Episodes

Using drones for disaster relief, a new marketplace for used drones, a drone park for a Florida county, unmanned aircraft replacing manned helicopters, bright career prospects for drone pilots, and fighting pollution with gas-sniffing drones. UAV News Amateur Drones Over Houston Endangering Rescue Choppers, Officials Say The Texas Military Department representing the Texas Army National Guard, the Texas Air National Guard, and the Texas State Guard tweeted: “#ALERT: We are seeing civilian dron...

A bladeless drone wins a design award, women to watch in UAS, drone support for Hurricane Harvey, DJI issues a mandatory firmware update, Customs and Border Protection nabs a drug runner, video gamers as drone pilots, and talking drones from Amazon. UAV News The Dyson of Drones Mexican designer Edgar Herrera has created a concept for a bladeless drone that is a winner in the 2017 Red Dot Design Concept Award. In this design concept, three bladeless air ducts control direction and can rotate 20...

A new drone racing league takes shape, an unmanned aircraft vehicle traffic management system is planned for Kansas, Northrop Grumman’s MQ-25 drone tanker testbed was spotted, a Phantom landed on an aircraft carrier, DJI responds to issues over data transmission, and drones assist in a rescue mission. UAV News Professional drone racers start new league with six teams and big inaugural event in Everett arena The Pro Aerial League (PAL) is a new drone racing organization that will feature indoor...

DJI drones come under attack for data transmissions, the U.S. Army responds, military installations get approval to take down drones, a Navy fighter is forced to take evasive action, automated approval to fly in airport airspace, and thrust-assisted perching. UAV News Drone Data Security sUAS News describes the data they say is collected during the flight of a DJI drone, logged into your DJI Go app, and transmitted back to DJI Servers. US Army calls for units to discontinue use of DJI equipme...

Max and @dronemama visit Smith College and talk to the summer drone class, 3DR and DJI join resources, drones assist with invasive snakes, Farmers Insurance expands the use of UAS, and a drone privacy spat on Twitter. Drone Class at Smith College Max spoke to the SSEP Drone Class at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. The class is part of the College’s Summer Science and Engineering Program (SSEP), a four-week residential program for exceptional young women with strong interests in sc...

The UK plans to require registration for drones over 250 grams, a study looks at drone strikes on aircraft windscreens, a transformable UAV is under development, Airbus tested their Sagitta demonstrator, some DJI Sparks are experiencing a problem, and draft Technical Standard Orders win AOPA approval. UAV News Drones to be registered and users to sit safety tests under new government rules Drone registration is coming to the UK, along with drone safety awareness tests. This will apply to drone...

The Test Range Manager of the Warm Springs FAA UAS Test Range joins us as our guest. Guest Liz Stalford is the FAA UAS Test Range Manager for the Warm Springs – University of Alaska, Fairbanks Pan Pacific Unmanned Test Range Complex (PPUTRC). The complex is one of six official FAA test sites in the United States. It spans seven climate zones, allowing UAS manufacturers and potential users to test their equipment in the Arctic, the tropics, and arid environments. hLiz Stalford Liz describes th...

A year after the crash of the prototype, testing of the Piaggio HammerHead UAS is underway again. We also look at drones and field biology, security, and swarming technology. UAV News Piaggio Aerospace Resumes Test Flights of Hammerhead UAV In May 2016, the prototype Piaggio Aerospace P.1HH HammerHead UAV crashed off the coast of Sicily. Reportedly, there were flight control system integration problems. Testing has now resumed and eight systems are to be delivered to the United Arab Emirates. ...

Telecommunication drone tests from MIT and Verizon, flying near firefighters, pipeline inspection, drone registration refunds for recreational operators, and the UAS Identification and Tracking Aviation Rulemaking Committee. UAV News MIT Develops Gas-Powered UAV That Can Stay Aloft for Five Days This fixed-wing, long-endurance UAV was developed to provide temporary telecommunications service for disaster areas, or possibly for environmental monitoring. With a 24-foot wingspan and a 15,000 feet...

A look back at the first 200 episodes and a peek into topics that might get our attention in the future, including regulatory actions that result from FAA reauthorization. To celebrate the 200th episode, David and Max take a step back from the usual format and reminisce about the issues that were important when the podcast started in 2013. The main topic then was whether or not to call them “drones.” We look at how the unmanned aircraft landscape has changed since the first episode, and specula...

The director of the GENIUS NY accelerator competition for unmanned systems describes how they are helping UAS companies become successful. Guest Jonathan Parry is the Director of GENIUS NY, an in-residence business accelerator program at the CenterState Corporation for Economic Opportunity (CEO) Tech Garden in Syracuse, New York. As the world’s largest accelerator competition for unmanned systems, GENIUS NY has invested $3M directly into six early stage technology companies focused on hardware...

The Drone Racing League gains sponsors and additional funding, NASA UAS traffic management testing, the impact of Taylor v. FAA on commercial drone operators, iRobotics proposes a drone race across the Pacific, and drones swarm in China. UAV News The Drone Racing League (DRL) Announces International Partnerships For 2017 Race Season, Close Of Series B Investment Round The Drone Racing League (DRL), announced multi-year, international partners and sponsors. Allianz was already announced as the ...

