More Than 50 Institutions Nationwide Given Permission To Operate Drones

[sky otter]

 

COMING SOON TO A SKY NEAR YOU

More Than 50 Institutions Nationwide Given Permission To Operate Drones




story here
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304331204577354331959335276.html

[astr0144]

They can have their reasonable uses...

But If BB step over the mark !

Lets shoot them all down when they arrive flying where they are not welcome,

NWO threats to snoop even more of our privacy !

[burntheships]

That pic looks so ....SkyNet.

And it looks to be the actual pic of a drone.
Scary!

[sky otter]

sorry forgot to post this list

April 20, 2012
Organizations That Have Sought to Use Drones
Police departments and universities nationwide have obtained licenses from the FAA to use drones, according to data obtained via Freedom of Information Act requests by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, an advocacy group.

See a list of what groups have requested licenses, and the status of that request. Click on column headers to sort.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303425504577354362860665508.html

[sky otter]

and now patterned after maple seeds..






Carl Franzen- July 4, 2012, 6:25 AM
Imagine a cheap, tiny, hovering aerial drone capable of being launched with the flick of a person's wrist and able to provide manipulable 360-degree surveillance views.

It's real, it's inspired by maple seeds, and the company behind it, Lockheed Martin, envisions a future in which swarms of the new drones can be deployed at a fraction of the cost and with greater capabilities than drones being used today by the military and other agencies.

SLIDESHOW: Graveyard Of Cool: Cell Phones Over The Years
"Think about dropping a thousand of these out of an aircraft," said Bill Borgia, head of Lockheed Martin's Intelligent Robotics Lab, in a phone interview with TPM, "Think about the wide area over which one collect imagery. Instead of sending one or two expensive, highly valuable aircraft like we do today, you could send thousands of these inexpensive aircraft, and they are almost expendable."

The new drone which looks like very similar to a maple seed, with a small pod-like body attached a single whirring blade, is called the Samarai. The name is derived from the Latin word "samara," which means a winged seed, just like the one that inspired its physical design, flight pattern and construction.

In June, Lockheed Martin released a video demo of the drone's capabilities, and it is clearly impressive, launched by hand and piloted using a tablet computer, which also displays the drone's live surveillance feed.

"You can literally pull this out of your pocket, throw it into the air, and it can start flying," Borgia told TPM. "It can take off and land vertically indoors."

Borgia said that the drone, or unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), was designed to be deployed in confined settings, such as urban environments or even inside buildings, where it could be piloted into different rooms and hover outside of windows, collecting surveillance footage with ease.

The technology behind the drone is even more sophisticated than it looks. There are only two moving mechanical parts in the entire tiny 30-cm aircraft: The piece that makes the propeller rotate and a flap on the large wing that comprises most of the drone's form.

Then there's the Samarai's realtime video feed, which an operator can pan and tilt in a full 360 degrees, a capability not found on any other drone of its class, this despite the fact that the drone only contains one camera which is constantly being whipped around by the rotating motion of the aircraft itself.

In order to obtain a steady video feed with the ability to virtually pan and tilt, Lockheed relies on a series of image processing algorithms, Borgia told TPM.

"The algorithms sort of de-rotate the video and turn it back into a frame-by-frame view, similar to what you would see on any basic TV," Borgia said. "All of the image processing is done onboard."

That means that even if disconnected from the cloud or a control server, the Samarai would still be able to provide its operators with constant surveillance capabilities.

Borgia declined to specify the drone's range or endurance, that is, the time it's able to stay aloft in the air.

However, he did note that the Lockheed researchers behind Samarai had experimented with battery-powered and carbon-based fuel versions (the battery powered version is the one demonstrated in the video). Borgia further said that the researchers had "developed simulation tools that allow us to scale the vehicle to meet specific applications," asked for by customers.

Lockheed Martin has not revealed any of its customers or potential partners on the Samarai yet, but Borgia said the company would make announcements "when the customers were ready."

Besides the 30-cm version shown in the June demo video, Lockheed also has field-tested a 17-cm version and is working now to scale down the Samarai even further, to the size of an actual maple seed.

Asked about any potential privacy concerns presented by the Samarai, especially in light of the recent release of a voluntary industry "code of conduct" from drone manufacturers, Borgia said that "customers will have to work through the hurdles."

Lockheed Martin began work on the Samarai in 2007 under a Defense Department program called "nano air," designed to produce "an extremely small, ultra lightweight air vehicle system."

http://idealab.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/07/maple-seed-drones-will-swarm-the-future.php

also vid at link

[sky otter]

For North Dakota, Drones a Possible Growth Market

WASHINGTON April 27, 2014 (AP)
By HENRY C. JACKSON Associated Press

Forget the North Dakota energy boom. How about a drone boom?

State and federal officials have big hopes for the growth of what are known as unmanned aircraft systems. And North Dakota has positioned itself well to take advantage of its unique attributes: A first-of-its-kind academic program, an established military presence, a strong commitment from state and federal officials to find funding, and even the weather.

"North Dakota made a conscious decision, several years ago, that they wanted to focus on this," said Ben Gielow, general counsel for the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International, a group that promotes unmanned systems and robotics. He added, "North Dakota is one of the leaders and a model that we point to."

The result is a growing footprint for a new and potentially lucrative business: According to a report compiled by AUVSI last year, drones have the potential to create more than 100,000 jobs and more than $80 billion in economic growth between now and 2025. Domestic drones could yield big rewards for states that invest now, said Greg McNeal, a law professor at Pepperdine University who researches drones.

