Table of Contents

News for Week of June 18th 2018

Drone NewsBytes

Check out these wacky designs from Boeing’s $2 million passenger drone contest

Aimed at encouraging innovative designs for ultra-compact personal flying vehicles, Boeing sponsored the GoFly design contest to the tune of $2 million dollars to develop the next passenger drone.

China’s Eating Up US Drone Market; U.S. Troops At Risk

U.S. forces are at increasing risk as China and other nations sell more armed drones to anyone with the money to pay for them, and restrictive U.S. export policies may be making the situation worse, says a new report delivered to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs.

Latest Black Hornet drone is a modular micro machine

The Black Hornet drone seems built for the fever swamps of the internet. Roughly the same weight and size as a sparrow, the Black Hornet’s body is shaped like a tiny helicopter, with a camera instead of a cockpit. It is real, used by military special forces, and last week FLIR Systems announced the latest iteration of the design: the Black Hornet 3

Someone Flew a Drone Too Close to a Wildfire, Again

Firefighters in Colorado had to ground their aircraft for an hour when an unauthorized civilian drone flew into their airspace. Neither tankers nor helicopters could fly while firefighters waited for the drone to clear.

Commercial Drone Alliance Meets With White House Office on Drones Over People, Security

Concerning operations over people, the CDA pointed out the necessity for regulations that will regularly allow this type of operation. Drone security is also an important topic, the CDA’s position is clearly defined. 1) Apply laws to all drone operators flying an aircraft over a certain weight, including recreational operators; 2) Enable technology solutions to policy problems; and 3) Establish a remote ID and tracking system for UAS.

Missing Norfolk man in 'lucky' police drone rescue

A major search was launched for Peter Pugh, 75, from Brancaster, Norfolk, after he disappeared following a walk home through fields on Saturday at about 17:10 BST. It was only when a drone was sent up that Mr Pugh was spotted in dense reed beds at Titchwell Marshes on Sunday.

Watch a Decommissioned Ferry Disappear into the Depths

For decades, the Cape May-Lewes ferry has been carrying cars and passengers across the Delaware bay, but the ferry has recently taken its last passenger. The ship was retired, and on Friday it was deliberately sunk 26 miles off the coast to create an artificial reef. A drone was there to capture footage of the ship sinking.

Boulder's Black Swift developing drone to study Venus' atmosphere

Black Swift Technologies, a local engineering firm that specializes in unmanned aircraft systems, has been awarded a NASA contract to develop a drone that will study Venus' upper atmosphere.

Los Alamos deploys drone mitigation tech

Los Alamos National Laboratory has set up a system to spot and, if needed, bring down drones that fly into its air space, which is off limits to hobbyist drone flights

Ohio sheriff's office uses drone to locate boy's stolen ATV

An Ohio sheriff’s office says it used a specific tool as part of its efforts to track down a missing ATV on Sunday: a drone.

DroneCatcher Drone gets an upgrade

Made by Dutch startup Delft Dynamics, the DroneCatcher quadcopter has been around in prototype form since at least 2015, and the commercial model was unveiled last year. Just recently, though, a clever new additional feature was announced – a detachable power tether.

How to create a hyperlapse video with your drone

Time lapse footage is a creative tool in cinematography, but you can take it to the next level with hyperlapse footage--or better yet, with drone hyperlapse footage.

Chehalis-Centralia Airport Deploys Drone to Chase Birds Off the Runway

Currently, Barnes and his team use firearms to scare away the birds, shooting off explosive rounds that burst overhead with a loud bang. Soon, they’ll be switching to a drone, flying the airport’s new DJI Mavic Pro quadcopter out to “haze” any animals that wander onto the airport

Dangerous Drone Bill Emerges from Senate Committee

The bill would authorize the Departments of Justice (DOJ) and Homeland Security (DHS) to “use reasonable force to disable, damage, or destroy” the drone, which is a euphemistic way of saying shoot it out of the sky. The bill would even permit the government to co-opt drones for its own surveillance purposes.

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