Airbus pushes forward with a new Urban Air Mobility unit, law enforcement embraces drones, another Amazon drone delivery patent, and FAA UAS news.
Airbus SE is creating an Urban Air Mobility (UAM) division based in Munich. The division will consolidate all UAM activities except current air vehicle projects. Eduardo Dominguez Puerta becomes head of Urban Air Mobility. Previously, Puerta was CEO of the Airbus A3 innovation center in Silicon Valley. In Autonomous Skies: Airbus is working towards a world of self-piloted air travel, the company says, “The future of transport lies in the skies. By developing a range of cutting-edge autonomous technologies, Airbus is working towards a world of self-piloting urban air mobility vehicles, cargo drones and more autonomous commercial aircraft. The vision: a safer, more efficient and eco-friendly global transport network.”
The Bard College Center for the Study of the Drone estimates that “at least 910 state and local police, sheriff, fire, and emergency services agencies in the U.S. have acquired drones.” Texas, California, and Wisconsin have the most agencies with drones. In Public Safety Drones: An Update, Bard says they “estimate that the number of public safety agencies with drones has increased by approximately 82 percent in the last year alone. All told, there are now more than twice as many agencies that own drones as there are agencies that own manned aircraft in the U.S.”
Amazon was issued Patent 9,984,579, Unmanned aerial vehicle approach notification for methods by which a delivery drone and the customer could communicate. Patent abstract:
An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) may provide an approach notification to enable people to understand and interpret actions by the UAV, such as an intention to land or deposit a package at a particular location. The UAV may communicate a specific intention of the UAV and/or communicate a request to a person. The UAV may monitor the person or data signals for a response from the person, such as movement of the person that indicates a response. The UAV may be equipped with hardware and/or software configured to provide notifications and/or exchange information with a person at or near a destination. The UAV may include lights, a speaker, and possibly a projector to enable the UAV to project information and/or text on a surface. The UAV may control a moveable mechanism to “point” toward the person, at an object, or in another direction.
