“We know our diverse new partners will help us address a broad range of complex drone integration challenges,” said FAA Acting Administrator Dan Elwell. “The fields that could see immediate opportunities from the program include commerce, photography, emergency management, public safety, precision agriculture and infrastructure inspections.”
The 10 programs are:
Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, Durant, Oklahoma
City of San Diego, California
Innovation and Entrepreneurship Investment Authority, Herndon, Virginia
Kansas Department of Transportation
Lee County Mosquito Control District
Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority
North Carolina Department of Transportation
North Dakota Department of Transportation
City of Reno, Nevada
University of Alaska-Fairbanks
Over the next two and a half years, the selectees will collect drone data involving night operations, flights over people and beyond the pilot’s line of sight, package delivery, detect-and-avoid technologies and the reliability and security of data links between pilot and aircraft.
The data collected from these operations will help the FAA:
craft new enabling rules that allow more complex low-altitude operations,
identify ways to balance local and national interests related to UAS integration,
improve communications with local, state and tribal jurisdictions,
address security and privacy risks, and
accelerate the approval of operations that currently require special authorizations.
First announced in October 2017, the White House initiative partners the FAA with local, state and tribal governments, which then partner with private industry to safely explore the further integration of drone operations.
The program will help tackle the most significant challenges to integrating drones into the national airspace and will reduce risks to public safety and security.
Brian Wynne, president and CEO of the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI), issued the following statement on the announcement of the participants selected for the FAA’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Integration Pilot Program:
“The participants selected for the FAA’s UAS Integration Pilot Program represent a commitment by governments at all levels to safely and efficiently integrate UAS into the national airspace. As more and more businesses and public institutions embrace UAS, it is more important than ever to have a process in which states, municipalities and tribal governments can provide input on federal policy without infringing on the U.S. government’s jurisdiction over the airspace.
“The data the participants will collect on UAS operations will help shape a national UAS policy framework, including for a UAS traffic management system and expanded UAS operations such as flying over people or beyond line of sight,” Wynne said. “We look forward to seeing the results of their work and the contributions these groups will make to keeping our skies safe.”
According to AUVSI, the potential economic benefit of drones in the nation’s air space, in less than a decade, is estimated at $82 billion and could create 100,000 jobs.
Drone maker DJI issued a statement saying it looks forward to the advances in drone regulatory procedures that will be enabled by the innovative proposals offered by the 10 state, local and tribal governments.
“Regulators and governments want to develop safe systems that encourage the beneficial uses of drones while addressing concerns about them, and today’s announcement is a major step forward in this effort,” said Brendan Schulman, DJI vice president of Policy & Legal Affairs. “By connecting state, local and tribal governments with industry partners and federal support, the Integration Pilot Program makes it easier to find ways for American businesses, governments and individuals to put drones to good uses all across the country.”
The event convenes the global community of commercial and defense leaders in intelligent robotics, drones and unmanned systems. Check out news, photos and videos from the show.
According to AUVSI, the experts will present keynotes devoted to themes critical to the advancement and growth of unmanned systems.
On Tuesday, May 1, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s David Autor and PrecisionHawk’s Michael Chasen will highlight how unmanned systems are changing the way we work and how technology is influencing different industries.
On Wednesday, May 2, the University of North Carolina’s Zeynep Tufekci, Lockheed Martin’s Stephanie Hill and UPS’ Eduardo Martinez will explore the cross section between technology and society. This keynote will also cover the emergence of artificial intelligence, unmanned systems and robotics in the military, and the automated delivery of medication and vaccines to remote areas around the globe.
Finally, on Thursday, May 3, Northrop Grumman’s Chris Hernandez, as well as a panel, will discuss the humanitarian and public safety applications of unmanned systems to provide aid and support.
The panel will consist of the National Council on Public Safety UAS’ Charles L. Werner, Texas A&M University’s Robin Murphy, the Alameda County (California) Sheriff’s Office’s Thomas Madigan and the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control’s Mike Morgan.
