WASHINGTON, D.C. — You will be sharing the airspace with unmanned aerial vehicles more and more in the coming year and ahead. Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) — more commonly called drones — have been operating in various parts of the nation since 1990. Since then, the FAA has authorized limited use for missions in the […]
UAS
North Dakota eyed for UAS ‘mall’
By JUAN MIGUEL PEDRAZA In a visit to Grand Forks, N.D, just ahead of election day, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) got a good look at a spot for a mall — an unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) mall. A key spot on the tour was the University of North Dakota’s UAS facilities. UND would be a […]
Driving drones can be a drag
Study shows distractions may alleviate boredom and improve drone operators’ performance. CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — On its surface, operating a drone looks a lot like playing a video game: Operators sit at workstations, manipulating joysticks to remotely adjust a drone’s pitch and elevation, while grainy images from the vehicle’s camera project onto a computer screen. An […]
Company demonstrates ADS-B fully autonomous collision avoidance for UAS
R³ Engineering (R³E) recently completed a demonstration of an ADS-B (Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast) based, fully autonomous collision avoidance sequence, executed by a sense and avoid system installed on an unmanned aircraft system (UAS). On Friday Aug. 10, an AWSAS — R³E’s All Weather Sense and Avoid System — installed on a research UAS, with no […]
NASA and partners test unmanned aircraft technology in N.D.
By KATHERINE BARNSTORFF, NASA Langley Research Center GRAND FORKS, N.D. — A research team made of officials from government, industry, and higher education has completed two weeks of flight testing of “sense and avoid” technology that could some day help unmanned aircraft better integrate into the national air transportation system. The MITRE Corporation and the […]
Creating an unmanned aircraft that can sense-and-avoid
By JUAN MIGUEL PEDRAZA, Office of University Relations, University of North Dakota It looks easy to fly unmanned aircraft: Launch, fly, land. But there’s lots more to keeping an Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) safely aloft than toggling controls from the ground. “Among the major technical challenges facing the UAS industry is the sense-and-avoid system aboard […]
UAS topic of Las Vegas conference
The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) will host “Unmanned Systems North America 2012” in Las Vegas, August 6-9. The show’s website brags of 500+ exhibitors, 8,000+ attendees, delegates from more than 40 countries and 100 educational sessions. FAA’s Acting Administrator, Michael Huerta is just one of seven keynote speakers.
UAS operation in the homeland
“According to a recent national poll conducted by Monmouth University in New Jersey, nearly two-thirds of Americans support the use of unmanned aircraft [systems] (UAS) to protect the U.S. borders and control illegal immigration. Eighty percent of Americans support the use of unmanned aircraft to help in search and rescue missions.” The above is included in Michael Toscano’s prepared testimony for the House Committee on […]
Code of Conduct for UAS released
The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) has published the “Unmanned Aircraft System Operations Industry Code of Conduct,” a set of guidelines to provide those who design, test and operate UAS for public and civil use with recommendations for their safe, non-intrusive operation. Central to the “Code of Conduct” is the need for “safety, […]