Unmanned Vehicles

This week, it’s off to the drone aircraft show—AUVSI or the Association of Unmanned Vehicles International. They really need a better name for that. It doesn’t exactly slide off the tongue. The association is calling the show Exponential this year, clearly suggesting they think that’s the growth curve they expect drones will or already are […]

Three aerospace teams will compete for a military contract to further develop their ideas for a reusable unmanned spaceplane that can make daily flights over a ten-day period. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency announced this week it will hold a publicProposers Day on April 29 to discuss the second and third phases of its […]

The FAA’s rules currently forbid any operator to fly a drone above people, but the FAA now is reviewing that decision, based on a report (PDF) and recommendations from an aviation rulemaking committee. The ARC’s consensus report, submitted last Friday, recommends establishing four small UAS categories, with the risk level to people defined primarily by […]

Large-scale drones could safely fly in the National Airspace System by using ADS-B technology, according to NASA researchers. The agency said recently it has developed a patent-pending integrated communications and control system that’s capable of collision warnings as well as real-time traffic and weather updates. Vigilant Aerospace Systems has recently signed a licensing agreement with […]

A Lufthansa Airbus A380 reported a close call with a drone near Los Angeles International Airport Friday afternoon, prompting local law enforcement to search for the operator. The crew notified the FAA of an unmanned aircraft flying 200 feet above the jet about 14 miles east of the airport at 5,000 feet, the Los Angeles […]

DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, said last week it will develop a new X-Plane to pursue “radical improvements” in aircraft that can take off and land vertically, then shift to horizontal flight mode and reach speeds up to 400 knots. “The design envisions an aircraft that could fly fast and far, hover when […]

A few spots remain open for aviation professionals and researchers to attend a joint NASA-FAA On-Demand Mobility/Emerging Technology Workshop to be held March 8 and 9 in Arlington, Virginia. The roster of speakers includes researchers from NASA, DARPA and MIT, as well as industry experts from E-Volo, AeroVironment and BRS, and many more, in a […]

The FAA has again called on industry stakeholders to help develop rules for drone flying, this time for “micro” unmanned aircraft systems that would be allowed to fly over people. The agency is assembling an Aviation Rulemaking Committee (PDF) that will have about five weeks to come up with recommendations for the size and makeup […]

Although most of the drone news these days is about regulations and dangers (perceived and real) their use can result in some truly magnificent marriages of art and technology. We missed this when it first surfaced in November of 2015 but the Guinness World Record flight of 100 drones controlled by Intel software to a […]

U.S. Army researchers are experimenting with making 3D-printed drones on demand. The Army Research Laboratory recently proposed the concept as a means to quickly build and deploy small unmanned aircraft in the field. The idea won a spot in the 2017 Army Expeditionary Warrior Experiments, which allow selected project teams to demonstrate new technologies, the […]