“We are pleased to welcome this exceptional line-up of experts to keynote the themed sessions at Xponential 2018,” said Brian Wynne, AUVSI president and CEO. “These outstanding speakers will enhance Xponential’s educational programming by lending their expertise, experience and unique perspective in unmanned systems, giving attendees a priceless opportunity to apply critical learning to real-life business challenges.”
The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) Xponential 2017 show, May 8-11 in Dallas, convened a global community of commercial and defense suppliers in intelligent robotics, drones and unmanned systems. It showcases the broad forefront of autonomous vehicles generally, but in-flight in particular, and there were plenty of expanded capabilities and expanding applications on display.
In one of several keynotes over the course of the four-day show, Intel Corporation CEO Brian Krzanich predicted that in the oncoming era of driverless cars and autonomous aircraft, the most important aspect of such vehicles will be the data they collect rather than their performance. Big data and cloud processing are somehow tied into UAVs in his vision of things. Sometime soon, he forecast, autonomous devies “will have the ability to make decisions.”
Swarming drones have military potential, according to a 33-year career Marine who now works at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies. Bill Powers described how a Navy program, the Low-Cost UAV Swarming Technology (LOCUST) uses drones to jam enemy communications and waste its resources by drawing fire. The Naval Research Laboratory dploys Close-in Covert Autonomous Disposable Aircraft (CICADA), with onboard sensors that relay atmospheric conditions as well as possition, time and altitude relating to battlefield conditions.
Watching the Watchers
With all the drones in the air, managing them and keeping the commercial airspace safe and uncluttered has become a towering problem. Several companies at AUVSI introduced unmanned traffic management (UTM) systems.
Unmanned traffic management becoming a priority (image courtesy Gryphon Systems).
Among them, Gryphon Sensors introduced Mobile Skylight, an operational mobile UTM system designed for rapid deployment.
Drone security applications span, according to the company, airport security, critical infrastructure protection, VIP security, embassy protection and border security. In the beyond visual line-of-sight (BVLOS) realm, UTM applications to be enabled by Mobile Skylight include: first responders (EMS, fire and police), precision agriculture, delivery, utility and infrastructure inspection, media and entertainment, mapping and surveying, construction and mining.
In short, everywhere drones go, they will need to be tracked and managed.
Mobile Skylight combines multiple technologies and an array of self-contained sensors, to serve as a mobile command center. The system is provided in a four-wheel drive van with off-road capabilities. It also integrates with third-party sensor inputs, and automatically records essential data for post-mission analysis and playback.
Using a dual-band mesh network, Mobile Skylight is capable of forward deploying a multispectral suite of sensors. Its integrated radar has been designed for 3-D detection of low-flying, small UAS and general aviation at ranges out to 10 kilometers and 27 kilometers, respectively. The system has built-in target tracking and classification to help quickly identify cooperative and non-cooperative targets. It also tracks multiple, simultaneous targets, providing a comprehensive picture of the airspace.
One novel application is heavy-lift drones for the construction and perhaps open-pit mining, quarrying and other weighty sectors. Griff Aviation, a Norwegian company that has set up a manufacturing plant in Florida, displayed its Super Heavy-Lift model, the Griff 300.
Super Heavy-Lift Drone from Griff Aviation image courtesy Gryphon Systems
The GRIFF 300 is an unmanned aircraft with customizable payload options that make it suitable for a variety of professional applications. The company states that it can lift 225kg (496lbs) in addition to its own 75kg (165lbs) weight. It features a flight time of 30-45mins, depending on payload. “The next model that will be produced will be able to lift 800kg (1,764lbs). Then we will continue to increase lifting capacity even further,” said CEO Leif Johan Holand.
