Not so long ago, it was groundbreaking for wireless companies to use drones at all. Among the first news-making developments for unmanned aircraft in the industry were deployments to inspect cell phone towers.
But recent research projects highlight far more fundamental ways that wireless leaders are using UAS — to help plan the standards and configurations for next-generation networks, and maybe even to provide telecommunications infrastructure that can fly in where ground-based networks are unavailable.
A few examples:
