Tag: drone

MAPPS Selected for FAA Registration Task Force

MAPPS has accepted an invitation from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to be a member of the UAS Registration Task Force (RTF) Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC).

MAPPS is a national association of private-sector firms in the surveying, spatial data and geographic information systems field in the United States and a leader on the use of unmanned aircraft systems in the geospatial field.

The UAS RTF ARC was announced on Monday by Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx to help minimize potentially unsafe UAS operations and incidents. The task force will work to develop minimum requirements for a UAS registration process for safe integration of UAS into the National Airspace.

MAPPS has tapped John Perry, founder and CEO of Altavian based in Gainesville, Fla., to represent the association on the task force.

“We are pleased and honored that the FAA has invited MAPPS to participate in the UAS RTF ARC,” said MAPPS President Susan Marlow. “MAPPS has actively called on the FAA to move forward with UAS rulemaking, and we are thrilled to be a part of the process.”

MAPPS has been a voice for the commercial use of UAS for geospatial data acquisition. The association has been engaged with FAA on UAS issues since 2009 and testified before state legislatures and participated in Congressional roundtables. MAPPS Executive Director John Palatiello was appointed to serve on the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) working group on beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations of commercial unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), and the association serves on a committee of the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) to develop policy recommendations to the 50 state legislatures on UAS.

On Nov. 17-18, MAPPS will host sessions on geospatial activities at Drone World Expo, at the San Jose Convention Center in San Jose, Calif. The geospatial content will explore factors to consider when planning the start-up of a stand-alone UAS business, or a department in an existing surveying or mapping firm. It will kick off with a presentation on “What You Need to Know Before Starting Up Your Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Department,” as well as instruction on issues including system operating limitations, flight training, crew responsibilities, operator authority, client expectations, standards and licensing. Speakers at the policy conference will include Bryan Baker, UAS sales manager, Leica Geosystems; Jeff Lovin, senior vice president, director of Geospatial Services, Woolpert; Andy Nickerson of Aerovel Corp.; Mike Tully, president, Aerial Services, Inc.; and David Yoel, CEO, American Aerospace, Inc.

October 23, 2015
Lockheed Unveils ICARUS to Counter UAS Threats

At this year’s Association of the United States Army (AUSA) Annual Meeting, Lockheed Martin unveiled a new capability that will allow users to detect and counter emerging threats from unmanned aerial systems (UAS). The solution, ICARUS, was designed to operate defensively in various threat environments. The AUSA meeting was held Oct. 12-14 in Washington, D.C.

“The U.S. government is seeing an increase in the use of commercially available UAS platforms for surveillance and weaponization,” said Deon Viergutz, vice president of Cyber Solutions for Lockheed Martin. “What Lockheed Martin has developed in ICARUS is a system that can detect, recognize and counteract these systems with pinpoint accuracy.”

Lockheed Martin’s Counter-UAS system has been field tested and demonstrated to several domestic and international customers over the past year. Those tests demonstrated the ability of ICARUS to identify and intercept commercially available unmanned aerial systems.

The development of the ICARUS software system draws on Lockheed Martin’s history of innovations in electronic warfare, cybersecurity and countermeasures associated with sophisticated threats. It was developed through Lockheed Martin internal investment and combines advanced cyber and cyber electromagnetic activity experience with sensor technology and non-kinetic techniques.

October 13, 2015
New California Legislation Limits Paparazzi’s Use of Drones

Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation Tuesday to expand privacy protections to prevent paparazzi from flying drones over private property, reports sUAS news.

The bill, AB 856, changes the definition of a “physical invasion of privacy” to include sending a drone into the airspace above someone’s land to make a recording or take a photo.

Brown previously vetoed in September a proposal that would have made flying a drone above someone’s property without permission a trespassing violation, writing in a veto message, “While well-intentioned, [the bill] could expose the occasional hobbyist and the FAA-approved commercial user alike to burdensome litigation and new causes of action.”

The governor also rejected three bills that would have prohibited civilians from flying aerial drones over wildfires, schools, prisons and jails. Some of the proposals were intended to prevent interference with firefighting aircraft — a recurring problem, according to fire officials — and prevent inmates from receiving airborne contraband. Brown rejected the bills because they would create new crimes.

October 7, 2015
FAA Seeks Penalty against SkyPan for Unauthorized UAS Operations

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has announced the largest civil penalty the FAA has proposed against a UAS operator for endangering the safety of the national airspace.

The FAA proposes a $1.9 million civil penalty against SkyPan International Inc. of Chicago. Between March 21, 2012, and Dec. 15, 2014, SkyPan conducted 65 unauthorized operations in some of the most congested airspace and heavily populated cities, violating airspace regulations and various operating rules, the FAA alleges. These operations were illegal and not without risk.

