Ubiqomm has unveils its ubiquitous high-speed data connectivity solution, especially designed for enterprise drone fleets engaged in present line of sight (LOS) and, in the future, beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) flights.
“The application for drones is increasing exponentially as companies apply drone technology for surveying and performing emergency operations in remote locations, and other use cases including traffic monitoring in cities, and above stadium live-streaming of sporting events. Consistent high-speed data connectivity between drones and ground control centers is becoming mission critical,” said Saum Vahdat, VP of Marketing and Business Development at Ubiqomm.
Ubiqomm’s wireless solution encompasses a network of base stations on the ground and communications devices mounted on drones. Each base station is capable of supporting all drones within its 25km+ coverage radius. The seamless handoff with the adjacent base station ensures ubiquitous coverage in a large area while connecting drones to a cloud backhaul.
Ubiqomm’s unique patented solution uses multiple techniques, such as innovative antenna design for both base stations and drones, mobility management, and interference mitigation, together achieving very high bandwidth efficiency. Vahdat added “Dubbed as “Wi-Fi in the Sky,” Ubiqomm’s solution enables 10x lower CapEx and OpEx as compared to terrestrial LTE networks while enabling very high-data rates of 200 Mbps between drones and base stations.”
Ubiqomm is partnering with Skyriver, an affiliated company in the Bridgewest Group portfolio of businesses with expertise in wireless broadband network design and deployment, in the millimeter wave and lower spectrum bands. Together, the two companies are offering demonstrations to companies that are interested in leveraging Ubiqomm’s technology for their own products and services.
The demonstration includes multiple drones flying within a region approximately 25km away from their San Diego base station. Each drone will be transmitting multiple 1080p video streams to the base station, utilizing secure high-speed links (200+ Mbps).
Ubiqomm and Skyriver are seeking industry partners for development, testing and trials of UAV traffic management (UTM) protocols in addition to the “Wi-Fi in the Sky” network solution, paving the way for BVLOS flight operations.
At the Royal Navy’s Unmanned Warrior demonstration, Insitu showcased its newest wide-area maritime surface search and identification technology for representatives from the Royal Navy as well as military and industry officials from across the globe.
During the event, held in Benbecula, Scotland, the Insitu team was tasked to perform a range of maritime missions using ScanEagle equipped with the ViDAR payload. Developed in collaboration with Australia-based Sentient Vision Systems, ViDAR is a maritime surface search with automatic target finding capability on a group two unmanned platform.
ScanEagle with ViDAR. (PRNewsFoto/Insitu)
ScanEagle flew more than 55 hours, covering an area more than twice the size of Wales (41,500 km²) and using fewer than eight gallons of fuel.
Despite sometimes challenging weather, ScanEagle with ViDAR autonomously detected hundreds of large and small objects in sea state six conditions. These included spotting and positively identifying two mine sweepers by number, spotting smaller objects such as stationary jet skis and buoys at 5 nm and locating 28 contacts from one sortie in fewer than two hours.
ViDAR successfully and reliably detected objects through changing environmental conditions ranging from clear sun to wind, rain, haze and fog.
ScanEagle flew more hours than any other participating platform.
“During one flight our team spotted a target 19 nm away before the exercise began,” said Suzanne McNamara, vice president of business development for Insitu. “ScanEagle with ViDAR is a force multiplier that will establish a new standard for global navies. We are extremely proud of the successes we achieved during Unmanned Warrior and look forward to supporting our customers with this advanced capability.”
In May, Sentient and Insitu confirmed the signing of an exclusive global distribution agreement for the ViDAR software for unmanned systems within the small UAS weight class. ScanEagle is the first and only unmanned platform to fly this payload.
Phase One Industrial discusses its recently launched products at Intergeo 2016, which was held Oct. 11-13 in Hamburg, Germany. Steve Cooper details the iXU-RS aerial camera system, which also is being released with a dual-camera option.
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration today issued an emergency order suspending the authorization NavWorx Inc. uses to manufacture certain Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) navigation units.
The suspension order was issued after NavWorx declined on repeated occasions to allow FAA personnel to conduct the required inspections. The suspension is immediate and will remain in effect until NavWorx consents to the inspections and demonstrates compliance with FAA standards.
ADS-B units, when properly manufactured and operated, help to improve the safety and efficiency of aircraft operations.
