The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has released the beta version of a new smartphone application called B4UFLY for testing by up to 1,000 unmanned aircraft users.
The B4UFLY app, aimed primarily at model aircraft enthusiasts, is designed to give users information about restrictions or requirements in effect at their current or planned flight location. The FAA expects the beta test will yield valuable data on how well B4UFLY functions, as well as uncovering any software bugs.
FAA Administrator Michael Huerta first announced the initiative in May, asking for volunteers to test the app. The FAA has notified those who previously signed up and will be pushing the app to them directly in the coming days.
Many unmanned aircraft users today have little or no aviation experience, and some of them are flying where they could endanger manned aircraft. B4UFLY will give these flyers the tools and knowledge they need to operate safely.
Key features of the B4UFLY app include:
A clear “status” indicator that immediately informs operators about their current or planned location.
Information on the parameters that drive the status indicator.
A “Planner Mode” for future flights in different locations.
Informative, interactive maps with filtering options.
Links to other FAA UAS resources and regulatory information.
B4UFLY complements the Know Before You Fly educational campaign, which provides prospective UAS operators with information and guidance they need to fly safely and responsibly. The FAA is a partner in the effort with the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI), Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA), and the Small UAV Coalition.
Using the location services feature of a user’s smartphone, the app quickly determines restrictions or requirements in effect where they want to fly and gives the user a clear status icon. The status indicator function considers airspace, proximity to airports, temporary flight restrictions, current law and other FAA guidance and procedures.
Model aircraft operators who fly within five miles of an airport are required by law to notify the airport and the air traffic control tower — if there is one at the airport — prior to operating. The FAA is working on an electronic notification process to satisfy this requirement that will become part of a future version of B4UFLY. During the beta test, the FAA will collect user feedback and operational data and use it to develop this electronic notification process.
The beta test is expected to run for several months, after which the FAA plans to make B4UFLY available to the general public. The beta test will be for iOS devices only, but the FAA is working to ensure the full version will be compatible with Android devices as well.
Trimble displayed the Multirotor G4 Surveying Robot at the AUVSI Unmanned Systems Show in May.
Trimble is partnering with unmanned aircraft system (UAS) manufacturer Multirotor service-drone, GmbH. The collaboration will allow Trimble to expand its existing UAS portfolio to provide its customers with additional solutions to choose from based on their aerial imaging project needs.
Multirotor service-drone, based in Germany, is a manufacturer of multirotor systems. Trimble will be Multirotor service-drone’s exclusive provider of multirotor vehicles for aerial mapping use in surveying, construction, mining, agriculture, oil and gas, and utilities. The combination of Multirotor service-drone’s stable and reliable platforms with Trimble’s industry-leading sensor technology and workflow efficiencies will provide customers with best-in-class solutions for aerial data capture.
Unmanned multirotor systems are powerful solutions for visually documenting smaller areas, vertical structures or environments where holding position is important. High-resolution imagery, orthophotos, terrain models and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) map deliverables created from multirotor data provide valuable information for the survey, engineering and agriculture industries that Trimble serves, the company said.
“We are very excited to partner with Multirotor service-drone. At Trimble we’re always looking for ways to meet our customer’s needs and enable them to solve the complex problems they encounter every day,” said Todd Steiner, product marketing director in Trimble’s Geospatial Division. “The collaboration will enable our customers to use a technology rapidly growing in popularity due to its flexibility and productivity.”
Founded in March 2011, Multirotor service-drone quickly became a market leader in the area of professional unmanned aerial systems. In 2013, service-drone acquired competitor Multirotor and together developed the award-winning fourth-generation flight control system used in its service-drone products today. Multirotor service-drone offers a broad range of commercially used UAS within the 8 to 50 pound (4 to 25 KG) weight class. Designed and manufactured in Germany, Multirotor service-drone products are built to deliver safety, quality and consistency for professional applications, according to the company.
The Robotics in Action drone flying area at the AUVSI show.
