The NASA/FAA ASRS safety reporting system is now extended to UAS operators. Also, an autonomy Level 4 drone, learning from dragonflies, a triple-drop drone, a possible ADS-B solution for UAVs, getting your groceries delivered in Ohio, and a virtual UAS Symposium.
NASA’s Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) collects confidential information about near misses from pilots and others. The data is used by the FAA to make aviation safer while maintaining confidentiality to maximize the number of incidents reported. Aviation Safety Reporting Program (ASRP) for UAS describes how “NASA’s ASRS has a reporting form tailored to the UAS community. This will ensure that the safety data that is collected will result in actionable information for the entire aviation community.”
Drones from Exyn Technologies have reached “Level 4A” autonomy and can explore a designated 3D area without a remote operator and operate without GPS. All spatial and mapping computations are done onboard, and unlike Level 3 autonomy, they do not require an operator who can take over if required.
The company says, “We developed an autonomous system that can take you into dark, dirty, dangerous environments. Place it at the edge of danger and send it off to collect the information that you need. Oftentimes the information you need is beyond the line of sight, both in terms of communications as well as visual.”
See The 6 Levels of Vehicle Autonomy Explained for more.
Researchers at the University of South Australia designed and tested components of a dragonfly-inspired drone. They describe the dragonfly as the “apex insect flyer” because of its flying abilities. The team modelled the aerodynamic properties of the dragonfly’s body, studied dragonfly wing geometry of 75 species, and created 3D images of the wings. The researchers believe drones that mimic dragonflies could perform many tasks, such as collecting and delivering unbalanced loads, safely operating near people, exploring delicate natural environments, and executing long surveillance missions.
Published in the journal Drones, 27 March 2021: Biomimetic Drones Inspired by Dragonflies Will Require a Systems Based Approach and Insights from Biology
Wingcopter is a German startup that calls their Wingcopter 198 “the world’s first triple-drop delivery drone.” It’s fully autonomous, fixed-wing, BVLOS, and one...
