UAS VISION
an independent online news service for the Unmanned Aircraft Systems world
A UK collaborative project developing an autonomous inspection and repair concept for offshore wind turbine blades has addressed several technological challenges in its first year. The two-year Multi-Platform Inspection, Maintenance and Repair (MIMRee) project aims to provide a demonstration of an autonomous system capable of planning its own operational missions to offshore wind farms. Continue reading
Aurora Flight Sciences Corp., Manassas, Virginia, has been awarded a $7,115,128 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for the Control of Revolutionary Aircraft with Novel Effectors (CRANE) program. Continue reading
A new study from the International Atomic Energy (IAEA) uses drones to increase the effectiveness and reduce costs related to using the nuclear technique that aims to suppress disease-carrying mosquitoes. This is a significant step in deploying this method on a large-scale basis to control the mosquitoes causing dengue, yellow fever, and Zika. Continue reading
RQ-20A Puma
Soon, the U.S. Army will be able to deploy autonomous air vehicles that can change shape during flight, according to new research presented at the AIAA Aviation Forum and Exposition’s virtual event June 16. Continue reading
Performing acrobatic manoeuvres with quadrotors is extremely challenging. Acrobatic flight requires high thrust and extreme angular accelerations that push the platform to its physical limits. Professional drone pilots often measure their level of mastery by flying such manoeuvres in competitions.
As pollinators, bees are hard to beat. Still, that hasn’t prevented researchers from working on a high-tech alternative: drones that blow soap bubbles to transport pollen to a flower. It’s a “really cool” approach, says Henry Williams, a roboticist at the University of Auckland, who was not involved in the work. But some biologists are skeptical that drones will ever be an effective replacement for bees. Continue reading
UAS outfitted with both a marker strobe (inset) and a traditional survey prism used to evaluate the accuracy of the motion-capture system
The U.S. Army has implemented a one-of-a-kind outdoor system to test swarming drones–with a capacity of more than 1,500 times the volume of a typical testing facility. Continue reading
Associate Professor Rune Hylsberg Jacobsen (left) is participating from Aarhus University
A new Danish-led research project will allow swarms of advanced, autonomous drones to keep a watchful eye on bridges and railways and report if something needs to be repaired. Continue reading