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Keeping Drones Out of the Wild
Sierra Magazine | 06/27/2020
Park officials grapple with unmanned aircraft in natural areas, admit recreational drone operators who violate rules are difficult to catch.
How Drones Help Simplify Wind Turbine Site Development
North American Windpower | 06/19/2020
One solution for reducing time and costs associated with visually inspecting individual wind turbine sites prior to development is to use an unmanned aerial vehicle when conducting the in-person field review.
Flash Forest Drones to Plant 40,000 Trees a Month in Canada
UASweekly.com | 05/21/2020
A Canadian startup plans to use its drone technology to plant 40,000 trees on land north of Toronto this month. By the end of the year, as it expands to other regions, it will plant hundreds of thousands of trees. By 2028, the startup aims to have planted a full 1 billion trees.
Your virtual crow’s nest: Drones in commercial fishing
National Fisherman | 03/05/2020
Fishermen have always relied on the understanding of the elements to guide them: the water current, its temperature, the direction of the wind and its humidity are important information used to locate fish. Now, drones are bringing some fishfinding technology back above the water.
Farming with Drones Beyond the Visual Line of Sight
Inside Unmanned Systems | 02/21/2020
Unmanned aerial vehicles have found use in agriculture for decades, with unmanned helicopters spraying pesticides on rice fields in Japan back in the 1980s. Now, to have drones reach their full potential in farming, research is increasingly pushing toward beyond visual line of sight operations.
FAA Approves Rare Permit to Replant After Wildfires
UAS Weekly | 12/13/2019
The privately held startup DroneSeed obtained an additional amendment to its already unprecedented FAA Part 333 exemption that enables them to operate their seed-planting drones Beyond Visual Line of Sight in forested and post-fire areas.
'Dragon' drones: the flame throwers fighting wildfires with fire
The Guardian | 09/04/2019
Aerial ignition with helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft has long been a key component of fighting fire with fire, but the vast majority of missions still feature a human pilot in the sky.
Now, whether by sky drops of flammable ping pong balls or the full-on force of a flamethrower, a growing number of US government agencies, including the Department of the Interior and the forest service, are turning to unmanned aircraft to battle fires by setting them first.
Four steps to extend drone use in research
Nature | 08/20/2019
Drones are revolutionizing environmental research; however, drones could do much more. Scientists need to work with regulators and software developers to improve laws and data products.
Oneida Indian Nation using drones to protect land
Utica (NY) Observer Dispatch | 08/18/2019
The Oneida Indian Nation recently announced that it has formed a partnership with the Syracuse-based nonprofit NUAIR (Northeast Unmanned aircraft systems Airspace Integration Research) to use drones to monitor, observe, manage and protect its lands and other environmental resources.
Drones deployed to monitor Brazil forest growth
SciDev.net | 06/14/2019
Measuring the height of Brazil's towering rainforests can be a tall order. But an international team of researchers say they are working together to turn unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, into efficient, low-cost data collectors that can monitor the progress of forest restoration.
Survey: State DOTs Increasingly Embracing Drones
Unmanned Aerial Online | 05/20/2019
A May 2019 survey by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) underscores the rapid deployment of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) by state departments of transportation (DOTs), as well as the growing demand for a workforce to operate them.
Fire fight: using military drone swarms to tackle civil emergencies
Air Force Technology | 05/08/2019
Defense researchers are examining ways that emergency responders could use next-generation technologies – particularly those that have been developed for use on the battlefield – to help prevent the deadly spread of wildfires and save lives at home. To this end, the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory has kickstarted the first-of-its-kind "hackathon" project in collaboration with the UK's Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, known as the "Swarm and Search AI Challenge: 2019 Fire Hack."
What Excites Me About AeroVironment Stock
Motley Fool | 04/11/2019
There's plenty to be excited about after AeroVironment reported results for its fiscal 2019 third quarter. AeroVironment, a leading developer of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) or drones, reported 38% revenue growth and a gross margin of 40%, both a year-over-year improvement.