The AUVSI show in Atlanta, held May 4-7, drew significantly more attention from TV media this year, as several of the major networks provided live coverage from the show floor. NBC’s Today morning show opened with a live shot of a drone hovering in front of an opening house door, as if patiently waiting to deliver a package from Google or Amazon — the potential good side of drones for consumers.
Then their coverage recalled the DJI drone crashing onto the White House front lawn in the early morning hours (perhaps an unfortunate loss of user control, but an odd time and place to be out flying a drone), and airline pilot reports of lighted drones appearing above nighttime final approach paths — the bad side of drones in common usage.
The Connex wireless system.
Then Brian Wynne, president and CEO of AUVSI, provided a positive insight on the latest forecasts of UAV’s contributing $82 billion to the U.S. economy. Wynne’s estimates included the generation of more than 100,000 new high-paying technical jobs within 10 years’ time. But in an effort to urge faster progress towards regulations, Wynne also suggested that for every day of delay in Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) rulemaking to allow open use of drones, the U.S. loses $27 million daily in economic impact.
There was similar encouraging coverage by Fox News from the Atlanta Convention Center show floor, followed by Brian Wynne again pitching for rapid introduction of commercial drone use in the U.S. Fox chose to broadcast from the Robotics in Action drone flying area, and to feature real-time, zero latency HD video transmitted via Amimon’s Connex wireless system. A good demo over live TV, and Amimon’s chance to tell the world about its wireless transmission system that can transmit HD video over up to half-a-mile away with zero latency — good news, incidentally, for Fox, NBC, CNN and other news gatherers.
This year, it also seems that the terminology battle with the U.S. media over the common usage of the term drone or drones, rather than the more accurate UAV or UAV, has been conceded. So now we can talk about drones no matter how much it pains us to do so.
But the FAA is not standing still. Well over 200 Section 333 exemptions have now been granted to allow commercial UAS applications to undertake or investigate revenue-generating business. FAA representatives came to the show to let people know they are working hard to progress towards the safe use of drones in U.S. airspace. Through a media-only press-conference, the FAA announced the B4UFly smartphone app to inform recreational drone operators if it’s safe to fly. Features include:
A clear “status” indicator that immediately informs operators about their current or planned location.
Information on the parameters that drive the status indicator.
A “Planner Mode” for future flights in different locations.
Informative, interactive maps with filtering options.
Contact information for nearby airports.
Links to other FAA UAS resources and regulatory information.
The app will access the user’s location to automatically generate this information. There is also a planning mode for what data could be available for a potential future location to which you may be preparing to go.
But the main news from FAA Administrator Michael Huerta at the press conference was about the Pathfinder program, which involves three U.S. companies undertaking research with the FAA to expand unmanned aircraft operations in the United States. Each project has a key element where boundaries are being stretched to gain experience and to develop new capabilities to overcome restrictions for UAVs.
CNN (Cable News Network) will use visual line-of-sight (LOS) drone newsgathering in urban areas. There have previously been heavy restrictions in most of the Section 333 exemptions on operating in populated areas. So, it would seem that care will be taken in how news coverage will be generated around and over people, but the news will still be working to get the live overhead video we are now seeing more often on TV.
PrecisionHawk and BNSF Railway will investigate operations in rural areas, flying outside LOS. This is big news, as most UAV operators want to extend their areas of operation much further than visual LOS. In particular, Amazon has been most critical about LOS restrictions — the retailer wants package delivery to be virtually automated. But more on that later.
Beyond visual LOS, investigations in largely unpopulated areas by PrecisionHawk and BNSF could result in safe technology and procedures that could be commonly used in populated area for other operators. This is clearly the FAA’s desire, and of course, its intent is also to deflect earlier criticism of lack of progress in this area.
Onto Amazon. The company filed a UAV delivery patent with the U.S. Patent Office, where drone deliveries would be navigated by pulling location data from a customer’s smartphone — and real-time routes and directions would be constantly updated to guide the delivery process.
Amazon’s Prime Air “Delivery Drone.”
