Draganfly Tests Miniaturized Hyperspectral Sensors

Draganfly Innovations has announced that they have signed an agreement with Optical Filter Corporation, a subsidiary of Corning Incorporated to integrate their miniaturized advanced hyperspectral camera system into Draganfly’s UAVs.

Draganfly will assist in preparing Corning’s new miniaturized, fully integrated hyperspectral imaging system (HSIS) for commercial release by integrating the system onto the Draganflyer Commander. Draganfly is developing a motorized 2-axis gimbal specifically for Corning’s system, and will conduct flight testing exercises in California.

Corning’s system combines high spectral and spatial resolution in a small form factor. It is a fully self-contained system including hyperspectral sensor, INS-GPS, and on-board computer for system management and recording of imagery and navigation data. It offers a 50% reduction in size, weight and power consumption to comparable systems. Data collected by this system can be used to identify specific vegetation species, determine relative crop health, develop irrigation strategies, and create yield optimization strategies.

Flown on the Draganflyer Commander, Corning’s hyperspectral sensor system will help customers obtain higher crop quality, implement sustainable farm management practices and identify opportunities to increase revenue and profit per acre.

“We are pleased to work with Draganfly to show the value of our small form factor hyperspectral system innovations with UAVs,” said David Velasquez, commercial director, Corning Advanced Optics. “We’ve been focused on delivering an outstanding hyperspectral solution for UAV applications. Our full system is small enough to work with Draganfly’s UAV technology while at the same time being cost effective. Our work with Draganfly is an important way for us to demonstrate the value of hyperspectral technology for applications like precision agriculture.”

“We are thrilled to be working with Corning on this project,” said Draganfly CEO, Cameron Chell, “We are excited to provide our customers, specifically those in agriculture, with an easy way to take advantage of hyperspectral imaging to monitor the health of their crops more efficiently.”

Source: Press Release

Drone Aviation Granted Patent for Electric Tethered Drone Products

Drone Aviation, a manufacturer of tethered drones and lighter-than-air aerostats, has been awarded a patent (US Patent 9,446,858) by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for its Electric Tethered Aerial Platform (ETAP) technologies as currently utilized in its WATT and BOLT tethered drone products. 

“As drone adoption accelerates, it is vital that we protect the key enabling technologies and innovations that are at the heart of our tethered solutions and provides for their safe and reliable operation,” said Jay Nussbaum, Chairman and CEO of Drone Aviation Corp.

“This new patent delivers a significant competitive advantage for the company while expanding the value of our existing IP portfolio which includes an exclusive commercial license to vision-based navigation and advanced autonomous flight management software that we acquired in 2015.”

The new patent entitled “Apparatus and methods for tethered aerial platform and system” covers the core systems currently incorporated into the WATT and BOLT products.

In addition to the new ETAP patent, the Company’s IP portfolio also includes exclusive commercial license to a number of unmanned vehicle technologies developed by Georgia Tech Research Corporation including “GUST” (Georgia Tech UAV Simulation Tool) autopilot system and vision-based navigation and autonomous flight management software utilized on the WATT and BOLT tethered platforms.

The WATT ETAP is the Company’s turn-key electric tethered drone designed to provide secure and reliable aerial monitoring for extended durations.

WATT utilizes a high strength, Kevlar®-armored tether connected to the ground providing unjammable command and control, uninterruptible power and secure collection and distribution of sensor data, delivering highly effective coverage from altitudes up to 400 feet for up to 8 hours or more.

Supporting advanced mil-spec sensors including stabilized zoom electro-optical/infrared systems, WATT provides excellent persistent ISR and aerial monitoring capabilities over a wide area.

The WATT ETAP is uniquely suited for a wide number of government, news gathering, industrial and emergency response applications where manned aircraft and even free-flying drones are unable to deliver the long flight duration and commercial grade real-time day or night video monitoring capabilities needed.

Drone Aviation Holding Corp. develops and manufactures cost-effective, compact and rapidly deployable aerial platforms, including lighter-than-air aerostats and electric-powered drones designed to provide government and commercial customers with enhanced surveillance and communication capabilities.

