9 It’s Raining Drones

This Episode:A Manhattan man almost struck by Quadcopter, Conoco Phillips broken Eagle, Israeli Hermes drone crashes, wine and drones don’t mix or do they?, “game on” for a wildlife conservation challenge, the US decides no drones in Iraq but OK in Japan, and the Mounties start training the Aussies on UAS usage.The News:Drone reportedly plummets dozens of stories and crash lands on busy Manhattan streetsThe subtitle is “Local cops didn’t follow up but the pilot likely violated federal regulations.” A small drone came down in the City, missing the pedestrians but landing close to one. He took the SD card, gave it to a local network station, and contacted the police. They told him no law had been broken.Giant Leap Falls Short? ConocoPhillips ScanEagle crashesOne of the first two commercial sUAS permits granted by the FAA, has resulted in a crash. The second ConocoPhillips Scan Eagle flight has resulted in a crash, reportedly due to an engine failure.IAF drone plunges into the seaIsraeli Defense force Hermes 450 Falls out of the sky. The early assessment is engine failure. The MALE drone has a history of Engine failures and is the third one lost in over two years. Made by Elbit Systems, the Hermes is powered by a UAV Engines Limited Wankel engine.Drones + Wine: how UAVs can help farmers harvest grapes3D Robotics brought autonomous, fixed-wing planes and multi-rotors with a point-and-shoot camera mounted inside to a family-owned vineyard. Images were taken automatically based on GPS location, and stitched together, generating a 3D model.Wildlife Conservation unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) ChallengeKashmir-Robotics is hosting the Wildlife Conservation unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) Challenge with $65,000 in cash prizes. The wcUAVc aims to foster “innovation and invention in the design, fabrication, and utilization of unmanned aircraft to assist with counter poaching and illicit wildlife trafficking.”U.S. Rules Out a New Drone War in IraqIn a continuing effort to counter opposing forces, the Iraqi government welcomes lethal drone strikes, but U.S. Government policy is shifting.Agreement will allow U.S. to fly long-range surveillance drones from base in JapanThe U.S. and Japan have signed an agreement to allow operating the Global Hawk surveillance drones from Japanese bases. Two or three Global Hawks are to fly in the Spring of 2014 “near North Korea” and complement spy satellites.RCMP shares secrets with AussiesThe Queensland, Australia police have visited the Saskatchewan Royal Canadian Mounted Police as part of a worldwide Winston Churchill Fellowship study on the use of UAVs in policing. After visiting many countries, the Aussie cop was impressed by Canadian use of UAVs.