The UAV Digest

Disney X-Wing drones, counter UAS technology at an air force base, drones and weed infestations, sampling water in a volcano crater, a large fine for landing a quadcopter at an airport.

Droneresponders forms a working group for public safety agencies, protestors and C-UAS, TSA and C-UAS, cannon-launched drones, the QF-16 target drone, names for different types of passenger drones, and drone light shows.

Airbus funds new UAV battery technology and flys rotary wing UAV, upcoming UAS Traffic Management workshop, hydrogen-powered UAV for the Navy, a heavy-payload long-range drone, drone racing at Daytona, mosquitoes might help drones make less noise.

Drone registration requirements in the UK and Singapore, automated safe landing technology, the speed of drone technology development, package delivery progress and issues, and counter-UAS technology funding. UAV News UK Drone Operators Have Until the End of November to Register With the Government All drone owners and operators in the UK with droves that weigh more than 250g have to register them by November 30, 2019. Registration costs £9. Failure to register can result in a fine of as much as £1,000. In addition to registration, anyone flying a drone over 250g must also take an online education and test to receive a flyer ID. Users can now register as a drone operator and/or flyer at: register-drones.caa.co.uk. Drones Reunited In the UK, 26% of drone owners say they lost a drone. Drones United leverages off the new UK drone registration system to help owners reconnect with their lost drones. Singapore mandates unmanned aircraft registration Starting January 2, 2020, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) will require all unmanned aircraft over 250 grams to be registered before it can be operated. A sticker with a unique registration number must be affixed to each unmanned aircraft. The penalty for flying an unregistered aircraft could be up to S$10,000 or jail for six months, or both. Are UAVs Properly Tested, or is Development Rushed? Satellite-based drone connectivity encompasses a number of issues such as cost, weight, and power. “Validation of stable and reliable connectivity under all circumstances is paramount to the success of Beyond Line of Sight UAV operations.” Automated Emergency Safe Landing Technology Black Swift Technologies SwiftSTL (Swift Safe-To-Land) technology was developed to address catastrophic in-flight failures. It captures and segments images and autonomously identifies a safe landing location. This is accomplished through machine learning algorithms, artificial intelligence (AI), and onboard processors to identify obstacles like people, buildings, vehicles, structures, etc. To learn more, see the white paper, “AI and Machine Learning’s Role in Enabling Automated Emergency Safe Landings of UAS – A Key Enabler for Safe Beyond Visible Line of Sight (BVLOS) Flights.” [PDF] What if a delivery drone falls on your head? Thorny legal questions loom as services increase This article poses questions about airspace ownership, privacy, and liability. UPS drone makes first home prescription deliveries for CVS CVS and UPS announced the first commercial delivery of prescription medications by drones to customers. UPS’ Flight Forward drones delivered to the front lawn of a private home and a retirement center. The drones hovered at an altitude of about 20 feet and lowered the packages. UK government funds 18 projects to develop anti-drone technologies The UK government approved £2 million ($2.57 million) to fund 18 projects to develop anti-drone and drone detection technologies. In April, 2019, the Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) program under the UK's Ministry of Defence (MOD) asked the private sector to come up with new technologies that could detect approaching drones, and neutralize the threat.

The Mavic Mini doesn’t require FAA registration, DOI grounds Chinese drones, more no-fly facilities, Uber Eats delivery drone, submarine resupplied by drone, drones at live broadcast events, an airport uses drones for facilities inspections.

UAS flight demonstrations in the news: the Boeing MQ-25 unmanned aerial refueler, a microturbine propulsion system, a high altitude pseudo-satellite. Also, counter-drone tech from both the Secret Service and Raytheon, and drones that study dust devils.

Ehang is flying its urban air mobility vehicle contender. Remote identification of drones is moving forward. Also, using drones to measure methane emissions, find standing water where mosquitoes breed, assess hurricane damage, explore Titan, plant trees.

Situational awareness drones for border protection, hydrogen fuel cell UAV platform, UAS Traffic Management Pilot Program, FPV drones, traffic control drone in China, all-electric helicopter UAS, teaming manned and unmanned aircraft and munitions.