The FAA alleges that the company conducted 65 unauthorized commercial UAS flights over various locations in New York City and Chicago for aerial photography. Of those, 43 flew in the highly restricted New York Class B airspace.

“Flying unmanned aircraft in violation of the Federal Aviation Regulations is illegal and can be dangerous,” said FAA Administrator Michael Huerta. “We have the safest airspace in the world, and everyone who uses it must understand and observe our comprehensive set of rules and regulations.”

SkyPan operated the 43 flights in the New York Class B airspace without receiving an air traffic control clearance to access it, the FAA alleges. Additionally, the agency alleges the aircraft was not equipped with a two-way radio, transponder and altitude-reporting equipment.

The FAA further alleges that on all 65 flights, the aircraft lacked an airworthiness certificate and effective registration, and SkyPan did not have a Certificate of Waiver or Authorization for the operations.

SkyPan operated the aircraft in a careless or reckless manner so as to endanger lives or property, the FAA alleges.

SkyPan has 30 days after receiving the FAA’s enforcement letter to respond to the agency.

October 6, 2015
FAA Seeks $1.9M Penalty Against SkyPan for Unauthorized UAS Operations

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has announced the largest civil penalty the FAA has proposed against a UAS operator for endangering the safety of the national airspace.

The FAA proposes a $1.9 million civil penalty against SkyPan International Inc. of Chicago. Between March 21, 2012, and Dec. 15, 2014, SkyPan conducted 65 unauthorized operations in some of the most congested airspace and heavily populated cities, violating airspace regulations and various operating rules, the FAA alleges. These operations were illegal and not without risk.

The FAA alleges that the company conducted 65 unauthorized commercial UAS flights over various locations in New York City and Chicago for aerial photography. Of those, 43 flew in the highly restricted New York Class B airspace.

“Flying unmanned aircraft in violation of the Federal Aviation Regulations is illegal and can be dangerous,” said FAA Administrator Michael Huerta. “We have the safest airspace in the world, and everyone who uses it must understand and observe our comprehensive set of rules and regulations.”

SkyPan operated the 43 flights in the New York Class B airspace without receiving an air traffic control clearance to access it, the FAA alleges. Additionally, the agency alleges the aircraft was not equipped with a two-way radio, transponder and altitude-reporting equipment.

The FAA further alleges that on all 65 flights, the aircraft lacked an airworthiness certificate and effective registration, and SkyPan did not have a Certificate of Waiver or Authorization for the operations.

SkyPan operated the aircraft in a careless or reckless manner so as to endanger lives or property, the FAA alleges.

SkyPan has 30 days after receiving the FAA’s enforcement letter to respond to the agency.

October 6, 2015
Topcon Offers Rotary-Wing UAS for Data Collection

The Topcon Falcon 8 rotary wing UAS.

Topcon Positioning Group has added a rotary-wing unmanned aerial system (UAS) to its mass data-collection solutions line. The Falcon 8 — powered by Ascending Technologies — is designed for inspection and monitoring, as well as survey and mapping applications.

“Rotary-wing systems provide the perfect solutions for small-scale sites and projects for which flexibility of takeoff and landing or an oblique perspective is required,” said Charles Rihner, vice president of the Topcon GeoPositioning Solutions Group. “The Falcon 8 offers the flexibility to maneuver in small spaces and can cope with challenging environments often presented in inspection and monitoring. It is also well suited for smaller mapping or modeling projects up to 85 acres that require high-resolution imaging.”

The Falcon 8 features new AscTec Trinity technology, an autopilot safety feature that provides three levels of redundancy for protection against performance drop or loss of control. Three IMUs (inertial measurement system) synchronize all sensing data and identify, signal and compensate when needed.

Two models are available — the GeoEXPERT for surveying, modeling and mapping projects, and InspectionPRO for industrial inspection and monitoring applications. The GeoEXPERT includes a HD RGB camera payload, while the InspectionPRO features an HD RGB camera and infrared sensor combination.

“Both versions offer easy deployment and operation with real-time video and data monitoring capability, navigation software for planning and optimizing flights, as well as photo-tagging and desktop software to quickly generate high-quality and easy-to-edit material,” said Rihner.

The Falcon 8 complements the Topcon Sirius Pro fixed-wing UAS, providing large area accurate mapping without the requirement for traditional ground control.

October 5, 2015
Air Line Pilots Association Joins Know Before You Fly Program

Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA) is the newest supporter of the Know Before You Fly campaign, an initiative to promote the safe and responsible use of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS).

