Uber and Hyundai team-up on an air taxi, mystery drones still flying in the U.S. midwest, UK investigations of drone crashes lead to safety recommendations, a drone that can see dead people, and a drone that brews beer.
At CES in Las Vegas, Uber and Hyundai showed a model of a four-seat electric flying vehicle. The actual prototype is to be ready in 2023. Ultimately, their air taxi is intended to be autonomous, but they will be manned at the beginning. Last year, Hyundai appointed a longtime NASA administrator to lead its air taxi division.
“Mystery drones” are still being spotted in several U.S. states. The Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control is reportedly conducting night flights of manned aircraft to investigate the source of the drones. Colorado’s Multi-Mission Aircraft includes two Pilatus PC-12 airplanes, one of which was seen flying in circles at night in northeastern Colorado.
The Nebraska Information Analysis Center is asking people to report sightings of clusters of four or more (not single sightings) UAS. The NIAC asks that suspicious activity be reported using the Nebraska Information Analysis Center reporting tool.
The general manager of a Council Bluffs FBO watched a video of the “drones” and says the strobe lights and sound are that of an airplane, not a drone.
The UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch published results from 8 UAS investigations. These are the first investigations that resulted in AAIB Safety Recommendations. One crash was a DJI Matrice 200 operated commercially to record video footage of an outdoor athletics event. It failed while operating in the rain. The AAIB made two Safety Recommendations.
We’ve seen drones being used to survey damage after a disaster. Taking it to the next level, researchers at the University of South Australia are applying machine learning to 30-second video clips of the human body. The system is able to distinguish between living people and dead people which could aid responders after a disaster.
Philadelphia craft brewery Dock Street Brewing and local drone maker Exyn...