Skylift Global drone prepping for flight. image courtesy Gryphon Systems
Several aisles over on the show floor, Skylift Global also featured a drone in the heavy lifting class. “Current prototype is 100 pounds and carried an additional 100 pounds easy. Currently undergoing testing for up to 400 pounds,” says its CEO Amir Emadi.
Skylift has signed agreements with companies in southern California to start deliveries of cold-chain logistics. Its heavy-lift capability can carry the added weight of refrigeration (think Amazon Fresh, says Emadi). Skylift also is in collaboration with JPL and Caltech to showcase a platform to DARPA for autonomous sense and avoid.
Neither company has GPS aboard their workhorses yet but see no problem and plenty of opportunity in adding it as their business develops.
Experienced GNSS Companies
NovAtel had on display its range of high-precision GNSS receivers, antennas, and augmented systems for ground, marine and airborne unmanned applications. Its equipment meets requirements for military and commercial applications, and specific to UAV applications the company offered the OEM625S SAASM GPS+civil RTK receiver, GAJT anti-jam antennas, TerraStar PPP correction services and SPAN GNSS+INS for 3D position, attitude and velocity.
The latter will be featured in the cover story of GPS World’s June issue, differentiating performance of various grades of IMUs in a tightly-coupled inertial/GNSS integration. Exploring IMU specifications and correlating them to performance of a final product can be daunting, as differences between MEMS sensors are not always apparent. The article will present achievable performances in fusion technology across a range of IMUs among the best in their respective performance categories.
Spirent Communications took a dual approach, displaying what they termed an entry-level simulator (although fully upgradeable as needs develop) for UAV manufacturers who are new to GPS signal testing, and even the need for it. They also had on hand their fully configured GSS7000 for multi-frequency testing, also with a modular approach to enable the precision GNSS simulation system to expand with users’ needs.
The GSS7000 series offers emulation of all civil GNSS systems and regional augmentation systems, and allows devices to be tested under a multitude of operating environments and error conditions, the company said. The GSS7000 has the flexibility to reconfigure satellite constellations, channels and frequencies between test runs or test cases. Four software control variants are offered.
As UAS operations become more complex and are increasingly used for both commercial and recreational purposes, UAS traffic management systems, or UTM, are necessary to seamlessly integrate UAS into the airspace and existing air traffic management systems. ICAO will solicit proposals for a global framework for UTM ahead of its Drone Enable UAS Industry Symposium, which will take place in Montreal, Canada in September.
“ICAO is the natural agency to be gathering together the best and brightest from governments and industry to define the problem so that global solutions can be proposed, debated and agreed,” said Leslie Cary, remotely piloted aircraft systems program manager at ICAO.
An operational UTM will ensure the safe and efficient use of the airspace as UAS operations become more complex, such as with established navigation routes and point-to-point route segments requiring specific equipage requirements. UTM will integrate UAS into the existing airspace infrastructure to ensure the continued safety of the airspace.
“Collaboration between stakeholders is key to addressing complex issues such as UTM,” added Brian Wynne, president and CEO of AUVSI. “AUVSI is pleased ICAO is taking steps to explore solutions for UTM that will allow companies to operate globally under the same standards, reducing barriers to innovation and improving safety and security for all aircraft – both manned and unmanned. We look forward to working with ICAO to draw awareness and facilitate industry engagement in the RFI process.”
The workshop is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. CDT on May 8. It will bring the AUVSI and AIAA professional communities together to focus on the current civilian applications of UAS, to look at lessons learned during the Public Decade (2008-2017), and to look forward to defining the Civil Decade (2017-2026).
Key questions that will be addressed include:
What is the current state of civilian applications of UAS?
What are lessons learned from the Public Decade to be applied in the Civil Decade?
What are the critical technologies and regulatory environment that must be in place in 5 years, 10 years?
What are the roles of stakeholders in the industry, agency and academic communities to ensure U.S. leadership in the Civil Decade and beyond?
Stakeholder feedback will be collected during the half-day event to help UAS manufacturers, operators, policy makers and regulators begin to shape the Civil Decade.
