Drone News of the Week Ending July 7: DRONELIFE Headlines, All in One Place to Read or Listen

Read or listen to all of the headlines in one place: excerpts from the DRONELIFE drone news of the week ending July 7, 2023.  Click on the titles below for the full story.

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FIXAR Sponsors Latvia’s Space Modeling Team

Latvian drone software and hardware developer FIXAR has announced its sponsorship of Latvia’s team for the 2023 FAI World Championships for Space Models. Held from July 1st to 8th in Austin, Texas, the event will see teams from 19 different countries competing in the construction of lightweight rockets designed for specific flight durations, ranging by various craft categories.

Australia Introduces 40 Question BVLOS Exam for Ops in Non-Controlled Airspace

Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) has introduced a new exam to allow Beyond Visual Line of Sight operation in non-controlled airspace for remote pilots. This 40 question, multiple-choice exam, which covers content relating to BVLOS flights, aeronautics, instrumentation, and human factors, can be taken instead of the Instrument Rating Exam which was previously required. Australia, the first country to enact drone-specific legislation in 2002, has a comprehensive licensing program for drone operators that includes both Remotely Piloted Aircraft Operator…

Inspecting Wind Turbines Without Stopping Them: Japanese Company Demos Drone Technology

 

At the Tsukaba Forum recently held in Japan, Tokyo-based Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT) recently unveiled new technology for inspecting wind turbines without requiring them to stop, announcing a demonstration experiment to showcase their innovative approach. Conventional methods for inspection required the turbine to be completely stopped before a technician could inspect it, a difficult process that had serious effects on power generation efficiency. NTT’s new process takes two autonomous drones, fitted with relatively small commercial radio emitters, and sends weak radio signals between them (which don’t require a federal license).

DroneShield Releases DroneLocator Remote ID Technology, Detecting a Range of Signals

DroneShield has announced the release of a major firmware update for its global fleet of counterdrone (C-UAS) devices. With the global introduction of Remote ID legislation, drone manufacturers have developed proprietary remote identification approaches that are becoming increasingly important in the management of the low altitude airspace.

This SUV-Sized Flying Car has $50 Million in Pre-Orders: ASKA A5 eVTOL Begins FAA Type Certification Process

Air mobility company ASKA’s 4-seater eVTOL has become the first ever flying car to begin the type certification process with the FAA. The prototype of the ASKA™ A5 was awarded Certificate of Authorization (COA) and Special Airworthiness Certification by the FAA and has begun flight testing. ASKA has been conducting ground tests since 2022 and in Q1/2023 began performing on-street driving tests. This Special Airworthiness Certificate proves that ASKA™ A5 has satisfied all FAA safety requirements. The company is currently working closely with the FAA on type certification, which signifies the design is in compliance with all airworthiness, noise, fuel venting, and exhaust emissions standards.

The Top 3 Challenges Facing the Drone Industry: Elsight and P3Tech’s 2023 Drone Market Survey

Drone connectivity solutions provider Elsightand industry experts P3 Tech Consulting have partnered to produce the 2023 Drone Market Survey, a free downloadable white paper offering critical insights into the current state of the drone ecosystem.  The global survey asked participants for their views on BVLOS operations, target markets, business models, use cases, and more.

Halo Streams Drone Data of the Crowd to Combat Criminal and Terrorist Activity at Sporting Events

Halo Solutions, the developer of incident and threat management platform Halo (V5), is deploying its live streaming drone technology Halo Stream at major sporting events to monitor protester activity, persons of interest, ticket touts and crowd safety. Using live streaming technology with Halo (v5) significantly improves its capability and offers a vital link for gathering intelligence, surveillance, combatting protester activity at major sporting events and assisting in counter terrorism surveillance and reconnaissance.

AI-Powered UAV Swarming Technology Steps Out of Science Fiction into Real World Scenarios

Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Quantum-Systems GmbH and Spleenlab GmbH have been awarded a research endeavor from the Planning Office of the German Armed Forces to demonstrate and analyze the AI elements necessary for swarms of tactical UAS in a real-world scenario. With a focus on the effectiveness of tactical UAS, the project known as KITU 2 (Künstliche Intelligenz für taktische UAS; Artificial Intelligence for tactical UAS) is being funded by the German Ministry of Defence. This partnership will allow each company to provide its key strengths.