By Kevin Storr Those micro-air vehicles flying reconnaissance missions into combat zones or into nuclear spill sites to detect radiation someday may be designed at the University of Alabama at Birmingham’sSchool of Engineering. Senior engineering students were challenged to build a MAV weighing less than 10 grams and powered by a four-volt battery. UAB Engineering launches micro-air vehicle program from...
By Nancy Flake The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office is waiting for the right moment to use a drone it purchased last fall for around $500,000. A crew of MCSO officers who will operate the Shadowhawk MK-II, an unmanned aerial vehicle designed and manufactured by Vanguard Defense Industries in Spring, has been certified, Chief Deputy Randy McDaniel said. They are still...
By Johnathon Fitzpatrick Seattle Weekly Flying drones have become commonplace in the skies of Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Somalia, but now domesticated drones are starting to fill American skies. Seattle Police are among the first departments in the nation to use the high-tech surveillance tool only recently considered science fiction. In the 2002 series finale of TV show “Dark Angel,” actress...
By Sgt. Tracy Weeden, 101st Combat Aviation Brigade FORT IRWIN, Calif. (March 7, 2012) — For the first time, a task force of an Army aviation brigade deployed to a training scenario with their own unmanned aerial systems troop organic to them. Task Force Saber, 2nd Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment, 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, made their debut to the...
By: Chris Bieri, Grand Forks Herald Deputies expect FAA clearance to use two aircraft in May The Grand Forks Sheriff’s Department is about to start investigating in rarified air. The department will be one of just seven law enforcement offices nationwide developing an unmanned aircraft systems program, according to special deputy Al Frazier. The department will be one of just...
By Jason PalmerScience and technology reporter, BBC News A striking demonstration of a means to boost the information-carrying capacity of radio waves has taken place across the lagoon in Venice, Italy. The technique exploits what is called the “orbital angular momentum” of the waves – imparting them with a “twist”. Varying this twist permits many data streams to fit...
Aside from standard gathering operations, the UAV Squadron deals with other everyday issues. The First UAV Squadron and Search & Rescue Unit conducted a joint training session that simulated a scenario in which they must find missing persons Mai Efrat This was not an everyday operation. UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) operators are used to searching for other targets and...
Extreme climate and geography can cause problems for researchers throughout the Alaska wilderness. Because of this, scientists risk life and limb when collecting data via manned aircraft. In order to introduce the Fairbanks community to new technology, the UAF Geophysical Institute is hosting their annual Science for Alaska lecture series. The first lecture educated the audience about the use...
Never mind the fact that unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), the Aeryon Scout, has nosed out the lair of Central American drug dealers, assisted Libyan rebels in gathering intelligence on enemy positions, and helped plan delivery of emergency fuel to residents of Nome, Alaska after a snowstorm — it does a darned fine job...
Rhett A. Butler, mongabay.com Conservationists have converted a remote-controlled plane into a potent tool for conservation. Using seed funding from the National Geographic Society, The Orangutan Conservancy, and the Denver Zoo, Lian Pin Koh, an ecologist at the ETH Zürich, and Serge Wich, a biologist at the University of Zürich and PanEco, have developed a conservation drone equipped with...