The workshop is one of several events co-located with AUVSI XPONENTIAL. “XPONENTIAL’s co-located events shine a light on the technology developments, policy issues and business opportunities that will drive revenue in the unmanned systems industry, and help accelerate its evolution,” said Brian Wynne, president and CEO of AUVSI. “This year’s agenda features forward-looking leaders who can share critical insights and best practices for maintaining a competitive edge in our rapidly-changing industry.”
More than 7,000 industry leaders and professionals from 55 countries are expected to attend XPONENTIAL 2017. The exhibit hall will showcase more than 650 cutting-edge companies, representing more than 20 industries.
Assessing the health of an entire industry is not an easy task, but talking with industry leaders and looking for examples of growth and investment can help.
Our “State of the UAS/UAV Industry” inquiries have lead to discussions with General Atomics, Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI), Aeryon Labs and SensoFusion. SensoFusion might be a little well less known that the others, but we felt the need to include the views of an anti-drone system supplier to counterbalance the industry’s perception of itself.
Discussions included questions around the following issues:
The level of maturity of common technologies in use on UAV platforms and systems?
The level of maturity of integration of those technologies?
A sketch portrait of the industry?
Rough numbers or percentage of small players versus large ones?
The rate of consolidation of companies (has it happened or has it yet to happen?)
The financial underpinnings of the market — does it have real “legs” or will it be like the first Internet boom/bust?
If we start with a top-level overview of the industry, as a whole we find that on the commercial side it’s an industry trying to figure out what it is and who its customers might be. But there is also a well-established military part of the industry that is quite mature. A large number of multi-rotor UAV suppliers use simple handheld controllers, all aimed at different applications where they are seeking a niche. The FAA’s release of regulations last year for use of small unmanned vehicle systems (sUAS) has provided a real boost to many more commercial pay-for-service ways these vehicles are now being used.
Multi-rotor UAVs are being put to use in surveying, filmmaking, newsgathering, real estate, crop and pipeline inspection, firefighting, law enforcement, security, search and rescue, and disaster monitoring and relief, just to mention a few applications. And, of course, home/hobby flying your own drone in your backyard or open areas has fueled the Chinese DJI drone manufacturers’ growth significantly. While the FAA requires registration of these private drones, it has not prevented an increase in commercial passenger aircraft pilot reports of UAV incursions into controlled airspace, which appear to be on the increase.
Then there are small, medium and large fixed-wing UAVs that appear to have been mostly developed for and used by the military. Hand-launched surveillance drones for small groups of ground troops; mid-sized, longer range surveillance drones finding applications in commercial inspection; and the bigger General Atomics Predator type aircraft which have become the U.S. military’s search and destroy long-range vehicle, which can carry significant ordinance. At the top end, we have UAVs like Global Hawk which are used for very high altitude, long-endurance surveillance. Not forgetting target drones like the Northrup Grumman BQM-74E, which earns its living pretending to be an enemy anti-ship cruise missile for the U.S. Navy.
Global Hawk (Photo: USAF)
BQM-74E target drone.
Commercial Growth Anticipated
Brian Wynne, president and CEO of the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI), believes for the commercial segment that, “The UAS industry is primed for incredible growth. UAS are being used in all 50 states by industries like real estate, agriculture and the oil and gas industry for more than 40 different types of business applications, including aerial photography, emergency management and utility inspection.”
More than 500,000 people have registered their UAVs with the FAA in the U.S., and around 20,000 of those are looking to start commercial operations. AUVSI expects more than 100,000 jobs will be created when UAS are integrated into and allowed to operate in the U.S. National Airspace System (NAS).
However, Wynne went on to comment, “This this can only happen if the government puts in place a true, holistic plan for full UAS integration that includes flights over people, as well as beyond line-of-sight operations, access to higher altitudes and platforms above 55 pounds.” AUVSI estimates that in the first decade after full UAS integration into the NAS, these commercial operations could generate more than $82 billion is economic impact.