Drones for activism at Heathrow, the trade war and the drone community, FAA issuing more emergency COA’s, RAAF working with the U.S. Navy on the MQ-4C Triton, a drone generates electricity, a reporting portal for drone incidents, the “drone bubble.”

The Commercial Drone Alliance wants to see regulations for large drones, sUAS are vulnerable to impacts, using AI-enabled drones to identify specific individuals (human and otherwise), drones donated to universities for precision ag, and BVLOS for the UAS Integration Pilot Program.

Aeronautical knowledge test for recreational drone pilots, UPS medical deliveries, drone technician college degree, drone flights over people, drone strikes on airliners, environmental BVLOS missions, FAA on drones and dangerous weapons.

HAPSMobile plans to fly a High Altitude Pseudo Satellite (HAPS) over Hawaii, Amazon petitions for drone delivery exemptions, NASA plans to test UAS traffic management in Texas, researchers find that drones are better than people studying whales, a female drone pilot seeks to encourage women, and drones that provide medical assistance. UAV News FAA Approves Solar Drone Flights Over Hawaiian Island Japanese drone company HAPSMobile has a waiver to fly a solar-powered UAV over Lanai. The HAWK30 will act as a stratospheric telecommunications platform - a High Altitude Platform Station, also called a High Altitude Pseudo Satellite. The project is a collaboration between HAPSMobile, the University of Hawaii, and the Pan-Pacific UAS Test Range Complex which is managed by the University of Alaska Fairbanks. AeroVironment is HAPSMobile’s aircraft development partner for the HAWK30. In related news, see HAPSMobile Working Together with Facebook to Accelerate the Adoption of HAPS. Amazon requests FAA approval of delivery-drone plans Amazon has filed a 29-page petition with the FAA requesting approval to use their MK27 delivery drone before getting a certificate of airworthiness. Amazon would like to fly BVLOS and they ask for exemptions from certain aviation regulations that are more applicable to manned aircraft. The petition says delivery drones will fly autonomously but with one operator for each drone in flight. Eventually, Amazon would like to have one operator for multiple drones "subject to FAA approval based on flights and simulations that demonstrate required levels of safety."The FAA will take public comments on the petition until August 28, 2019. See Petition for Exemption; Summary of Petition Received; Amazon Prime Air in the Federal Register. NASA drone testing schedule in Corpus Christi: What you need to know NASA selected the Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi’s Lone Star UAS Center of Excellence & Innovation as a nationwide drone testing site. Testing will focus on urban UAS traffic management and they plan to close or restrict access to several downtown streets. Tests show multi-rotor UAVs can improve cetacean behavioral studies New Zealand researchers found that small, multi-rotor UAVs are better than expert observers on research vessels. When it comes to surveying and studying humpback whales, the drones captured some social activities not detected by the observer and there was no observable effect on the whales’ behavior. See Insights into the use of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to investigate the behavior of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in Vava'u, Kingdom of Tonga. Introducing Derbyshire Police’s First Female Drone Pilot Victoria Atherton, Derbyshire Police’s first female drone pilot, has said she wants to inspire others and fight crime. She was recently deployed to a damaged dam that forced the evacuation of about 1,500 residents. She commented: “Personally, I think the best way to encourage women to get involved is to support each other. The future of aviation appears to be heading in the direction of unmanned aircraft and it’s important that men and women are equally represented in this field.” Also, “It’s an achievement to be labeled the first, however, I think it’s more important to ensure that I am not the last.” Drones, smartphones and sensors could provide a new solution to elderly falls Researchers from Baghdad's Middle Technical University and the University of South Australia have designed a system to remotely monitor elderly people. It detects heart rate and temperature abnormalities and provides urgent first...

Package delivery halted after crash, AI and drones, swarming nano-drones, mesh networked drones for precision ag, drone mesh for event security, UAS for airport and public safety, reliability of drone sightings from aircraft.

Bio-inspired drones are getting attention and a general contractor receives a waiver for flights over people with a parachute-equipped drone. Also, six Israeli drone companies, a drone-mounted flamethrower, BVLOS critical infrastructure inspection, and an online drone survey.

Hybrid drone controllers from MIT, UPS drone delivery subsidiary, LAANC expanded to recreational Part 107, Australian drone registration delayed, gas detecting micro-drone, quadcopter that shrinks to get through small openings.