The authorization, known as a Technical Standard Order Authorization (TSOA), enables suppliers to produce components for use on aircraft after proving that each component meets FAA standards. Federal regulations set forth FAA’s authority to inspect suppliers’ quality systems, facilities, technical data, and products to determine whether they meet safety standards. These regulations also provide that FAA may witness any tests necessary to determine a product’s compliance.
The FAA is concerned that two versions of the company’s ADS600-B units, carrying part numbers 200-0012 and 200-0013, may contain an internal GPS chip that does not meet the FAA’s minimum performance standards for transmitting an aircraft’s accurate location.
On June 29, the FAA requested to inspect NavWorx’s facility to determine the specific GPS unit and software installed in part numbers 200-0012 and 200-0013, and if the units are marked correctly. NavWorx informed the inspector that he would not be allowed inside the company’s facility. During subsequent correspondence, NavWorx agreed to allow an Aug. 31 inspection but then denied access when FAA inspectors arrived.
NavWorx later agreed to allow inspectors into the facility on Nov. 21 but they were again denied access.
Due to the company’s unwillingness to comply with these requirements, the FAA has determined that NavWorx’s continued use of its FAA authorization is contrary to the interests of safety in air commerce. During the suspension, NavWorx may not mark or otherwise indicate that its ADS600-B units meet FAA standards.
NavWorx Responds
Navworx president Bill Moffit posted the following on the company website:
“I first want to thank all of you for your patience during this unfortunate and unprecedented situation. Contrary to what you may surmise from emails and proposed actions, I want to ensure everyone that we are diligently working on the solution to resolve this situation in a timely matter. NavWorx values the commitment you have placed in us by purchasing our products and strives to honor that commitment that you have entrusted with us.
“Currently we are waiting on the resolution of the AD [Airworthiness Directive] on or about December 20th. Based on the final AD, the AD may be rescinded, or the AD may be modified to allow for just previously approved GPS sources. If the FAA does not allow the use of the internal GPS, then we will offer the ability to modify the products from the 200-0012 & 200-0013 part numbers to part numbers 200-0112 & 200-0113. The 200-0112 & 200-0113 part numbers are approved under the FAA Rebate program and are not the subject to the AD.
“As I hope you understand, the past few weeks our phone system has been overwhelmed by volume and we can imagine the frustration this may cause. Be assured we are here and working tirelessly to take care of you, our customer.
“Please check our web page weekly for updates and for our announcements which will detail our program to remedy this situation.
“For those that need immediate service, feel free to contact our support email at [email protected] or contact our Distributor, Dallas Avionics, Inc Product Specialist, Scott C Edwards at 214-668-7466 or 800-527-2581.
“Regards,
“Bill Moffitt
“President,
“NavWorx Incorporated”
NavWorx also issued the following statement on Oct. 17:
Statement on FAA Proposal of AD
The FAA has proposed an AD for our model ADS600-B part number (P/N) 200-0012 and 200-0013 and Model ADS600-EP P/N 200-8013. The proposal is just that; a proposal. We disagree with the FAA’s position that the units supposedly communicate unreliable position information.
The FAA has never shared with us any instance of our units doing so, there is no support for this claim in the docket, and we are unaware of any unit doing so. In fact, for two and a half years the FAA had no problem with the ability of our units to correctly communicate the position of aircraft with the units.
Unfortunately, in January of 2016 the FAA would have cut off functionality of these units because they were broadcasting a SIL of 0. This action was the result of a March 2015 notice to deny TIS-B access to ADS-B units that were uncertified and broadcasting with a SDA of 0. The units subject to the proposed AD are neither uncertified nor do they broadcast with a SDA of 0.
To insure continued access to TIS-B data we implemented a minor change so the units would broadcast a SIL of 3, which our testing had confirmed was appropriate, allowing them to continue to be identified for TIS-B purposes. The proposed AD would deny these units access to TIS-B data.
We intend to file comments on the proposal and would encourage you to do likewise regarding your experience with our units. In the meantime we continue to work with the FAA to resolve our disagreements.
If you have comments on this AD or the FAA’s implementation of ADS-B, please contact Administrator Huerta or your congressman:
Contact: Administrator Huerta
Via: Max Slutsky, Special Advisor to the Administrator
email: [email protected] tel: 202-267-9869
Contact your Congressman: http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/
Intel Capital is targeting more than $250 million of additional new investments over the next two years to make fully autonomous driving a reality, Intel CEO Brian Krzanich announced at the Los Angeles Auto Show’s AutoMobility LA conference in November. This was the first time Intel delivered a keynote address at an automotive conference.