Even before the FAA’s release of formal regulations (known as Part 107) for use of sUAS in June last year, more than 5,500 businesses received approval to fly for commercial purposes. AUVSI published a report that analyzed these applications — the analysis provides an overview of the developing commercial UAS industry in the U.S.
AUVSI analysis of initial UAS applications.
Over 90 percent of these businesses make less than $1 million in annual revenue and have fewer than 10 employees. This also provides an indication that the engine behind this growth comes from small, independent business.
Nevertheless, big organizations such as CNN are also exploring visual line-of-sight operations over people and safely using UAS for newsgathering in populated areas. PrecisionHawk is testing extended visual line-of-sight operations in rural areas, aimed at precision agriculture, and BNSF Railway is testing beyond visual line-of-sight (BVLOS) operations, in rural and isolated areas, for the inspection of rail system infrastructure. These tests are being conducted as part of the FAA’s Pathfinder Program.
More recently, anti-drone systems have joined the party to help defend against unwanted UAV incursions into secure areas already protected by conventional systems like radar, acoustic and optical detection systems. Secure areas include such places as prisons, government buildings/facilities, utility companies (including nuclear power stations) and airports. Sensofusion in Finland is one such company, with its Airfence anti-drone system — one of three anti-drone systems tested last November by the FAA at Denver airport. The other systems were supplied by CACI International and Liteye Systems.
Kaveh Mahdavi, VP of Operations for Sensofusion, thinks that, relatively speaking, the UAV industry is quite mature — what’s still being developed are systems to enable autonomous drone flight. The regulations published so far only address ground-pilot-controlled operations, even though BVLOS testing is progressing well.
Anti-Drone Systems
On the other hand, the maturity level of anti-drone systems range from proven to embryonic. As many as 50 companies with different technical solutions are vying to succeed in this new segment. But as the UAV segment continues to grow, so does the need for detection and prevention of drone incursions.
These systems employ three basic technologies: radar, optical and RF. Radar and optical need direct line of sight and cannot see “over the horizon.” That makes them quite short-range, and detection and defense has to be exceptionally quick to prevent unwanted UAV flying visits. Whereas, the Airfence RF system is omnidirectional and can even detect UAS preparing for take off up to six miles away, as demonstrated at the Denver airport.
So, intrusion warnings at a geo-fence distance of, say, 3-4 miles can be generated, and automatic defense/prevention is readily achieved. For instance, some utility companies want to have detection, warnings and control of intruder drones within a mile of their facilities.
Mahdavi went on to describe how Airfence uses a library of drone control RF signatures for all known UAS, with new signatures being added on a regular basis. They can detect, intercept and directly take control of the offending vehicle. During the Denver tests, Airfence initially only detected one third of the target UAVs, but the RF signatures of all targets were acquired. Then, using remote engineering updates to the library, by day three all were detected. With lower prices, consumer drones are becoming a real threat for these sensitive areas.
The anti-drone industry will no doubt face considerable consolidation over the next couple of years, but Mahdavi feels that Sensofusion is well placed with significant military and government business, which is funding their growth without external investment. “Securing the right contracts with the right customers,” as he says, has well positioned the company for now and the future.
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA-ASI), makers of the well-known Predator, Reaper and other Medium-Altitude Long-Endurance (MALE) drone systems, has been in this business for almost 25 years. GA considers its products to be proven, mature and resilient for the military and government markets that demand them to be so. The company uses “best of breed” in-house products and technology across the range of air and ground systems that make up its highly successful drone systems.
In an effort to align with European customer interest, GA-ASI has been investing in a “certifiable” version of the Predator-B, recently named SkyGuardian. A derivative for marine applications will be known as the SeaGuardian.
SeaGuardian.
SkyGuardian.