Amazon smart aircraft could interact between each other, passing on traffic and weather conditions. Delivery options for the consumer include a tool to deliver packages to your home, workplace or even to vacation locations.
Various safety precautions and caveats appear to have been appropriately addressed in the patent. Use of a number of sensors, including, radars, acoustic sensors and an infrared camera, are outlined in the patent to ensure safe navigation and landing. The patent also proposes a number of different types of unmanned aircraft with different shapes and weight for its delivery system.
And then on Tuesday, May 12, just after the AUVSI convention had wound down and left Atlanta, two U.S. senators jointly proposed a new bill that could expedite the commercial introduction of drones.
The senators believe the U.S. is falling behind other countries when it comes to creating rules for commercial drones. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) introduced the Commercial UAS Modernization Act, which would set temporary rules for those who want to fly commercial unmanned aircraft systems before the FAA establishes permanent laws regarding drone use.
Sen. Corey Booker
The Commercial UAS Modernization Act outlines basic rules for commercial use around registration, certification, insurance, tests and safety. Operators would be required to keep the drones under 500 feet, fly only in daylight, and operate within visual line of sight (LOS). However, the proposal also creates a deputy administrator position that would be able to make an exemption for a commercial drone operator for beyond visual LOS and for “heavier unmanned vehicles.”
“Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Deputy Associate Administrator, in consultation with the Administrator, shall expedite and expand exemptions from the interim operating restrictions otherwise applicable to unmanned aircraft under section 337,” the act reads.
Sen. John Hoeven
When I talked with Sen. Hoeven this week, he emphasized that this bill seeks to accelerate the commercial use of drones in the U.S. and to make more use of the UAV test centers that the FAA has set up. These centers are capable of doing more, and can be the points that prospective drone operators visit to register their craft and take knowledge and proficiency qualification tests.
The bill gives tight timescales to the FAA to set up accessible locations to achieve registration and set up these operator qualification programs. In addition, the bill establishes a new deputy administrator position responsible for the safe integration of UAS in U.S. airspace, while also streamlining regulations that currently slow the industry’s ability to innovate new aircraft technologies.
In essence, the bill takes the core elements of the FAA’s past Section 333 approvals — less the requirement for a private pilot’s license — and makes them law. Operators would no longer need to ask the FAA for an exemption.
I asked Sen. Hoeven if the FAA has responded to the proposed bill, and he said he would be meeting with FAA Administrator Michael Huerta on May 14. “This follows their rules,” the senator said, so his message is let’s move forward together.
So, it would seem that momentum is at last gathering to overcome what would seem to be a lengthy period of FAA intransigence, including new innovative efforts by the agency itself to find ways to move forward more rapidly. Innovation in UAV technology, products and applications has been going on at a rapid pace, and the pent-up demand seems to be spilling over.
With more than 4,000 comments in hand for the FAA to deal with on its proposed rulemaking for small UAVs, it’s doubtful we’ll have any FAA regulations any time soon. So the Section 333 exemptions will probably continue, unless they are not totally overwhelmed by the new rules proposed by Senators Hoeven and Booker, who hope to see their bill approved sometime this year.
Annual Conference Renamed Xponential to Reflect Innovative and Expanding Industry
The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) today announced the rebranding and evolution of its premier global industry event for unmanned systems, drones and robotics, the AUVSI Unmanned Systems show, taking place this week in Atlanta, Ga. With nearly 600 exhibitors and 8,000 attendees, AUVSI’s event attracts leaders in all aspects of the industry, from manufacturers to end users.
GPS World is covering the AUVSI Unmanned Systems show this week from Atlanta. See our coverage here.
“Xponential encapsulates the tremendous growth and innovation in the unmanned systems industry, as well as the broad societal benefits of the technology,” said Brian Wynne, president and CEO of AUVSI. “Xponential will help the world understand the potential of this industry by providing a single gathering place where people can see and interact with the technology and systems that will soon become part of our everyday lives.”
