Category Archives: VTOL

Bulgaria Wants All-Weather Reconnaissance UAS

The U.S. Army has issued a market survey for a 10-pound UAS with hover and stare capability that would be suitable for the Bulgarian armed forces. Officials of the Army Contracting Command at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., issued a sources-sought notice to locate potential sources to deliver and train vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) UAV systems for foreign military sales to Bulgaria. Continue reading

UAV Mapping of a Landslide

At the end of May 2014, UPVISION, a Czech unmanned aerial vehicle and mapping company, conducted a UAV survey of a landslide on Highway D8, currently ​​under construction near the city of Litomerice, in the northern part of the Czech Republic. A geological survey was conducted on Highway D8, ​​which had been under construction at the time of the landslide. Continue reading

FAA Approves First Unmanned Quadrotor

InstantEyeThe Instant Eye small unmanned aerial system received approval last Thursday from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to be used by an energy company, which will conduct research, development and training to see if the system is practical for inspecting infrastructure such as pipelines, power lines and insulators on towers. It is the first unmanned quadrotor to receive FAA certification and may be the lightest aircraft ever certified.

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‘Sense-and-Avoid’ System for Hobby Quadcopters

ebumper-DJI PhantomPanoptes UAV, a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based start-up, has created a system that uses echolocation to help small quadcopters avoid collisions. The product, the eBumper, contains acoustic sensors that work outdoors, indoors and in all weather conditions, said Terrence McKenna, chief executive officer. Continue reading