UAV

Daily drone-based parcel delivery service in the Middle East

UVL Robotics has launched the first in the Middle East service of day-to-day parcels delivery based on drones. The payload of flying couriers is 6.6 pounds. Delivery drones are able to cover a distance of more than 25 miles. Previously, the UVL Robotics team obtained all official permits from the Civil Aviation Authority for BVLOS in the Sultanate of Oman. More than 100 air routes of delivery drones were agreed with the local clients. The project will include different modifications of the drone’s landing system: ground landing, on the smart parcel locker or with a rope dropping system. It includes delivery of parcels and e-commerce packages as well as medicine for remote areas. It’s already in high demand among users. www.uvl.io

Brazil introduces agricultural drones from XAG

A forest restoration project using XAG Agricultural Drones has been initiated in Brazil. The trial will help demonstrate the effectiveness of drone to boost forest growth, paving the way for the autonomous technology to be used in large-scale planting of Brazilian forests.

This drone seeding application is part of the Arboreto Project, carried out by the Federal University of Paraná (UFPR), Brazil’s oldest university, in collaboration with Timber, XAG’s local partner and a supplier of autonomous agricultural machinery. It aims to help speed up the process of forest restoration through planting tree species with commercial interest and environmental adaptation.

During the field experiment, different amounts of seeds were weighed and sorted into the smart container onboard the drone. After the pilot entered all the operation parameters into the mobile APP, such as waypoints, flight speed, and spray volume, the XAG Agricultural Drone with a spreading attachment was planned to run along target lines, evenly distributing seeds from different forest species native to the region. www.xa.com/en

ESA Navigation Lab showcases multi-receiver UAV

The Navigation Laboratory of the European Space Agency (ESA) has acquired an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that can carry different types of satellite navigation receivers to collect data for follow-on analysis.

The NavLab, based at ESA’s ESTEC technical centre in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, is focused on the testing, analysis and characterization of navigation systems for both ESA and external customers.

With UAVs representing a rapidly expanding user base, the new UAV is a timely addition to the NavLab’s suite of platforms for testing GNSS technologies and techniques, ESA said. Other tools include static, mobile and pedestrian platforms and a pair of test vans. https:// technology.esa.int

Sagetech Avionics to test detect and avoid technology with NUAIR

Sagetech Avionics Inc. and NUAIR(Northeast UAS Airspace Integration Research Alliance, Inc.) a New York based nonprofit have partnered to test Detect and Avoid (DAA) solutions and Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast (ADS-B) transponders, both developed by Sagetech. The testing to occur will be for various concepts of operations including package delivery, lateral infrastructure inspection, and other advanced operations where crewed and uncrewed aviation must safely share the same airspace. https://nuair.org

Import of Drones in India prohibited with exceptions

The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India issued an order on February 9 2022, prohibiting with immediate effect the import of drones in Completely-Built-Up (CBU), Semi-knockeddown (SKD) or Completely-Knocked-down (CKD) forms. In Chapter-88 of Schedule-I (Import Policy) of ITC (HS), 2022, the Policy Condition No. 03 is revised as follows: –