Xponential will continue to serve as the experience hub for business and investment for this $48 billion industry, AUVSI said. This technology is already being used by farmers, first responders and firefighters to help save time, save money and save lives.
Over the next few weeks and months, AUVSI will be working to expand the event offerings to bring a new level of community to the growing industry it serves. Many of these new programs were launched this year, including advanced educational tracks and innovative experiences that bring together the industry’s leading experts and organizations.
CNN will use Drone Aviation’s tethered drones to gather footage in in urban areas from never-seen-before angles and heights. The company’s WATT-200 was unveiled at the AUVSI this week.
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administrator Michael Huerta announced two new initiatives related to unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) today at the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) Unmanned Systems 2015 conference in Atlanta, Ga.
Administrator Huerta told the large gathering of national journalists, “The unmanned aircraft industry is changing faster than any segment in the aircraft industry. A new project to harness that energy, the Pathfinder program, is partnering with three leading U.S. companies to expand unmanned aircraft operations in the United States.”
The FAA is working with industry partners on three focus areas:
CNN (Cable News Network) will research visual line of sight (LOS) operations for newsgathering in urban areas. CNN will continue working with Georgia Tech University to improve newsgathering for all organizations.
PrecisionHawk will investigate agricultural operations for rural areas, flying outside LOS.
BNSF Railway, second-largest freight railroad network in North America, will undertake inspection of rail infrastructure, also beyond visual LOS.
Huerta said that the partners, collectively, “are trying to push the envelope, what can we accommodate, accommodate safely, and what can we learn from that. We’ll test a little, learn a little, then test some more. How do we see a staged implementation? To integrate unmanned aircraft, but to do it safely, as directed by Congress. We’re trying to push the edges of what we can allow, working with partners who have specific uses and resources that they will apply to those.”
When asked for a timeframe to reach new UAV regulations, he replied, “I can’t comment a lot on the rule itself, but it’s fair to say that in the rulemaking comment process [which closed on April 24], we received more than 4,500 comments. It’s too early to say how those comments will shape what the final rulemaking will take. Assessment will be done in the coming months, perhaps by the end of the year, but that’s an aggressive timetable. This effort will go on as long as the partners want us to go on doing it. That’s not accomplished in six months, nor should it take a million years.”
As to LOS restrictions, and beyond LOS, he replied, “The framework of the previously published rule was focused on LOS, and on the use of visual observers in addition to the operator. Now we’re taking the next step, to explore beyond LOS uses. What are reasonable applications for that, and what mitigations for safety should be put in place for that? Everyone wants to get there. It’s important to figure out how we get there safely.”
What mitigations will be put in place for beyond LOS? A vice president of BSNF Railway said that the company is “working with FAA and several vendors around command and control infrastructure. This is yet to be fully defined. The railroad is a very safe an unforgiving environment. This doesn’t replace anything we’re doing today, it’s an addition.” He defined the operating environment as ” a 300 or 400-mile capability, to fly looking for broken rail, etc., beyond the visual, on-the-ground inspections that rail crews already do. ” He anticiated the use of “sense-and-avoid technology [for the UAVs], not using chase planes but perhaps using communications capabilities from cell towers and railway infrastructure along the right of way.”
The CEO of PrecisionHawk commented similarly, “We’re not changing much of our operational flow, just extending the baseline for it. We will implement a traffic-management technology, called Lattice, leveraging to ensure safety and reliability beyond the operator’s LOS.”
Gregory Agvent, CNN’s director of News Operations, said he looked forward to “some camera shots that were previously impossible for us, that now we’re going to be able to do.” Under the terms of the Certificate of Authorization (COA), Agvent said that “We’re capable of doing it [undertaking UAV missions] without asking for (FAA) permission” for specific flights.
The three industry participants concurred that they will work with their [UAV] partners in parallel with the rules to develop a certification process, so that the FAA can determine their vehicles are uniformly safe, the same way the y do with piloted aircraft currently. Both the railroad and PrecisionHawk have one currently operating flight platform each, and are looking at others, as theirs do not fit all applications.
