The University of North Dakota’s (UND) UAS degree program is celebrating its 10-year anniversary.
According to Al Palmer, the retired director of UND’s Aerospace UAS program, UND began planning its foray into UAS in 2005. To get “ahead of the coming UAS wave,” Ben Trapnell, associate professor of aviation, was tasked with creating an education program for UND Aerospace back in 2006.
Three years later in 2009, everyone was onboard with the program, which led to the State Board of Higher Education approving the program, and UND’s John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences becoming the first university to offer a degree program in UAS operations.
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WHILL's autonomous driving Personal EVs being trialed at North American airports
WHILL, the developer of the Model Ci and Model A Intelligent Personal Electric Vehicles (EVs), has announced that its autonomous driving Personal EVs will be trialed at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) and Winnipeg Richardson International Airport (YWG).
According to the company, the trials are part of an initiative to further the current mobility-as-a-service (MaaS) model across the world.
USVI Department of Health, partners complete 43-mile open-ocean drone crossing involving health supplies
In collaboration with Skyfire Consulting and Doosan Mobility Innovation Inc., the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) Department of Health and the Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) recently completed a 43-mile open-ocean drone crossing between St. Croix and St. Thomas.
The UAS carried simulation vials and other health supplies in a temperature-controlled compartment during the flight.
KDOT, Iris Automation conduct first BVLOS UAS flight using only onboard detect-and-avoid systems
The Kansas Department of Transportation’s (KDOT) UAS Integration Pilot Program (IPP) recently successfully completed the first beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) UAS flight that utilized only onboard detect-and-avoid systems.
This was the first time under Part 107 that the FAA has authorized a UAS to fly BVLOS without a requirement for visual observers or a ground-based radar, as the flight instead utilized Iris Automation’s detect-and-avoid system known as Casia, which provides commercial drones with automated collision avoidance maneuvers.
Virginia establishes itself as a place to be for all things unmanned
Virginia is for lovers, but it is also the place to be for innovation when it comes to all things unmanned, according to speakers during the Northern Virginia Technology Council (NVTC) Autonomous Technology Summit on Thursday, Nov. 7, in Fairfax.
“I absolutely believe the potential for autonomous vehicles, whether in air, on land, in sea … could be as much of a revolution as wireless was,” said Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, an early investor in the cellular telephone business and cofounder of the company that would become Nextel.
UPS, CVS complete first revenue-generating drone deliveries of medicine in North Carolina
On Friday, Nov. 1, UPS Flight Forward Inc. (UPSFF) and CVS Pharmacy Inc. successfully completed the first revenue-generating, residential drone deliveries of medical prescriptions from a CVS pharmacy to customers in Cary, North Carolina.
One of the people on the receiving end of these landmark deliveries was a CVS customer with limited mobility, which makes it hard for them to make the trip to the store to pick up their prescription.
“We now have an opportunity to offer different drone delivery solutions, tailored to meet customer needs for speed and convenience,” says Scott Price, UPS chief strategy and transformation officer.
Jacksonville Transportation Authority tests autonomous vehicle designed for those with disabilities
On Thursday, Oct. 31, the Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA) tested what it is calling the first Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessible autonomous vehicle in the United States.
JTA has made ADA accessibility a requirement for the Ultimate Urban Circulator (U2C) autonomous vehicle program, which is a multi-phased program that will convert and expand Skyway monorail cars into an autonomous vehicle network.
“It needs to be something that all of our customers and citizens can easily utilize,” JTA CEO Nathaniel P. Ford Sr. said via WJCT.org.
Drone Amplified looks to use drones to fight fire with fire
A University of Nebraska–Lincoln startup company called Drone Amplified has taken a unique approach to fight fires.
The company has developed drone-mounted technology that carries chemical spheres the size of pingpong balls, which drop and ignite at the press of a button to intentionally spark small fires that burn vegetation and starve incoming wildfires of potential fuel.
“Our product fills a niche in the market between a helicopter, which is expensive, and hand lighting, where people have to walk or take a four-wheeler,” explains Jim Higgins, chief engineer and Nebraska alumnus.
From Unmanned Systems Magazine: Drones, software provide farmers with extra tools to manage complex data
Precision agriculture using drones has become much less about the novelty of having an eye in the sky and much more about fusing data from a variety of sources and platforms — including drones, satellites, ground sensors and others — to enable farmers to make informed decisions.
One company that has become a major player within the farming industry is Toulouse, France-based Delair, which provides visual data management technologies. The company’s cloud-based platform, the Delair.ai platform, allows users to manage, process, view, analyze and collaborate around aerial data.
Autonomous shuttles seek to improve transportation options for people with disabilities at Western Michigan University
In an effort to improve transportation options for people with disabilities, autonomous shuttles are being tested on the campus of Western Michigan University (WMU).
Led by Pratt & Miller Engineering, the project is being coordinated and carried out by WMU graduate students Nick Goberville, a mechanical engineering doctoral student, and Johan Rojas, a mechanical engineering master's student.
“We're working on the modeling simulation of the autonomous vehicles,” Rojas says.
“We helped with the mapping, the cost value analysis and with everything needed to make the pilot possible here at Western.”