The investments will drive the development of technologies that push the boundaries on next-generation connectivity, communication, context awareness, deep learning, security, safety and more.
Intel displays its automated driving technology at the Automobility LA conference on Nov. 15. (Photo: Intel)
Drilling down into the areas that will be fueled by the fresh investments, Krzanich highlighted technologies that will drive global Internet of Things (IoT) innovation in transportation; areas where technology can directly mitigate risks while improving safety, mobility and efficiency at a reduced cost; and companies that harness the value of the data to improve reliability of automated driving systems.
Data Deluge. Addressing a large crowd of automotive and technology industry representatives, Krzanich talked about how the automotive industry is on the cusp of a major transformation, demanding unprecedented levels of computing, intelligence and connectivity.
With the variety of sensors, sonar, lidar and cameras that will come embedded in autonomous cars, he highlighted the need for the industry to be prepared for the data deluge with more than 4,000 gigabytes of data coming from a single car each day.
T-Mobile is offering SyncUp Drive, a device that turns any post-1996 car into a 4G LTE connected car — a Wi-Fi hotspot that also provides vehicle diagnostics, safety and security features. The device is being offered as an incentive with two-year service plans, or separately.
SyncUp Drive plugs in to a car’s OBD-II (on-board diagnostics) port, which is standard on autos built after 1996. The device is always on, doesn’t require charging and can be managed from a smartphone.
Other carriers don’t yet offer 4G solutions. The diagnostic tool HUM by Verizon runs on 2G technology. AT&T has been going a different route — partnering directly with car manufacturers to integrate 4G LTE data connectivity into new vehicles.
SyncUp DRIVE was developed by T-Mobile with ZTE, a global provider of mobile devices and telecommunication systems, and Mojio, the open platform for the growing ecosystem of connected car apps and services.
Hyundai Motor Company introduced the Autonomous Ioniq concept Nov. 16 at the Automobility LA conference.
Hyundai said the vehicle is one of the few self-driving cars in development to have a hidden lidar system in its front bumper instead of on the roof, enabling it to look like any other car on the road.
The goal in designing the autonomous Ioniq was to keep the self-driving systems as simple as possible. This was accomplished by using the production car’s smart cruise control’s forward-facing radar and lane-keeping assist cameras, which are integrated with lidar technology.
Hyundai is also developing its own autonomous vehicle operating system, with the goal of using less computing power. This should result in a low-cost platform, which can be installed in future Hyundai models that the average consumer can afford, Hyundai said.
The car’s hidden lidar system also allows the autonomous Ioniq to detect the absolute position of surrounding vehicles and objects.
The features build upon the capabilities of the production Ioniq, which offers automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, smart cruise control, lane departure warning and rear cross-traffic assist.
Hyundai Motor Research and Development Center.
The Ioniq also incorporates all autonomous controls into existing systems to ensure that drivers can have a seamless transition between active and self-driving modes.
Earlier this year, Hyundai Motor earned a license to test its autonomous cars in urban environments. Hyundai Motor is currently testing three autonomous Ioniqs and two autonomous Tucson fuel-cell vehicles at Hyundai Motor Research and Development Center in Namyang, South Korea.
To showcase its autonomous vehicles in action, Hyundai Motor will debut two autonomous Ioniqs at the Consumer Electronics Show in January 2017, where the cars will be found driving up and down the Las Vegas strip. The testing in Las Vegas will build upon Hyundai’s efforts to bring the most adept and safest self-driving car to market.
Autonomous Ioniq Features
Forward-facing radar that detects the relative location and speed of objects in the vehicle’s forward path to aid in route planning
A three-camera array that detects pedestrian proximity, lane markings and traffic signals
A GPS antenna to determine the precise location of each vehicle
High-definition mapping data from Hyundai MnSoft which delivers location accuracy, road grade and curvature, lane width and indication data
Blind-spot detection radar to ensure even simple lane changes are executed safely
By Rui Sun and Hongyang Bai, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and Ke Han, Jun Hu and Washington Y. Ochieng, Imperial College London. Presented at ION GNSS+ 2016.