NASA UAS Traffic Management system testing at the UAS test sites, Arizona law enforcement uses a drone to find a missing man, a drone company becomes a drone data company, DARPA studies mid-flight multitasking for small drones, a University of Calgary study of drone incidents, and fuel cells for drones. UAV News NIAS and NASA test the Next Phase of NASA’s UAS Traffic Management System Tests for NASA’s Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Traffic Management (UTM) system are being conducted at the six...

The DJI Spark, Snap Inc. interest in drones, the ANSI UAS Standardization Collaborative, the Drone Federalism Act of 2017, Florida utility company using drones, the MQ-25A Stingray carrier-launched unmanned tanker, a drone camp for girls, and NATE embraces drones. UAV News DJI brings gesture control to consumer drones with the diminutive Spark The $499 DJI Spark mini-drone recognizes your face and launches and lands on the palm of your hand. It can be controlled with hand movements, a remote c...

A court ruling halts recreational drone registration in the U.S. while China implements a new drone registration requirement. Also, a fast fixed-wing VTOL UAV, heavy-lift delivery drones, remote pilot training in Australia, a long-endurance solar powered unmanned sailplane, and some new drone swarming applications. UAV News Court Strikes Down Drone Registration Requirement The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has struck down the FAA’s drone registration requirement fo...

The CEO of SkyFire Consulting explains the use of drones by public safety agencies, such as law enforcement, firefighting, and first responders. Matt Sloane is the CEO of SkyFire Consulting, a consulting company focused on the use of drones by public safety agencies. Started by four public safety professionals and a commercial pilot, SkyFire delivers professional level training, FAA consulting, and equipment sales and consultation. This provides departments with a one-stop-shop for starting dro...

The impact of drones striking people, geo-restrictions in war zones, monitoring volcanic ash, structure inspections using UAVs and artificial intelligence, keeping wildlife away from crops, waste management with drones, swarming tactics, Project Wing update, and drone weaponization for law enforcement. UAV News FAA Issues Study on UAS Human Collision Hazards In order to create regulations for flying drones over people, the FAA needs to know what happens when a UAV strikes a human. A consortium...

Drone vulnerability to hacking, the ScanEagle gets fuel cell power, Grand Sky UAS Park adds a major tenant, drone privacy issues in Australia, swarming biobots, and Uber collaborates with Aurora Flight Sciences for an air taxi. UAV News Watch A Very Vulnerable $140 Quadcopter Drone Get Hacked Out Of The Sky Researchers at the Cyber-Physical Systems Security Lab at the University of Texas at Dallas hacked into a small quadcopter and took control. UT Dallas researcher Junia Valente said, “The de...

A drone for high altitude mountain search and rescue, a package delivery plan for Singapore, a “flying cell site” using a long endurance drone, and a growing market for anti-drone products. UAV News Hydrogen Drone, HyDrone 1550, Successfully Tested at High Altitudes The MMC hydrogen-powered HyDrone 1550 has been tested at altitudes over 14,000 feet in cold and mountainous Yunnan Province, China. The HyDrone 1550 can operate in environments where other drones cannot, making it good for mountain...

Putting ADS-B on small drones, faster and more agile drones for the Drone Racing League, speeding up Part 107 approvals at the FAA, and equipping U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents with sUAS. Interview Tim Trott, “The Drone Professor,” talks with Ryan Reed from uAvionix at the 2017 Sun ‘n Fun International Fly-In Expo held April 4-9, 2017 in Lakeland, Florida. They discuss the emerging ADS-B options for drones, and how uAvionix is addressing the problems of spectrum congestion and scree...

A successful test flight program for a VTOL UAS, an autonomous drone system gets an authorization to fly, the insurance industry advances drone use for structure inspections, UK drone reports increase, and drone weaponization for law enforcement. UAV News Aurora’s massive LightningStrike VTOL UAV just got one step closer to reality The Aurora Flight Sciences LightningStrike XV-24A subscale vehicle demonstrator (SVD) aircraft test flight program was successfully completed at a U.S. military fac...

A drone that inflates and floats, the drone shoot-down lawsuit, a workshop on using UAS as photographic tools, drone privacy legislation returns at the federal level, and drones deployed with a missile launcher. UAV News SOFINS: Airvada unveils inflatable UAVs French company DIODON Drone Technology offers drone solutions for inspection missions and for reconnaissance in hard to reach areas. Their idea is a range of multi-rotor drones that have inflatable arms. This allows for compact carrying,...

Our guest explains the research on fuel cells as a power source for unmanned aircraft. In the news, an Airobotics drone operates without a human pilot, the USAF uses a drone for aircraft inspections, BVLOS inspections in Canada, an underwater autonomous vehicle, a drone for humanitarian missions, more Amazon UAS patents, and a Patriot missile takes out a small quadcopter. Guest Dr. Benjamin D. Gould is a Chemical Engineer in the Chemistry Division of the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL). He’s a...

The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) Senior Director of UAS Programs explains the organization’s strategies for unmanned aircraft. Guest Kathleen “Kat” Swain is Senior Director for AOPA UAS Programs. The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association created the position in 2016, and since then Kat has been working to implement the organization’s strategies for UAS. Kat was a manned aircraft pilot before she became a remote pilot and has multiple ratings. She is a flight instructor, havi...