“Over the course of ALPA’s history, we have been a part of nearly every significant safety improvement in the airline industry, and have helped to make airline travel the safest mode of transportation in human history,” said Captain Tim Canoll, president of ALPA. “As a strong supporter of this UAS safety campaign, we will continue to promote and champion all aspects of aviation safety.”

The Know Before You Fly campaign was created by the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) and the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA). The campaign was launched in December 2014 in partnership with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to provide UAS users with the information and guidance they need to fly safely and responsibly.

“ALPA’s support is significant and demonstrates how the airline pilot and unmanned aviation communities can work together to make the airspace safer for all users,” said Brian Wynne, president and CEO of AUVSI. “AUVSI’s members and ALPA’s members share a common commitment to the principles of airmanship that help foster a culture of safety.”

AMA President Bob Brown added, “The ties between model aviation and commercial aviation run deep. Model aviation has been a stepping stone to successful aviation careers. Many airline pilots report being influenced by model aviation early in life. Today, safety is a core principle shared within the aviation community.”

ALPA joins 23 other organizations that support Know Before You Fly, which include retailers, manufacturers, and distributors of UAS as well as several organizations representing the manned aviation community. For information, visit KnowBeforeYouFly.org or follow @FlyResponsibly on Twitter.

October 1, 2015
INTERGEO 2015: PIX4D Details Image Processing Software

Lorenzo Martelletta of PIX4D gives an overview of the company’s Pix4D image processing software while at INTERGEO 2015, which was held Sept. 15–17 in Stuttgart, Germany.

Pix4D image processing software is a mapping and modeling solution that can convert thousands of images into georeferenced 2D mosaics and 3D models.

September 23, 2015
INTERGEO 2015: senseFly eXom Drone Capable of Millimeter Accuracy

senseFly has published a white paper named “Generating highly accurate 3D data using a senseFly eXom drone” which presents the results of two photogrammetric land surveys of a construction site. The project was completed earlier in September using two senseFly eXom close mapping and inspection drones, and the announcement was made during INTERGEO, held Sept. 15–17 in Stuttgart, Germany.

The results demonstrate that 3D point clouds produced with an eXom quadcopter can reach a global precision comparable to that of a total station survey and meet the typical accuracy requirements of construction projects, according to a news release from senseFly.

The first eXom survey (figure 8) achieved 2.1 millimeter accuracy in X, 1.9 millimeter in Y and 0.1 millimeter in Z (RMSE). The second eXom survey (figure 9) achieved 0.8 millimeter (X), 0.5 millimeter (Y) and 4.2 millimeter (Z).

“This degree of absolute accuracy from a drone is unparalleled and positions the eXom as a surveying instrument that is comparable in performance to standard total stations,” said Andrea Halter, senseFly’s co-founder. “These results were due, in part, to the high 38 MP resolution and sharpness of the flight’s images, captured by the main camera inside eXom’s TripleView head. Add to this image quality the ability to operate close to the terrain and the introduction of highly precise ground controls and you have a recipe for exceptionally accurate 3D data.”

Two eXom drones flew separate survey missions at an altitude of 14 meters above the site, achieving an average ground sampling distance (GSD) of 2.2 millimeters, senseFly says. All the flights were completed using the drone’s Interactive ScreenFly flight mode, whereby the UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) is controlled using a handheld ScreenFly controller connected to senseFly’s eMotion X flight planning and control software.

This flight mode’s “cruise control” feature, combined with its auto-trigger function, enabled each of the eXom drones to survey the 1,100-square-meter site in a single flight. Meanwhile, the live on-screen feedback from the drone’s five different navcams and ultrasonic proximity sensors helped the operator ensure that no contact was made with either the on-site crane or any the trees surrounding the complex site, senseFly says.

“This project’s flights took place at 14 meters above the ground, but with the eXom’s Distance Lock feature we are able to safely fly just 4 meters away, so it isn’t unrealistic to think that the accuracy we achieved could be improved still further.”

To download the eXom accuracy white paper click here.

September 15, 2015
Sony’s Vertical Take-off Drone Aimed at Surveyors

Sony is developing an unmanned aerial vehicle that lifts off and lands vertically like a helicopter (also known as a VTOL craft for vertical take-off and landing.) The VTOL drone is being developed with a Tokyo robotics firm under a collaborative company called Aerosense.

The drone can carry up to 22 pounds, fly continuously for two hours, and reach a speed of 106 miles per hour. Sony is developing it for business customers, who would use it for “measuring, surveying, observing and inspecting” as soon as next year, so it will likely carry different types of instruments, depending on the task a customer requires.

The video below shows a prototype flight on Monday.