An Integrated Algorithm Based on BeiDou/GPS/IMU and its Application for Anomalous Driving Detection
This paper introduces an integrated algorithm for detecting lane-level anomalous driving. Lane-level high accuracy vehicle positioning is achieved by fusing GPS and Beidou feeds with Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) using Unscented Particle Filter (UPF). Anomalous driving detection is achieved based on the application of a newly designed Fuzzy Inference System. Computer simulation and real-world field test demonstrate the advantage of the proposed approach over existing ones from previous studies.
Times have changed, and the technology landscape is much, much different today than it was as recently as ten years ago when GPS was the driving-force technology for geospatial users and geospatial equipment, and the exclusive concern of many companies in the industry. In that era, their challenges were to design the best performing receiver in terms of accuracy, size, weight, ruggedness and so on.
Now, GPS technology has been commoditized in mobile devices (the GNSS chip in your smartphone costs about $1.50), and high-precision GNSS is heading in that direction. It’s hard to make a living designing “GPS boxes.”
Sure, GPS is still a core technology offered in most hardware products that geospatial professionals use, but it’s not the centerpiece. It’s all about system solutions, of which software (and hardware besides GPS) is a major component.
As just one example of this overall industry trend, let’s look at how the message of system solutions was abundantly clear last week at the Trimble Dimensions User Conference in Las Vegas. This event reportedly drew 4,400 attendees from more than 80 countries.
More than 4.400 attended Trimble Dimensions at the Venetian Hotel.
Virtual/Augmented(AR/VR) Reality
The Trimble Dimensions general plenary discussion didn’t feature the latest GNSS technology. In fact, there was barely a mention of GNSS. Nonetheless, the cool factor was present, with the highlight being a live demonstration of virtually reality using Microsoft HoloLens goggles and Trimble SketchUp software.
Over the years I’ve written quite a bit about augmented and virtual reality. This technology has a bright future for locating hidden assets (think underground and inside wall infrastructure) and visualizing design ideas. For this technology to work, it’s not just about having a set of goggles. One needs software and an accurate geo-database.
During the plenary, architect Greg Lynn demonstrated the value of virtual reality technology by “displaying” a building concept on an empty table on the stage. Lynn and a colleague donned HoloLens goggles while a camera was set up with HoloLens goggles to display what they were “seeing” through the HoloLens.
AR/VR reality are a step closer to being a practical technology to deploy in the field. In a way, AR/VR technology seems to be taking the same path as tablet computers. Tablet computers existed way before the iPad was introduced. They were expensive, and history is littered with failed tablet computer ventures, just like Google Glass failed in the AR/VR world.
I remember paying ~$2,500 for a Fujitsu Stylistic tablet about 10 years ago for my work. Like the Stylistic, HoloLens isn’t cheap. It’s $3,000 for a development kit and $5,000 for the commercial version. It’s not priced for the average consumer, but the attraction is undeniable and due to the price tag; industrial markets will pick it up before the consumer market will.
It might take a Steve Jobs-like push to punch it through the finish line, but it’s just a matter of time before AR/VR technology is commonplace.
Solutions
Hardware isn’t sticky. Software is. Even better, hardware and software bundled tightly together is the sweet spot. Dimensions showed how, more and more, geospatial technique is geared around solutions, not boxes.
Trimble partner solutions area at Trimble Dimensions 2016.Trimble solutions area at Trimble Dimensions 2016.
One case in point: I took a 45-minute ride from the Venetian Hotel on the Vegas Strip to the outdoor demonstration site in the desert east of Las Vegas.
The demonstration site was a playground for heavy equipment utilizing Trimble hardware and software — from tractors to scrapers to bulldozers and paving machines. It’s difficult to imagine the scale of the outdoor demonstration site, so following are a few images.
Demonstration site facing south with the Las Vegas Strip to the southwest.
I caught a ride in a fully autonomous tractor that was outfitted with guidance technology (GNSS using RTX satellite correction service), collision avoidance sensor and display console. It repeatedly stayed within the track defined by the orange cones you see in the above image.
What good is autonomous guidance without collision avoidance? A sensor on the front of the tractor senses objects and either avoids them, slows down or stops. Trimble says they are working on perfecting the turns at the end of each line where traditionally a driver had to take control. This is a difficult task when the tractor is pulling an implement such as a planter or sprayer.
In the not-too-distant future, tractors will be completely hands-free from start to finish.
Wi-Fi radio.
Back inside the Venetian Hotel, I saw this little beast. No, it’s not a funky GNSS antenna. It’s an industrial Wi-Fi radio. Yes, Trimble owns some pretty cool outdoor Wi-Fi technology vis-à-vis Fidelity Comtech, a company that Trimble acquired in 2015.