“These are not exclusive [agreements],” emphasized Huerta, “limited to particular platforms or applications. This is a practical research effort to apply, learn, and integrate on the broadest scale.” When asked about possible further participants in the Pathfinder project, Huerta indicated the three companies represented on the briefing platform with him: “They came to us. You can interpret that as an invitation. We’re casting a very wide net. How do we et to a broader integration and implementation? We need multiple ways to gather information.”
Agvent urged, “It’s critical for manufacturers to come to the table, to get certified by make as opposed to individual models, to get free access to the sky.”
Huerta concluded, “We are learning together, as an industry and as a regulator. How can we collectively, as an industry, learn more in order to see a much more robust integration of unmanned aircraft into our aviation industry? We’re all interested in pushing the boundaries, and sharing the information broadly across the industry.”
The surprise preview of the pending announcement drew scores of curious and concerned industry representatives and exhibitors at the massive AUVSI show, who gathered anxiously outside the press briefing room, to which they were not admitted.
“The FAA is moving ahead with safe integration of UAS into the busiest, most complex airspace in the world,” according to an FAA statement issued prior to the briefing.”Even as the agency proceeds with rulemaking for small UAS, it continues to look at new ways to foster safe UAS operations by both hobbyists and businesses.”
The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International’s (AUVSI’s) Unmanned Systems 2015 show, held May 4-7 in Atlanta, convenes the global community of commercial and defense leaders in intelligent robotics, drones and unmanned systems.
Kairos Autonomi produces solutions that can be retrofitted or “strapped-on” to any existing optionally unmanned vehicle or vessel.
Kairos Autonomi is displaying its latest autonomous technology designed for use with heavy equipment and machinery. Kairos’ robotic applique kits are add-on vehicle autonomy systems that provide unmanned capabilities to current manned vehicles, rendering them optionally unmanned.
Equipped with larger gear faces, stronger actuators than its predecessors and a pathing upgrade, the Pronto4 Heavy delivers the increased torque needed to control the traction, braking, throttle and implements in heavy vehicles and equipment, as well as smarter robotic functions such as GPS path following and supervised autonomous behaviors.
The Pronto4 Heavy Planar Robotic Applique Kit For Heavy Equipment. (PRNewsFoto/Kairos Autonomi)
The robotic applique kit is platform independent, meaning it can be installed in any heavy vehicle or machine, rendering that vehicle optionally unmanned, which means the equipment can still operate manually as needed.
The Pronto4 Robotic Applique Kit manufactured by Kairos is used throughout the world to convert existing man-operable ground vehicles and surface vessels into unmanned systems. Applications include government or academic research and development; military training and test and evaluation; range clearance; mining; and tactical military applications.
Drone Aviation Holding Corp., a developer of specialized lighter-than-air aerostats and tethered drones, today announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Drone Aviation Corp. (DAC), has received an order from specialized defense contractor Troll Systems for a set of Winch Aerostat Small Platform (WASP) aerostat systems.
Under terms of the award, DAC and Troll will jointly form a working group to integrate the L-3 Wescam MX-10 advanced optical sensor system into the WASP platform for an international customer. The working group plans on commencing integration in May with initial flight testing expected to take place by Q3 2015.
Drone Aviation also announced that CNN is working with the company to explore how their tethered drone technology might be used in newsgathering operations in urban areas, as part of its FAA partnership, also announced at the AUVSI show. CNN selected Drone Aviation to leverage its WATT-200 tethered drones to gather footage from never-seen-before angles and heights. WATT-200 was unveiled at the AUVSI this week.
DAC develops and manufactures the WATT Electric Tethered Drone, Blimp in a Box (BiB) and WASP aerostat product lines. The WATT Tethered Drone, as well as the BiB and WASP aerostats, utilize a secure, high strength tether line that remains connected to the ground for safe and reliable operations.
