352 US DOT BEYOND Program

DOT announces the BEYOND drone program to follow the UAS Integration Pilot Program. Also, a drone with morphing wings and tail, Europe’s first TRACE drone takes flight, placing sensors with darts fired from a drone, and Sony hints at a coming drone brand.UAV NewsU.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao Announces Successful Completion of Drone Pilot Program, Announces New Program Called BEYONDThe three-year Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Integration Pilot Program (IPP) has concluded. Now, eight of the nine IPP participants have signed new agreements with the FAA for the BEYOND program designed to further advance the safe integration of drones into the NAS. BEYOND was created to address Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations, leverage industry operations to better analyze and quantify the societal and economic benefits of UAS operations, and focus on community engagement efforts to collect, analyze and address community concerns.Raptor-Inspired Drone With Morphing Wing and Tail for Unprecedented Flight AgilityThe Laboratory of Intelligent Systems of Swiss university EPFL studied the shape of the goshawk’s wings and tail and the bird’s flight behavior to develop a drone with similar characteristics. Their drone can approximate the flight performance of raptors using artificial feathers.TRACE drone carries EGNOS beacon for identificationThe first TRACE drone under Europe’s U-space project was launched from the ATLAS experimental flight center in Spain. It carried an EGNOS-enabled beacon. TRACE supports the integration of drones into U-space through e-registration, e-identification, and pre-tactical geofencing. The beacon allows for remote identification of low altitude drones and enables better traffic separation.These Drones Shoot Darts at Trees to Collect DataImperial College London’s Aerial Robotics Lab developed a drone that can place sensors in difficult locations with a spring-loaded mechanism that shoots a dart. The system is laser-aimed and has a 4-meter range with a 10cm accuracy.Video: Unmanned Aerial Sensor Placement for Cluttered EnvironmentsSony prepares to enter the drone game with AirpeakSony has announced they are entering the drone market, but the company is providing almost no details. The new brand is called Airpeak and Sony plans to launch it in the spring of 2021. The press release says, “Airpeak will support the creativity of video creators to the fullest extent possible, aiming to contribute to the further development of the entertainment industry as well as to improved efficiency and savings in various industries.”UAV Video of the WeekDrone captures dizzying views from mountains near ClearwaterFilmed during the Summer of 2020, Raft Mountain is located just north of Clearwater British Columbia, Canada.Video: Raft Mountain BC