UAV & IMAGING

UAVOS partners to advance HAPS technology

UAVOS has announced the successful completion of a test flight of Mira Aerospace’s High-Altitude PseudoSatellite (HAPS) ApusNeo 18, with UAVOS providing full engineering and technical support. One of the key objectives of the flight was to evaluate the jointly developed optoelectronic, gyro-stabilized aircraft POD (Payload Onboard Device) by obtaining imagery from altitudes ranging between 3,000 and 12,000 meters. During the mission, the POD captured high-resolution imagery with precise geolocation data from an altitude of 12,000 meters, achieving a Ground Sample Distance (GSD) of up to two meters. The test took place in Abu Dhabi, UAE, and lasted continuously for 48 hours.

The optoelectronic gyro-stabilized aircraft POD is equipped with an innovative automatic temperature control system for heating and cooling electronic modules, ensuring reliable operation in the stratosphere at temperatures as low as -70°C under rarefied air conditions. The system also provides radio communication at distances exceeding 100 km. The gimbal’s optical unit allows observation within a ±90° range with high-precision angular positioning. The payload housing features an aerodynamically optimized design, and the total payload weight is 3.6 kg. www.uavos.com

ideaForge and C-DAC sign strategic MoU

ideaForge Technology Limited, Indian UAS manufacturer has signed a strategic MoU with the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) to strengthen drone-led emergency response across India and jointly advance research in next-generation UAV, semiconductor and data-driven technologies.

The partnership brings together ideaForge’s FLYGHT platform, a readyto-deploy, on-demand drone network delivered through a Drone-as-a-Service (DaaS) model, with C-DAC’s Emergency Response Support System (ERSS–Dial 112), which enables anyone to access emergency services such as police, fire or medical assistance through a single nationwide emergency number. With India’s average emergency response time nearing twenty minutes, integrating FLYGHT into ERSS will significantly improve response efficiency by enabling drones to serve as rapid first responders. www.ideaforgetech.com

Indrajaal unveils India’s first anti drone patrol vehicle

Indrajaal Drone Defence has announced the launch of India’s first Anti-Drone Patrol Vehicle (ADPV) — fully mobile, AI-enabled counter-drone system. The urgency to build the ADPV (Indrajaal Ranger) was reinforced by two recent national security incidents that exposed how drones have become a critical link in breaching India’s border security.

First, the ISI-linked cross-border dronetrafficking incident — where weapons were smuggled deep into Indian territory — exposed a stark reality: illegal border drone movement today is as good as welcoming weapons into our cities. Second, the BSF neutralising 255 Pakistani drones so far this year underscored how drones have become the primary transport channel for India’s `3-lakh-crore drugtrafficking ecosystem. indrajaal.in

MatrixSpace launches portable 360Radar

Portable 360 Radar by MatrixSpace is a rugged, easily transportable radar kit delivers reliable close-airspace awareness with panoramic coverage for rapidresponse counter-drone operations, from safe-guarding stadiums and large public gatherings, to border security and battlespaces. It unifies threat awareness across multiple networked Portable 360 Radar systems and other sensors, without compromising local operation. By combining AI edge processing with MatrixSpace AiCloud Enterprise Software, central/remote command centers get an enhanced common operating picture and deep airspace activity analytics to assure public safety. www.matrixspace.com

AeroVironment expands Puma™ VNS kit

AeroVironment, Inc. recently announced the integration of its Visual Navigation System (VNS) kit with the Puma™ Long Endurance (LE) small unmanned aircraft system (SUAS), delivering GNSS-denied navigation capability to ensure mission success.

It uses advanced computer vision and onboard processing to deliver precise, GNSS-independent navigation, and its integration into Puma LE now extends this capability across the full Puma family for greater flexibility and resilience in degraded or denied environments.

Using a suite of downward-facing sensors, cameras and onboard computing, the VNS kit performs Visual Inertial Odometry (VIO) to capture and analyze terrain imagery, estimating true aircraft position in real time. The system fuses continuous visual data from the cameras with motion inputs from onboard inertial sensors to calculate precise position, velocity, and orientation – allowing the aircraft to know where it is and where it is going when GNSS is not available. www.avinc.com

China launches new remote sensing satellite

China launched a Long March 4B carrier rocket on 9th Decemeber to place a new RS satellite, Yaogan 47, into space. The launch was the 614th flight mission of the Long March carrier rocket series.

China launches satellites for UAE, Egypt and Nepal

China launched the Kinetica-1, also known as the Lijian-1 Y11 carrier rocket with nine satellites onboard, including three international payloads for the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt and Nepal. After delivering the nine satellites to their preset orbits, the launch mission was declared a complete success.

According to the rocket developer CAS Space, most of the satellites is owned by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). The Arab satellite 813 was developed by the Shanghai-based Innovation Academy for Microsatellites of CAS. It is a hyperspectral Earth observation satellite. It carries primary payloads including a hyperspectral imager, a panchromatic camera, and an atmospheric polarization corrector, along with the construction of corresponding ground systems.

The core aim of the project is to build hyperspectral remote sensing capabilities, thereby providing effective support for environmental monitoring and scientific research, according to the CAS Space. The name 813 honors the year that marked the rise of the House of Wisdom in Baghdad – an era of scientific flourishing that the project seeks to revive. www.globaltimes.cn

Foresight report 2030

The Association for Geographic Information has published its third foresight report, providing a visionary view of trends and influences over the next five years and beyond. Developed over 12 months, it explores six transformative forces shaping the geospatial sector: the Data Imperative, AI Integration Challenge, Infrastructure Evolution, Collaboration Imperative, Earth Systems.

The importance of open data has reached or exceeded expectations, while innovative technologies such as AI and data analytics have far exceeded expectations… driven, the authors say, largely by the needs presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. Conversely, the uptake and progress of BIM has “not progressed as rapidly as anticipated,” nor have ‘future cities’ ambitions born as much fruit as hoped. In addition, the previous report completely failed — understandably — to anticipate the generative AI revolution. www.agi.org