I’ve set up outdoor Wi-Fi infrastructure before in relatively benign environments (think agriculture), but I didn’t use anything like this. This equipment is built to propagate outdoor, long-range Wi-Fi connectivity in nasty, noisy environments like shipping terminals and construction sites. It can reshape the antenna pattern on the fly in microseconds, and shape the beam width/range to cover a specific geographic area.
GNSS Gear
Even though I’ve been talking about how this isn’t a just a GPS or GNSS environment anymore, I can’t leave without investigating the latest GNSS gear.
Check this out.
Trimble Catalyst software GNSS receiver.
In the past, I’ve written about GNSS software receivers. They exist, but require some serious computing power. Well, some smartphones have powerful CPUs, such as the Samsung Galaxy 6 and 7. Trimble has developed a software GNSS receiver called the Trimble Catalyst that uses the CPU of a Samsung smartphone as the GNSS receiver…dual frequency. The antenna on the range pole is just an antenna, albeit an L1/L2 antenna. Using an RTK network, Trimble says it can deliver centimeter accuracy. Wow.
To be fair, it’s got some significant limitations such as it only uses GPS and Galileo, only runs on certain Android devices (it will likely never run on iOS devices), and eats up the smartphone battery. And although Trimble said it shares resources in a friendly manner, I must think that a rogue app or update might cause things to slow down. Although it won’t behave as snappy as RTK on an R10 and won’t recover as quickly from obstructions like trees, terrain and buildings, it most certainly could bring high-precision GNSS to a wide-array of previously non-RTK users.
Times have changed, and the technology landscape is much, much different today than it was as recently as ten years ago when GPS was the driving-force technology for geospatial users and geospatial equipment, and the exclusive concern of many companies in the industry. In that era, their challenges were to design the best performing receiver in terms of accuracy, size, weight, ruggedness and so on.
Now, GPS technology has been commoditized in mobile devices (the GNSS chip in your smartphone costs about $1.50), and high-precision GNSS is heading in that direction. It’s hard to make a living designing “GPS boxes.”
Sure, GPS is still a core technology offered in most hardware products that geospatial professionals use, but it’s not the centerpiece. It’s all about system solutions, of which software (and hardware besides GPS) is a major component.
As just one example of this overall industry trend, let’s look at how the message of system solutions was abundantly clear last week at the Trimble Dimensions User Conference in Las Vegas. This event reportedly drew 4,400 attendees from more than 80 countries.
More than 4.400 attended Trimble Dimensions at the Venetian Hotel.
Virtual/Augmented(AR/VR) Reality
The Trimble Dimensions general plenary discussion didn’t feature the latest GNSS technology. In fact, there was barely a mention of GNSS. Nonetheless, the cool factor was present, with the highlight being a live demonstration of virtually reality using Microsoft HoloLens goggles and Trimble SketchUp software.
Over the years I’ve written quite a bit about augmented and virtual reality. This technology has a bright future for locating hidden assets (think underground and inside wall infrastructure) and visualizing design ideas. For this technology to work, it’s not just about having a set of goggles. One needs software and an accurate geo-database.
During the plenary, architect Greg Lynn demonstrated the value of virtual reality technology by “displaying” a building concept on an empty table on the stage. Lynn and a colleague donned HoloLens goggles while a camera was set up with HoloLens goggles to display what they were “seeing” through the HoloLens.
AR/VR reality are a step closer to being a practical technology to deploy in the field. In a way, AR/VR technology seems to be taking the same path as tablet computers. Tablet computers existed way before the iPad was introduced. They were expensive, and history is littered with failed tablet computer ventures, just like Google Glass failed in the AR/VR world.
I remember paying ~$2,500 for a Fujitsu Stylistic tablet about 10 years ago for my work. Like the Stylistic, HoloLens isn’t cheap. It’s $3,000 for a development kit and $5,000 for the commercial version. It’s not priced for the average consumer, but the attraction is undeniable and due to the price tag; industrial markets will pick it up before the consumer market will.
It might take a Steve Jobs-like push to punch it through the finish line, but it’s just a matter of time before AR/VR technology is commonplace.
Solutions
Hardware isn’t sticky. Software is. Even better, hardware and software bundled tightly together is the sweet spot. Dimensions showed how, more and more, geospatial technique is geared around solutions, not boxes.