Just as military transport aircraft want to transit through civilian airspace and, in order to do so, have been equipping with certified navigation systems for a number of years, military drone operators want to be compatible with Europe’s high-density commercial flight regulations and to operate within existing air-traffic control corridors. To arrive in time for these European programs, GA-ASI has invested to get ahead of the market. This has entailed assessment of all on-board and ground components, and has led to upgrades and re-designs where necessary.
“Nevertheless, on existing product lines, there is a large degree of commonality across common systems on multiple platforms,” said Mike Cannon, VP of international programs. Common systems include datalinks, power avionics, de-icing systems, and some airframe components.
GA-ASI has developed and integrated its own flight control system in its aircraft for more than 20 years. This has proven to be a key element of the success for the Predator family of products. Because all these systems have been flying for so long, they have been proven and become very reliable, dependable elements of the company’s unmanned systems.
Having said that, Hughes Network Systems has just announced that its Defense and Intelligence and Systems Division (DISD) has been selected by GA-ASI to provide satellite communications on the “Type-Certifiable” Predator B Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) system. Working with GA-ASI, Hughes will customize the aircraft’s satellite communications system with modified Hughes HM series modems. The advanced modems will enable a significant increase in data transfer rates, using an enhanced waveform that ensures resilient and secure communications when operating in challenging environments.
So, its very difficult for new start-up companies to enter this top level segment of the UAV market — its very expensive to develop, demonstrate and prove large airframes, control systems and avionics that customers can rely on. GA-ASI has a unique position alongside major suppliers such as Boeing, Northrup Grumman, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), and Lockheed Martin — however, Chinese UAS are beginning to show up in the marketplace, apparently as a result of significant, focused investment.
Nevertheless, with an enviable position as a major supplier of platforms used in multiple applications, with sufficient internal resources to fund their initial vehicle developments, GA-ASI has secured a large number of programs with multiple follow-on orders and funding for increasingly more capable derivative UAS. As the company now looks towards the “certifiable” segment using another internally funded product launch, it is again reinforcing its leadership position in its chosen unmanned market segment.
Small UAS by Aeryon Labs
Meanwhile, the world of small unmanned air vehicles (sUAS) continues to thrive, given the release of FAA regulations last year, and many commercial applications are blossoming, using increasingly capable small multi-rotor drones. David Kroetsch, CEO and co-founder of Aeryon Labs in Ontario, Canada, thinks that the sUAS segment is maturing from an early adoption phase into providing utility to a growing number of organizations. Aeryon is an established player in the sUAS market and has been around for more than 10 years, so it has also had time to prove its platforms and internal systems. Aeryon also built its own flight-control hardware and software, which enables the company to gain substantial power savings and get longer endurance from how it automatically manages rotor speeds.
“The quad platform has been around since 1938, so the concept is hardly new; however, over the last decade, Aeryon Labs has substantially matured and ruggedized our platform, the Aeryon SkyRanger sUAS,” said Kroetsch. Their focus is on not only on the UAV platform, but also on supplying complete systems that meet the various needs of their customers. With electro-optical and thermal-imaging camera payloads and an on-board georeferencing data collection/processing system, Aeryon provides integrated solutions for customers, such as AeryonLive Video and Telemetry and AeryonLive Fleet Management using real-time software tools.
Aeryon SkyRanger sUAV.
AeryonLive tools.
For the oil and gas industry, providing compatibility for off-line flight planning software inputs and importing compatible aerial imagery into existing GIS systems is a significant feature for these customers. The SkyRanger UAS has benefited from many years of use in the field, and has been designed with modularity and ease of use with snap-on/off parts that make operating in bad weather a lot easier.
Aeryon’s business is currently 50%military, 25% oil and gas and 25% public safety (such as rapid traffic accident data gathering). Other entrants to these segments might find it easy to put together an unmanned system from parts bought on the internet; what comes considerably harder is proving reliability and interoperability with existing customer systems. Actually, to develop an industrial-grade UAV takes lots of investment and requires experience gathered over many years. Customers have learned how to differentiate between those dabbling in the market and those with serious capabilities.
