Drone Mapping Versus Terrestrial Laser Scanners
In the drone industry, it is taken nearly as gospel that small uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) will allow people to do their jobs better, safer, and faster than whatever the traditional method happens to be—especially when it comes to public safety. However, if you are making decisions that have financial consequences or lives on the …. Read More
FAA State-Wide BVLOS Waiver
Drones are the N.C. Department of Transportation’s newest tool in maintaining the safety of the state’s bridges and other infrastructure. The Federal Aviation Administration on Friday approved a waiver that allows NCDOT to operate Unmanned Aircraft Systems beyond visual line of sight while conducting bridge inspections. This approval is part of North Carolina’s participation in …. Read More
High-Risk Operations: Embry-Riddle bridge-inspection challenges
Pilot Report To any person who has ever uttered the phrase, “Those who can’t do, teach,” I’d like to extend an invitation: spend a day on the flight line with Dr. Scott Burgess of the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Worldwide Campus Department of Flight. For myself, I’ve always had the utmost respect for the teaching profession, …. Read More
Army UAVs Avoid Powerlines
At the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command’s Army Research Laboratory, researchers have developed a novel sensor and software application to detect and avoid energized power lines in the vicinity of unmanned aerial system, or UAS. The goal is to provide autonomous systems sufficient time and distance to react, avoid wires and navigate follow-on maneuvers. Army …. Read More
Mission Profile: 3D Mapping An Osprey Nest (On a Cell Tower!)
Wildlife conservation is one use for small, civil uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) that is seldom listed among the marquee applications for the technology, such orthomosaic mapping, industrial inspection, and emergency response, to name a few, yet it has the potential to make significant contributions to environmental preservation. That’s what I learned when June Stephens, an …. Read More