DAC’s systems are intended to provide semi-persistent, mobile intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (“ISR”) and extended communications for various applications. Each system can provide low cost, mobile ISR and mobile communications for days, weeks or months. BiB and WASP aerostats are currently in use in a number of U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) applications as well as at State and Local Police and Departments of Transportation where they provide silent, cost effective day and night monitoring and mobile communications.
Drone Aviation is exhibiting this week at AUVSI Unmanned Systems 2015 in Atlanta.
DoD-owned WASP systems are currently participating in sponsored exercises and are part of future capability studies as part of the DoD’s evaluation of the WASP as a highly mobile, tactical aerostat for ISR and communications. The DoD-owned WASP systems have successfully completed operations in a series of the United States Army Network Integration Experiments (NIEs) and have been recognized by the Army as a tactical battlefield solution that can support soldiers on the ground.
“Drone Aviation is pleased to partner with Troll Systems to expand the capabilities of our WASP platform and to help them meet the stringent requirements of their overseas customers,” said Felicia Hess, CEO of Drone Aviation Holding Corp. “With the addition of the L-3 Wescam MX-10 optical package, we are greatly expanding the operational capabilities of the WASP tethered aerostat system, further demonstrating the platform’s ability to flexibly deliver simple, secure and cost effective tactical surveillance and communications to customers.”
Exelis has improved the way its CorvusEye 1500 wide-area airborne system processes and analyzes the vast amount of data it collects, which is crucial in helping customers make critical decisions, the company said.
CorvusEye 1500 is one of the programs Exelis is featuring at Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International’s (AUVSI’s) Unmanned Systems 2015 May 4-8 in Atlanta (booth #2449). From an altitude of 15,000 feet, CorvusEye 1500 provides color and infrared imagery of a city-sized area unavailable with comparable airborne systems. At Unmanned Systems 2015, visitors will see how users work with the real-time analytics and processed data to search for vehicle tracks based on location and time.
“It’s all about context,” said Dwight Greenlee, director, regional persistent surveillance, Exelis Geospatial Systems. “Conventional video surveillance systems with their ‘soda straw’ views can miss critical activities, making it hard to understand what’s happening over a wide area. CorvusEye now has real-time analytics that automate certain tasks. For example, users can set ‘watch boxes’ or ‘trip wires’ in as many as 10 areas of interest. Users are then alerted if anything moves in or out of that area, and they can automatically track that moving object. Because of the context provided by CorvusEye, users can be more confident in the data to make decisions.”
Another new capability in CorvusEye is the ability to cue a second sensor, such as a hyperspectral sensor, to scan a location for certain spectral “signatures” indicating the presence of a material or gas. Analysts also can easily integrate full-motion video sensors into the cueing capability.
Processing CorvusEye data post-flight provides analysts with a database of all moving objects in the entire scene, allowing them to gather critical forensic intelligence and enabling a better understanding of behaviors and patterns across the region.
At 15 inches in diameter and weighing less than 95 pounds, the CorvusEye turret and sensor package can fit on most midsize unmanned and manned aircraft and uses standard interfaces to swap into virtually any 15-inch airframe mounting location. CorvusEye is exportable to many military, intelligence and security customers around the world, Exelis said.
The GPS World staff is reporting live from Unmanned Systems 2015, held May 4-7 in Atlanta. The event convenes the global community of commercial and defense leaders in intelligent robotics, drones and unmanned systems, hosted by AUVSI.
Check back throughout the week for event updates, including news, photos, videos, tweets and more.
The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International’s (AUVSI’s) Unmanned Systems 2015 show, held May 4-7 in Atlanta, convenes the global community of commercial and defense leaders in intelligent robotics, drones and unmanned systems.
NavtechGPS CTO Franck Boynton explains how AUVSI’s Unmanned Systems 2015 attendees can incorporate GPS and GNSS technology into unmanned projects. The trade show was held May 4-7 in Atlanta. NavtechGPS represents nearly 30 leading manufacturers of GPS and GNSS products.
Check back throughout the week for event updates, including news, photos, videos, tweets and more.
