Saildrone scales production of new mid-size USV

Saildrone announced recently the 33-foot (10 m) Voyager, which is specifically designed for nearshore ocean and lakebed mapping, and to meet the challenges of IUU (illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing), ISR (intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance), law enforcement and maritime safety, drug interdiction, and border and harbor security. www.saildrone.com

TOPODRONE – RASA Surveying partnership

TOPODRONE and RASA Surveying have entered into a technological partnership to advance airborne surveying approaches and accommodate coastal management and monitoring demands in the Philippines. RASA Surveying will adapt Swiss hardware & software for data collection and processing to overcome local operational limitations for coastal mapping. topodrone.com

Drones help reverse deforestation and empower local communities

The Gran Chaco region in Paraguay not only contains the second-largest forest in South America, but it also has one of the world’s highest deforestation rates. Therefore GainForest, with the help of drone data from Globhe, now uses smart AI tools that reverse deforestation and empower the local communities.

GainForest has introduced NFTrees in the region, a digital asset representing conservation specific to this area. This gives conservationist donors a proofof-impact certificate that is constantly updated with metadata that, in near realtime, shows the status of the forest. GainForest also works together with the country’s Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development to empower, fund, and reward the local communities and promote the protection of the local forest. The drone data from Globhe plays a key role in monitoring tree cover and carbon capture and mapping large areas of land in the Gran Chaco region. globhe.com

Airbus achieves in-flight autonomous guidance

Airbus Defence and Space and the company’s subsidiary, Airbus UpNext, have achieved in-flight autonomous guidance and control of a drone using an A310 MRTT.

In a first step towards Autonomous Formation Flight and Autonomous Air-to-Air refuelling (A4R), the technologies demonstrate for future aerial operations involving manned and unmanned assets.

Known as Auto’Mate, the technologies were integrated on an A310 MRTT flying testbed, which took off from Getafe, Spain, on 21 March, and on several DT-25 target drones, acting as receiver aircraft and flying from Arenosillo Test Centre (CEDEA) at Huelva, Spain.

Over the waters of the Gulf of Cadiz, the control of the drone transitioned from a ground station to the A310 MRTT, autonomously guiding the DT-25 to the in-flight refuelling position. www.airbus.com

First tranche of drone PLI allocation soon

The Government of India will be announcing first set of production linked incentives for drones soon, Union aviation secretary Mr Rajiv Bansal said recently. He said the government has been focusing on drones and so far 15 drone categories have been certified. This number, he said, would go up to 50 this year. Mr Bansal said eVTOLs (electric vertical take-off and landing) offer a whole new solution to mobility. On the specific technology of eVTOL, he said it was not as far as it seems and is much closer. www.cii.in

Event 38 and PLACE Partner to Map Turks and Caicos

Mapping drone manufacturer Event 38 Unmanned Systems has announced deployment of its E400 fixed-wing mapping drone for the collection of aerial imagery and mapping data in Turks and Caicos, which had not been mapped in at least ten years. The drone gathered sufficient data to produce orthomosaics of the entirety of both islands, totaling 238 square kilometers. The project was conducted by PLACE, a global non-profit organization granting access to mapping data by providing hyperlocal and precise optical imagery. https://dronelife.com

Coal India to digitize 7 major coal mines with Aereo

Aereo (formerly Aarav Unmanned Systems wins the largest drone solutions contract from Coal India Limited (CIL).

It will provide advanced analytics through its proprietary web platform and indigenous survey-grade PPK drones to 7 mines in Northern Coalfields Limited (NCL) and South Eastern Coalfields (SECL) under CIL for a tenure of 3 years. This will help improve mining safety, environmental compliance, and overall efficiency of the open cast mines.

Chennai police to launch AI powered hi-tech drone unit

Drones equipped with hi-tech cameras and powered by Artificial Intelligence would form part of an exclusive ‘police drone unit’ set to be launched soon in Chennai India.

The unit shall comprise six swift action surveillance drones, a heavy-lift multirotor drone and two long range surveillance droneswith a range of 5-10 kms. www.business-standard.com