The DJI Phantom 4 can see and avoid obstacles in its path. Chinese drone maker DJI wants to make flying a drone so easy that anyone can do it, thanks to easier-to-use controls and the ability to avoid obstacles. The $1,399 Phantom 4 can see and automatically avoid dangerous obstructions thanks to a new set of front-facing sensors. If the drone doesn’t think it can make it around a...
The FAA says it’s receiving more than 100 reports a month from pilots and others who spot unmanned aircraft flying close to airports or airplanes. The agency has partnered with CACI International to explore how the company’s prototype detection technology could help detect UAS in the vicinity of airports. CACI’s proof-of-concept system uses radio frequency sensors at strategic...
The National University of Singapore will soon be seeing unmanned air vehicles flying over its campus, as Airbus Helicopters and the nation’s aviation authority team up to trial parcel delivery at the site. A memorandum of understanding has been signed between the aircraft manufacturer and the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS), which will result in trials under the Skyways...
Israel Aerospace Industries has taken the quadcopter to its logical conclusion: They built a man-hunting flying suicide drone. The ROTEM-L unmanned aerial vehicle is designed to hunt down targets in urban environments and execute a suicide attack, blowing them up with hand grenades. ROTEM-L weighs 9 pounds, carries infrared cameras, and has a flying time of 30 minutes. An op...
Drones could become useful for surveillance and remote monitoring in many industries, and perhaps one day will even ferry the latest Amazon order to your front door. But there’s one big limiting factor: drones can stay in the air for only so long on a charge. The Parc drone developed by CyPhy Works. Not the latest model developed by the Boston-based drone maker CyPhy Works, though. Cal...
A unique unmanned tiltrotor has successfully completed a new testing stage by performing its first flight. The aircraft was created by VR-Technologies, an innovative design bureau, part of Russian Helicopters. A number of oil and gas companies and various government agencies are already showing interest in the unique project. “The development of the unique air...
The Afghan military is expected to field its first specialized surveillance drones as soon as March, a U.S. commander in Kabul said on Thursday, as the Asian nation slowly expands its own air force. The boost in military hardware comes as Afghan security forces, fighting largely alone since the withdrawal of most international forces in 2014, have struggled for months to hold back a Taliban ins...
It looks a cross between a helicopter and a hovercraft and can take off and land vertically: AirMule is a giant drone that can pick up and drop off supplies or people. Built by Israeli firm Urban Aeronautics, It is meant to be used in areas too dangerous for other aircraft. Rafi Yoeli, chief executive officer of Urban Aeronautics, explains how it works: “It can operate inside villag...
UMS Skeldar, the newly-formed joint venture between Saab and Swiss UAV company UMS Aero, can be found here on the stand of its regional partner CWT Defense Services (D87). The stand features full-scale models of the Skeldar rotary-wing UAV that Saab developed, and the smaller R350 unmanned helicopter that UMSdesigned. CWT is a d...
ST Aerospace is showing off a proof of concept unmanned air vehicle that can both fly and swim. The company’s Unmanned Hybrid Vehicle (UHV) has been tested in the water, but has yet to conduct its first flight. “Not many countries are comfortable with a 25kg [55lb] experimental aircraft in their airspace,” says Milly Tay, senior vice-president at ST Aero’s engineering...
Elbit Systems has unveiled its new Skylark 3 mini unmanned air system, and also revealed it has gained selection by an undisclosed customer. Intended to support brigade- and division-level units, the Skylark 3 has an operating range of more than 54nm (100km) and a flight endurance of up to 6h, says the Israeli manufacturer. Deployed from a pneumatic launcher on the ground or mounted on a v...
The police report says drone crashed into the 4oth floor. And the man who crashed the drone into the famous building charged with crashing the drone. The man claims he asked an officer an officer told him it will be okay to fly there. There is no intel which drone was it, but Sean Nivin Riddle was charged with reckless endangerment and illegal navigation of an aircraft in and over the city. A...