Interior Department Releases 2018 Unmanned Aircraft Report
ExecutiveGov | 04/02/2019
The Department of the Interior saved $14.8 million in 2018 as it expanded its fleet of unmanned aircraft systems to support operations across the U.S. The department released its UAS Program 2018 Use Report April 1 that details the agency's spending and aircraft use during the year.
Using Drones to Improve Flood Forecasts
WeatherNation | 04/01/2019
Scientists from the Northern Gulf Institute at Mississippi State University deployed a small unmanned plane that took high-resolution images of rising waters of the Yalobusha River around Greenwood, Mississippi, during a major rainstorm in late February, and beamed them back in real time to NOAA weather forecasters.
Drones change the way advocates protect the environment
MarylandReporter.com | 03/21/2019
Unmanned aerial vehicles, also called UAVs or drones, have recently become so affordable and easy to fly that they are winding up in the hands of more environmentalists. Pipeline opponents and watchdog groups are perfect examples.
UAS swarms to restore Oregon rangelands
Shephard News Media | 02/26/2019
DroneSeed has signed a contract with The Nature Conservancy to support the replanting of native species with advanced technologies in sagebrush habitat, the company announced on 20 February. The contract will see the use of UAS swarms to restore the Oregon rangelands affected by invasive species and re-seed native plants and endangered species, such as the sage-grouse.
NJ Surveyors Harness the Power of Drone Technology
ForConstuctionPros.com | 02/21/2019
Surveyors are harnessing the power of drone technology by focusing on at-risk riparian areas of northern New Jersey. In fact, images captured by unmanned aerial vehicles have become part of the documentation for a FEMA program that saves Pompton Lakes residents hundreds of thousands of dollars per year on flood insurance premiums.
University of Connecticut engineering students work to build firefighting UAS
AUVSI News | 02/21/2019
With help from mentors from Sikorsky, three University of Connecticut (UConn) engineering seniors are working to build and program an autonomous firefighting UAS to battle fires without a pilot's guidance. Once the UAS is complete, it will be equipped with a thermal imaging camera to identify a fire, object avoidance technology to steer clear of any obstacles, and a softball-sized fire-extinguishing ball that will be dropped over the flames.
How Can Drones Be a Part of Successful Disaster Response Operations for Public Safety Departments?
Commercial UAV News | 02/18/2019
In the exclusive interview, Commercial UAV News reporter Jeremiah Karpowicz caught up with Christopher Todd, executive director of the Airborne International Response Team, to find out how things have changed for Airborne Response, what kind of real-world differences he's seen drone technology make, what type of insights will be explored at both the LA and Miami UAs disaster conferences, plus much more.
State agencies use drones for inspections, training
The Oklahoman | 02/17/2019
The Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality isn't the only state agency that has adopted drone technology, but their use isn't yet widespread and state officials don't yet have standardized procedures or purchasing rules. An Oklahoman analysis shows at least nine agencies own at least one unmanned aerial vehicle.
Feds Directed to Use Drones to Fight Wildfires
02/05/2019
Hours before parts of the federal government were to shutdown, the president signed an executive order directing the federal government to boost wildfire prevention by reducing the amount of fuel — that is brush, dead trees and timber —on public lands. The White House also told the agencies involved to work with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to "maximize appropriate use of unmanned aerial systems" to help meet their goals.
Drones track bees to improve pollination and crop production
UAS Magazine | 02/04/2019
Can the unmanned aircraft systems commonly known as drones help bees become more efficient at pollination to increase agricultural production?
A collaboration between an Australian technology startup company and the UAS program at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks will attempt to answer this question.
N.Y. Test Site Assesses Weather Effects on UAS
Unmanned Aerial | 01/30/2019
The Northeast UAS Airspace Integration Research (NUAIR) Alliance recently partnered with WindShape and TruWeather Solutions to test the impact of wind on the airworthiness and performance of different types of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS).
UAS could improve management of complex forest environments
UAS Magazine | 01/09/2019
Unmanned aircraft systems offer the potential to provide timely and accurate reference data in forests and other complex environments for research and management applications, according to researchers at the University of New Hampshire.