A partnership for hydrogen drones and another partnership for maritime drone deliveries, Lithium-Air batteries, drones attacking U.S. troops, flying a drone over a school, UPS commitment to delivery drones, flying in the fog, and how to save a dog with a drone.
At this year’s CES, Southern California Gas Co. announced a partnership with Doosan Mobility Innovation (DMI) and GTI to launch a hydrogen drone demonstration. DMI will be demonstrating their DS30 octocopter drone system that uses a DMI hydrogen fuel cell powerpack for up to 120 minutes of flight time. The DS30 can carry an 11-pound maximum payload and monitor a 1-mile-long pipeline in a single flight. SoCalGas plans to use the DS30 drone for natural gas pipeline inspections.
Sky-Drones Technologies and F-Drones are partnering to provide maritime deliveries. F-Drones Focuses on deliveries between shore, ships, and offshore platforms. They use electric autonomous VTOLs. Sky-Drones Technologies offers hardware and software for flight control, ground control, communication systems, and a cloud-based management platform. With Sky-Drones’ technology, F-Drones can relay, record, and replay live video footage from their VTOLs.
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Lithium-ion batteries are nice but don’t have the energy density we’d like. On the other hand, Lithium-air batteries could have two to five times the energy density. The development of rechargeable Li-air batteries has progressed, but the study of their operation in real-world applications is lacking.
American troops in Iraq have been attacked with drones three times this year. All drones were shot down during attacks near Baghdad airport and near an airbase. Small drones have been used in other attacks, including in Syria, Iraq, Venezuela, and Saudi Arabia.
The Wilkes North Carolina school board has a new policy for flying drones over school property. It requires a written request for permission submitted to the superintendent or his designee at least three days in advance. Names and contact information for anyone connected with the flight are required, as well as proof of insurance coverage, proof of any required FAA permits, proof of any required N.C. Department of...