"Basically, you're saying that you want to be a hub for technological development, that you want to be the new Silicon Valley," McNeal said. "And that Silicon Valley might be in North Dakota, but it might not be in a state like Texas because of anti-drone legislation."

Becoming a nexus of drone research could build on the state's oil prosperity. Drilling at the Bakken and Three Forks shale formations have led the state's oil production to surge over the past several years, bringing economic stability, population growth and low unemployment.

The push to make North Dakota a drone leader as well got a boost this month when Michael Huerta, the Federal Aviation Administration administrator, announced in Grand Forks that his agency had granted North Dakota a two-year certificate to begin flying small drone test flights. That's the first of six FAA-selected test sites to get such approval. North Dakota is one of six states, along with Alaska, Nevada, New York, Texas and Virginia, picked to research integrating drones into the civilian airspace.

The FAA does not yet allow the commercial use of drones, but is working on operational guidelines and has said as many as 7,500 small commercial drones could be flying within five years of getting widespread access to U.S. skies.

Grand Forks, the location of the FAA's approved test site, is at the center of the state's drone ambitions. The Air Force is expected in June to finalize a 50-year lease at Grand Sky, an aerospace and technology park in the city. That facility will be anchored by defense contractor Northrop Grumman Corp. With the FAA's designation, state officials and others hope to attract more investment and interest.

Privacy issues tend to hover over any discussion of investment in domestic drones. North Dakota has largely avoided a backlash by working on the issue proactively. When Gov. Jack Dalrymple set up a committee to oversee the Grand Forks site's operations, he included establishing public safety procedures and privacy restrictions as core goals.

John Villasenor, a UCLA professor and nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, said privacy issues chilled drone investment in some states, "but drones have many applications, such as crop spraying, that don't raise privacy concerns at all."

The first FAA-approved test flights next month will showcase that sort of use. The Draganflyer X4ES will fly over North Dakota State University's Carrington Research Extension Center. Missions are scheduled for the summer over Sullys Hill National Game Preserve near Devils Lake. In both cases, they will avoid private property and focus on research of agriculture-related uses.

NDSU's extension service is examining how drones can be used to improve seed applications, fertilizer and pesticide, which could potentially reduce costs and improve crop performance. The drones will also collect data designed to help look at how they can be integrated into commercial airspace.

While the state already had the University of North Dakota's first-of-its-kind unmanned aircraft degree program. Gielow also cited the presence of the Air Force's unmanned aircraft mission at the Grand Forks Air Force Base as a reason for the state's strong position.

North Dakota officials have also spent money to welcome drone research. The state put more than $14 million in the Grand Forks site, and the congressional delegation has consistently pitched federal officials that it would be a good home for drone research.

Then there is North Dakota itself. The weather provides a variety of test conditions, and the relatively small population and lack of commercial air traffic make it an attractive location to run test flights.

"For testing purposes, that is what you want," Gielow said


http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/north-dakota-drones-growth-market-23490104

[zorgon]

[astr0144]

So Northdrop Grumman X47 A drones have a Pegasus logo also !

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northrop_Grumman_X-47A_Pegasus

I was initially thinking "Z" and the PRC  Inventor team had come up with their own version !


Not sure if this is a mini type drone that is available to us all...or if its just a mini type coptor

http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/product/7810930/?grossPrice=Y&cm_mmc=UK-GDN-_-Dynamic-_-4_GDN_Aristotle-_-7810930&gclid=CLWnxd-ggr4CFZShtAodQysAvw

[zorgon]

So Northdrop Grumman X47 A drones have a Pegasus logo also !

Yup  someone at Palmdale told me they were thinking of us

I was initially thinking "Z" and the PRC  Inventor team had come up with their own version !

Not yet but we should

[zorgon]

maybe we can get these guys to make us one. Somamech has Taiwanese connections

http://www.pegasus-uav.com.tw/

[astr0144]

PWMs was talking about inventing something to destroy drones if it gets to a time when they become a concern to us !

It may be that also, those who also have their own drones can use them to shoot down or stop any offending drones if they are armed or have the relevant technology to do so... so it may become a battle in the sky's with opposing Drone like dog fights as in WW1 & WW2.

As for the link to the Taiwan Pegasus Aviation Technology Co.,Ltd...

Their logo is the same as is shown in the Northdrop Grumman X47 A picture...so it may be them that made the USA one unless they also have companies both in the USA & Far East..

maybe we can get these guys to make us one. Somamech has Taiwanese connections

http://www.pegasus-uav.com.tw/

[The Matrix Traveller]

NZ design & Manufacture of Drones and associated Computer Systems.

[spacemaverick]

NZ design & Manufacture of Drones and associated Computer Systems.

It would be interesting to see the amount of the different types of drones to include the small sized ones and even the micro-drones.  It would be nice to start a thread with the various types of drones one might encounter here in the states.

[The Matrix Traveller]

Hopefully soon in a few months time, I am going to build a second Miniature "Dynamic Converter",
to be used in "Drones" which can be used to explore our solar system.

I kid you not.   

At present, I am Planning to build a demonstration model, and show it here in Peggy by Videos,
both the manufacture and demonstration of a "Dynamic Converter".

[sky otter]

 

bwhahahahahahah... you guys don't understand that my low tech can pullerize your hi tech..
cheaply too 10 bucks

just got one of these babies to chase coons from the upstairs bedroom window at night..
i thought of using paint balls but  marbles work and are easier to find in the morning..





ooh yeah..no recoil or noise  to wake the neighbors..

http://www.safetytechnology.com/slingshot.htm