Trimble partner solutions area at Trimble Dimensions 2016.Trimble solutions area at Trimble Dimensions 2016.
One case in point: I took a 45-minute ride from the Venetian Hotel on the Vegas Strip to the outdoor demonstration site in the desert east of Las Vegas.
The demonstration site was a playground for heavy equipment utilizing Trimble hardware and software — from tractors to scrapers to bulldozers and paving machines. It’s difficult to imagine the scale of the outdoor demonstration site, so following are a few images.
Demonstration site facing south with the Las Vegas Strip to the southwest.
I caught a ride in a fully autonomous tractor that was outfitted with guidance technology (GNSS using RTX satellite correction service), collision avoidance sensor and display console. It repeatedly stayed within the track defined by the orange cones you see in the above image.
What good is autonomous guidance without collision avoidance? A sensor on the front of the tractor senses objects and either avoids them, slows down or stops. Trimble says they are working on perfecting the turns at the end of each line where traditionally a driver had to take control. This is a difficult task when the tractor is pulling an implement such as a planter or sprayer.
In the not-too-distant future, tractors will be completely hands-free from start to finish.
Wi-Fi radio.
Back inside the Venetian Hotel, I saw this little beast. No, it’s not a funky GNSS antenna. It’s an industrial Wi-Fi radio. Yes, Trimble owns some pretty cool outdoor Wi-Fi technology vis-à-vis Fidelity Comtech, a company that Trimble acquired in 2015.
I’ve set up outdoor Wi-Fi infrastructure before in relatively benign environments (think agriculture), but I didn’t use anything like this. This equipment is built to propagate outdoor, long-range Wi-Fi connectivity in nasty, noisy environments like shipping terminals and construction sites. It can reshape the antenna pattern on the fly in microseconds, and shape the beam width/range to cover a specific geographic area.
GNSS Gear
Even though I’ve been talking about how this isn’t a just a GPS or GNSS environment anymore, I can’t leave without investigating the latest GNSS gear.
Check this out.
Trimble Catalyst software GNSS receiver.
In the past, I’ve written about GNSS software receivers. They exist, but require some serious computing power. Well, some smartphones have powerful CPUs, such as the Samsung Galaxy 6 and 7. Trimble has developed a software GNSS receiver called the Trimble Catalyst that uses the CPU of a Samsung smartphone as the GNSS receiver…dual frequency. The antenna on the range pole is just an antenna, albeit an L1/L2 antenna. Using an RTK network, Trimble says it can deliver centimeter accuracy. Wow.
To be fair, it’s got some significant limitations such as it only uses GPS and Galileo, only runs on certain Android devices (it will likely never run on iOS devices), and eats up the smartphone battery. And although Trimble said it shares resources in a friendly manner, I must think that a rogue app or update might cause things to slow down. Although it won’t behave as snappy as RTK on an R10 and won’t recover as quickly from obstructions like trees, terrain and buildings, it most certainly could bring high-precision GNSS to a wide-array of previously non-RTK users.
This week, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) are conducting drone-detection research in the vicinity of Denver International Airport. The work is part of the FAA’s Pathfinder Program for UAS Detection at Airports and Critical Infrastructure.
The work in Denver is one of six technical evaluations scheduled over an 18-month period.
The State of Nevada and State of North Dakota UAS Test Sites conducted flight operations for the Denver evaluations. Industry partners involved in the Denver flights included CACI International, Liteye Systems and Sensofusion.
The FAA plans to capture the data and findings from the evaluations and draft recommendations for standards. These standards will guide the selection of drone-detection systems for airports nationwide.
Other evaluation sites include Atlantic City International Airport, JFK International Airport, Eglin Air Force Base, Helsinki Airport and Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.
In addition to DHS, the FAA’s federal research partners include the Department of Defense, FBI, Federal Communications Commission, Department of the Interior, Department of Energy, NASA, Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, U.S. Secret Service and U.S. Capitol Police.
The House Report accompanying the Fiscal Year 2016 federal appropriations law and the FAA Extension, Safety, and Security Act of 2016 both directed the FAA to continue research into detecting unmanned aircraft in airport environments.
Laser Technology Inc. introduced its handheld TruPoint 200h hybrid laser measurement system at Intergeo 2016, which waqs held Oct. 11-13 in Hamburg, Germany. TruPoint 200h combines phase and pulse technology in indoor and outdoor environments.
