FlytGCS Enterprise for remote drone fleet operations

FlytGCS, is a cloud-based remote operations solution for drone operators and service providers. As the commercial drone market matures, professional drone operations are maturing to enterprise ones – with corporations across the world building in-house drone fleets and programs, runnings PoCs and pilots for multiple use-cases, and investing in – and even acquiring – drone technology vendors. Taking cognizance of this market evolution from the ‘early adopters’ to the ‘early majority’, FlytBase has now launched FlytGCS Enterprise. https://flytbase.com

Airbus Aerial Receives waiver for Urban BVLOS UAS flight operations

Airbus Aerial has been granted a waiver by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to conduct Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) operations in Grand Forks, ND without the need for a visual observer. The waiver allows Airbus Aerial to conduct such operations as part of North Dakota Department of Transportation’s UAS Integration Pilot Program (IPP).

In 2018, the US Department of Transportation selected NDDOT as one of 10 state, local or tribal entities to participate in the FAA’s UAS IPP. The North Dakota team is working to safely incorporate UAS technology in three core challenge areas: conducting flights over people, night operations and BVLOS operations without the need for visual observers (VOs). www.airbus.com

Lido Surface Data NEXTView for UAS market

Intermap Technologies has launched its Lido Surface Data NEXTView (“NEXTView”) data solution, co-developed with Lufthansa Systems, for the Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) market. It is a high-accuracy, global 3D elevation dataset customized for aviation applications. It is continually refreshed to ensure currency and compliance with regulatory update requirements. www.intermap.com

FAA approves solar drone flights over Hawaiian Island

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has approved Japanese drone company HAPSMobile to fl y its solar-powered unmanned aircraft HAWK30 over Hawaiian Island. HAWK30 drone will provide a stratospheric telecommunications platform system across the stratosphere of the Hawaiian island of Lanai.

HAPSMobile partners with the University of Alaska Fairbanks, which manages the PPUTRC, and the University of Hawaii to conduct stratospheric test flights using HAWK30. The University of Alaska Fairbanks applied to the FAA for the COA2 on behalf of the partnership. www.hapsmobile.com

Advanced thermal, multispectral, and high-resolution imagery by ATMOS UAV

Atmos UAV, the Delft-based drone manufacturer for mapping and surveying, continue to expand its payload options now including the new MicaSense sensor, “Altum”, which integrates a radiometric thermal camera with five high-resolution narrow bands, producing advanced thermal, multispectral and high-resolution imagery in one flight for advanced analytics. Marlyn, the fixed-wing VTOL surveying platform developed by Atmos UAV, is now the only drone in its class capable of carrying this new high-end sensor. www.micasense.com

Input south on Recreational Drone Operator Testing by FAA

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued a Request for Information (RFI) seeking to work with stakeholders on the administration of a new aeronautical knowledge test for recreational drone operators.

Section 349 of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 requires new conditions to operate recreational small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). Many drones can be fl own today with minimal training or knowledge of aviation rules or safety practices. The new statute is an opportunity to educate recreational fl yers on UAS safety and to bring new fl yers into the existing aviation safety culture. The law requires that flyers of recreational drones pass an aeronautical knowledge and safety test.

The FAA is developing the test content and the training in consultation with stakeholders. The test must be administered electronically by the FAA, community based organizations, or other persons designated by the FAA. The FAA’s objective is to work with third party entities to allow them to administer the knowledge training and test content on various platforms for the recreational fl yer community. www.faa.gov

HEISHA launches new pilot free VTOL fixed-wing

HEISHA has recently launched the new unattended system. D.NEST F300, combined the auto-charging station C300 with VTOL fixed-wing is available for sale. It’s expected to revolutionize the way how drones are used in daily life and it can be used for farm/pasture/privacy land inspection anytime, anywhere. www.heishatech.com

DroneShield releases RfZero

DroneShield has released a new product, RfZero, which is an omnidirectional drone detection device with a 1km range. It is designed to be a cost-effective fixed site alternative to DroneShield’s higher end product, RfOne (a 5km radio frequency direction finder) www.droneshield.com

Large scale mapping by drones in Maharashtra, India

Survey of India, the national mapping agency of India has signed an MoU with Department of revenue & Land records, Govt of Maharashtra to undertake the Large scale Mapping of Village Gaothan (Aabadi) areas in the State of Maharashtra using drones.

This large scale mapping project is being carried out using Professional Survey grade Drone covering more than 40,000 Village Gaothan (Aabadi) areas in Maharashtra State. These village Gaothan areas not been surveyed earlier will be mapped at 1:500 scale covering all land parcels in the village for preparing the accurate revenue maps and GIS database. Drone survey will be pivotal to fi x locations of village boundaries, canals, canal limits and roads in these villages.

A detailed presentation about this Large scale Mapping Project was also made in the National Workshop and Conference of Sarpanch and Upsarpanch organized jointly by Department of Rural Development, Govt of Maharashtra and All India Sarpanch Association Shirdi, Ahmednagar district on 31st July. https://pib.gov.in

Echodyne and Iris Automation ensure safety for pioneering drone flight over

Echodyne, the manufacturer of innovative, high-performance radars for government and commercial markets, has announced that its EchoGuard airspace management radars were the ground-based sensor for the first-ever UAS mission to operate beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) flight without ground observers. The groundbased sensors worked in coordination with Iris Automation’s onboard detect and- avoid system. The demonstration of a nearly four-mile linear inspection mission along the Trans-Alaska pipeline was designed and conducted by The University of Alaska’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration Pilot Program (UASIPP) and the Alyeska Pipeline Service Company and is a true fi rst for the UAS industry. All other BVLOS missions required ground observers, which is too logistically complex and costly for business applications.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s UASIPP is conducted in multiple locations across the US, and Echodyne’s sensor technology is a key part of these programs. The program encourages government authorities at all levels to cooperate with drone operators and sensor technology manufacturers to accelerate the safe adoption of drones into the nation’s airspace. www.simactive.com