277 NUAIR Alliance and UAS Integration into the NAS

The NUAIR Alliance and UAS stakeholders establish a plan to support integration into the NAS, North Dakota kills a drone privacy bill while the University of North Dakota supports drone tech for bee populations, 50 applications for LiDAR-equipped drones, drone complaints in the UK, a new FAA drone marking rule, a drone shoot-down in Australia, a UAV helped a SWAT team, an agricultural drone fleet, and Boeing’s new UAS from Australia.UAV NewsDrone Stakeholders Come Together to Plot Next Steps for UAS IntegrationA two-day conference in Syracuse, New York was held with the Northeast UAS Airspace Integration Research (NUAIR) Alliance and more than 40 UAS stakeholders from 20 companies. Objectives to move the UAS industry forward were established, including tests to help integrate UAS into the national airspace system, BVLOS use-case scenarios, and the part to be played by the UAS test site at Griffiss International Airport.House kills drone privacy bill in second vote, citing harm to UAS sector, languageNorth Dakota House Bill 1493 would have made it a Class B misdemeanor to intentionally violate another person’s privacy using unmanned aerial systems. Reasons given for voting against the bill included its impact on the UAS industry in the state, that it singled out drones, unclear language and lack of intent language in the bill.Australian company specializing in bees taps into UND drone expertiseAustralian company Bee Innovative says they “provide real-time bee identification, tracking and reporting services.” They provide early biosecurity hazard detection and significantly increase honey bee productivity. The company is working with the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks to enhance its current “BeeDar” drone technology.50 Ways to Love Your LiDAR: How LiDAR is Used in Commercial Drone ApplicationsLiDAR, or Light Detection And Ranging, uses a pulsed laser to capture data that can be utilized to construct highly detailed 3D maps. This article relates many applications for LiDAR-equipped drones.Police say drones being used to vandalise homes and stalk victims, as reports of incidents surgeAcross 20 of the 45 UK police forces, there had been more than 2,400 reports of incidents involving drones last year. In 2016, there were 1,700 reports. These include cases of anti-social behavior, stalking and harassment, hate crimes, and dropping paintballs. The Home Office recently unveiled new drone legislation.FAA imposed this big change Saturday for drone pilotsThe FAA posted an Interim Final Rule in the Federal Register requiring small drone owners to display their FAA-issued registration number on an outside surface of the aircraft. Previously, owners and operators could place or write registration numbers in an interior compartment. See FAA Makes Major Drone ID Marking Change.The FAA will consider comments from the public on this Interim Final Rule, and will then review any submissions to determine if the provisions of the ultimate Final Rule should be changed. The 30-day comment period will end on March 15, 2019. To submit comments, go to Regulations.gov.Commercial drone shot down, police launch investigationAustralian electricity and gas network Evoenergy was using a drone for surveying work when it was reportedly shot down. Local landholders had experienced an increasing number of drones in the area in recent years, and farmers were concerned that drones were being used by criminals and animal activists.This drone helped a SWAT team defuse an armed standoffA SWAT team in Campbell, California used a 90-minute version of the Impossible Aerospace US-1 quadcopter to help end a standoff. The drone flew over the building for 45 minutes, monitoring the scene with thermal sensors and conventional cameras.Over 400 DJI drones in world’s largest agricultural drone fleetThe Corteva Agriscience™ Agriculture Division of DowDuPont has partnered with DroneDeploy on a fleet that will be used for operations in the U.S., Europe, Canada, and Brazil.Boeing introduces new unmanned system for global defense customersThe Airpower Teaming System is designed by Boeing Australia for global defense customers. This unmanned aircraft will complement and extend airborne missions through smart teaming with existing military aircraft. It’s Boeing’s first unmanned aircraft developed in Australia.