Aerosense, created this month, is a joint venture between Sony and Tokyo-based startup ZMP Inc., which specializes in autopilot technology. The venture is part of Sony’s efforts to move beyond its core consumer products into enterprise markets. Aerosense will offer services such as inspecting aging infrastructure and surveying land that is difficult to access. The drones would be piloted automatically based on input from users about which areas they want surveyed.

August 28, 2015
OriginGPS Nano Hornet Module Powers TobyRich Gaming Drones

The tobyrich.vegas gaming drone.

TobyRich has integrated OriginGPS’ Nano Hornet into a smartphone-controlled gaming drone line, to extend its range and enhance its directional capabilities. By leveraging the Nano Hornet, a tiny GPS module with an integrated antenna, TobyRich was able to design a smaller, sleeker form factor for its innovative drones while taking advantage of OriginGPS’ performance and low-power consumption features, according to TobyRich.

TobyRich, established in 2011 and with deep experience in designing smartphone-controlled drones, launched a Kickstarter campaign that will run until Aug. 28 to offer a new, more interactive experience for video gamers and drone enthusiasts across the globe.

The agile drones blend realistic flight maneuvers with innovative interactive gameplay and are designed to resemble an airplane rather than a quadcopter to extend flight time and carry more payload than traditional drones without compromising on functionality or performance. The drones can easily be controlled within a range of 90 meters via the tobyrich.red mobile app, which is available on iOS and Android.

TobyRich’s drones combine the immersive experience of video games with the exhilaration of real flight to unlock possibilities such as mid-air battles, races, stunts and other gaming scenarios, plus additional applications such as aerial photography and video, the company said. Single and multiplayer gaming modes enable video gamers to live out their flight fantasies with friends or solo. To meet users’ exact interests, several different versions are in development, including the basic tobyrich.vegas model, tobyrich.tokyo, which features a HD camera, and tobyrich.guru, a 4G/LTE-enabled drone.

With the help of OriginGPS, a TobyRich drone knows exactly where it is in relation to a user’s smart device, with unprecedented accuracy, allowing it to respond immediately and precisely to gesture controls or on-screen joysticks. OriginGPS’ location capabilities ensure that a drone will automatically return to its point of origin or a pre-programmed destination if it strays too far from its corresponding smart device or flight path, which reduces user frustration, minimizes human error and increases safety.

Measuring 10 by 10 millimeters, the OriginGPS Nano Hornet module powers TobyRich’s flight management system by achieving a rapid time to first fix (TTFF) of less than one second, with approximately 1 meter accuracy and -163 dBm tracking sensitivity, and it uses OriginGPS’ proprietary Noise Free Zone technology to increase sensitivity and minimize interference. It achieves a state of near continuous availability, while consuming microwatts of battery power, ensuring maximal power is devoted to increasing drone flight times. Because OriginGPS’ modules are complete, plug-and-play solutions, they significantly shorten time to market and dramatically reduce engineering risks, the companies said.

August 21, 2015
Inexpensive Hack Spoofs GPS in Smartphones, Drones

Researchers at Qihoo 360, a Chinese Internet security firm, say they have found a way to make a GPS emulator that can falsify the location of smartphones and in-car navigation systems, reports Forbes. The system is inexpensive compared to expensive, sophisticated GPS emulators that can cost thousands of dollars.

Qihoo’s researchers hacked a Tesla Model S in 2014, taking control of the car’s lock, horn and flashing lights.

Qihoo lead researcher Lin Huang is the first Chinese woman to present at the yearly hacker conference Defcon, held in Las Vegas on Aug. 6-9. Huang said her team used common software-defined radio (SDR) tools to create their module and software. They also used open-source software found on Github that had come from researchers at a Chinese university, along with their own code.

The SDR tools used include HackRF, described by Forbes as the $300 wireless Swiss army knife for hackers. The small board can move between radio frequencies, and read and transmit to a broad range of radio frequencies. On smartphones, the attack targets navigation signals delivered at the chipset level, on both Apple or Android smartphones.

Huang suggests that chipset manufacturers consider introducing new software that can better detect GPS spoofing.

One potential target of such spoofing is a drone., which could be commandeered by the spoofer and taken into restricted airspace. Alternatively, it’s possible to make drones believe they’re in a no-fly area.

The Qihoo team demonstrated such attacks using the free and open source GNU Radio, among other tools, to alter the GPS coordinates on a DJI Phantom 3. In a video at Forbes, filmed from a drone-mounted camera, the hackers force a UAV to crash land.

The researchers said the weaknesses could be fixed by DJI and other drone makers, but they would have to do so at the GPS chip level, meaning any drones already out there are unlikely to receive an update.

August 10, 2015