Consolidation is inevitable in this market segment — perhaps within the next six months, certainly over the next two years — just because there are so many companies trying. Investment is getting harder to find for these start-ups and it may be too late for most, as the leaders are already well established.
“It’s essential to pick a niche within the increasingly competitive UAV industry,” Kroetsch said. “This is why Aeryon chose early on to focus on enterprise-level offerings in commercial, public safety and military.”
Recall what happened to 3D Robotics. Even though 3D Robotics raised many millions in funding, its Solo quadrotor fell from grace, perhaps due to continuing design issues and being higher priced compared to rapidly declining DJI Phantom 3 prices. “‘Competition and consolidation look to be very similar to that which happened with digital cameras,” Kroetsch said.
For Aeryon, being Canadian appears to be an advantage right now, as U.S. export regulations seem to be handicapping U.S. drone manufacturers. Aeryon sells in 35-40 countries because its product does not contain military-restricted components and only uses commercial parts. Canadian regulations for drone system exports do not prohibit world–wide sales for such products, while U.S. regulations can be difficult for U.S. suppliers to negotiate.
Nevertheless, unexpected hurdles to adoption still exist, such as company policies related to health and safety, union restrictions, and potential internal clashes on responsibility for implementation. But with 100% test, and a hardened design for tough environments, Aeryon sees itself well positioned to grow in its chosen industrial sector.
Conclusion
This has been a brief and incomplete overview of the UAV/UAS industry — a first try, if you will. Nevertheless, it’s a summary that we can use a benchmark for where we are right now, and a departure point for future growth.
We have quite mature capability in both large and small UAS, with integration focused on flight-control and navigation systems. The larger UAS enjoy a relatively mature market with established suppliers of lower numbers of expensive systems, while the sUAS segment is larger, younger and less expensive, with not as many barriers to entry.
Nevertheless, there are mature industrial segments with harder, more integrated requirements that make it hard for new entrants to climb the steps into more difficult commercial operations. The recreational segment is dominated by DJI, and it remains strong with well-performing, easy-to-operate drones.
Because of the ease of access to smaller drones, despite FAA and other countries’ regulations, people seem to want to penetrate secure facilities such as utilities, airports, military bases, prisons and other government locations. Therefore, anti-drone systems using optical, radar and RF are becoming available, and facilities are being equipped to prevent unwanted drone incursions.
AUVSI xPONENTIAL
I’ll be roving the show floor at the upcoming AUVSI xPONENTIAL show in Dallas, and I welcome your added insight, from all corners of the UAV industry, for a continuation of this assessment in an upcoming Professional OEM & UAV e-newsletter column (subscribe free at gpsworld.com/subscribe).
Cobham‘s Sunita Shah discusses the company’s AESA (actively electronically scanned array) antenna system at the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International’s Xponential show, held May 2-5 in new Orleans.
Trackimo, a U.S.-based IoT (Internet of Things) solution provider enabling worldwide connectivity for M2M (Machine to Machine) devices, showcases its tracking devices at the Association for Unmanned Vehicles Systems International’s Xponential show, held May 2-5 in New Orleans.
Trackimo’s technology integrates GPS, GSM, an accelerometer and sensors that provide smart data. Cellular network signaling manages the devices and dispatches information to systems and apps.
Trackimo covers both consumer and businesses sectors including fleet tracking and logistics management solutions, customizable and scalable IoT platform, remote gateways and consumer tracking devices.
David Hoyh of Systron Donner Inertial talks about the company’s SDI500 tactical grade MEMS IMU at the Association of Unmanned Vehicles International‘s Xpontential 2016 show, held May 2-5 in New Orleans. The company also featured its INS/GPS SDN500 for use in GPS-denied situations.
Ten state, local and tribal governments have been named to conduct flight tests as part of the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA’s) Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Integration Pilot Program.