Utilizing a patented tether system, Drone Aviation’s products are designed to provide prolonged operational duration capabilities combined with improved reliability, uniquely fulfilling critical requirements in military, law enforcement, commercial, and industrial applications.

Source: Press Release

Hamilton County, Tenn., Sheriff's Office to Begin Using Drones for Law Enforcement

The sheriff's office is among more than 80 law enforcement agencies, colleges and other government agencies across the country that have been granted or applied for permits to fly the aircraft.

Shutterstock

 

(TNS) — The Hamilton County, Tenn., Sheriff's Office will begin using drones to gather evidence for court cases, detect bombs and find missing persons. However, Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Hammond assures the public the equipment will not invade people's right to privacy.

"We want to make sure the public understands this is not about spying on people or looking in their bedroom windows," he said. "This is all about following the law making sure that this is supportive of good policing."

Hammond spoke Monday at a news conference to announce plans to use the unmanned aircraft systems (UAS).

The Sheriff's Office is among more than 80 law enforcement agencies, colleges and other government agencies across the country that have been granted or applied for permits to fly the aircraft, according to a Hamilton County Sheriff's Office news release.

Hammond said Hamilton County's Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security also has the equipment.

The department's ultimate goal is to use drones for life-saving efforts, such as locating missing persons and monitoring incidents in which a hazardous condition exists. It also can be used to take aerial photos of crime scenes, fire scenes and traffic accidents, providing a perspective that could be invaluable to investigators, according to the news release.

Law enforcement personnel have been working on training to use the system since December 2014. Officials estimate the cost of the project so far has been about $9,000 for training conducted by Avionics Solutions and another $10,000 for five drones for operational use and one drone for training.

The drones so far have been used only in testing, but are ready now to assist in operations such as search and rescue and SWAT operations, Hammond said.

He explained that District Attorney General Neal Pinkston oversees use of the equipment and makes sure it is used within legal guidelines.

Authorizing use of the drones will be no different than authorizing a search warrant, Pinkston said. There must be enough probable cause to seek a search warrant.

"There's no blanket rule. It's generally a case-by-case analysis on the facts of the case," he said.

Hammond said the drones add a safety layer for officers.

"Some of you may remember the tragic case a couple of years ago where the lady drove off the mountain in her car and we didn't find her body for almost a year. We probably could have much quicker resolved that case if we had had this kind of equipment. We think it will add a layer of quicker response to what we do in law enforcement," he said.

Gail Palmgren was missing from April 30, 2011, until her remains were found about eight months later in December. Law enforcement searched on foot on and around Signal Mountain, but the trees had to drop their leaves before an aerial search could be effective, according to news reports.

Evidence the UAS gathers will be stored like other video evidence, Hammond said.

Law enforcement officials demonstrated at Monday's news conference how the drones might be used.

The first scenario involved a car sitting in an open field at the Tennessee Riverpark. Det. Marty Dunn operated the drone to bring an overall view of the car on a screen several feet away from the car. Then he showed how it could detect what was inside the car by showing a gun from the car's interior on the screen.

Then Dunn directed the drone to hover over the Tennessee River and trace along the riverbank until it located a young child to show how the equipment could be used for search and rescue.

Only five or six law enforcement officers are certified to use the equipment, and the sheriff's office follows all federal regulations on the equipment used, Hammond said.

He said the Federal Aviation Administration requires the equipment be used below 400 feet, and it must stay about 5 miles away from the airport.

He said the system is part of an ongoing effort to use technology to save taxpayer money.

"We'll be demonstrating to you some of our unmanned aircraft that will be used for various things here in our county to assist law enforcement, especially in the area of search and rescue," Hammond said.

"It could be a SWAT operation. It could be a major accident or hazardous spill of some kind that we would be called upon for evidence gathering. Those kinds of things. What it is not is something that we're just going to just routinely roll out there for use."

Yolanda Putman for the Chattanooga Times/Free Press

Indiana officers use drones to aid in underwater searches

 Submarine drones help Indiana officers in search and recovery calls

 

Indiana conservation officer Jim Hash discusses ROVs, devices which function as submarine drones to search and recover bodies, guns, cars and anything else a dive team would be called out for. Matt Kryger/IndyStar

 

(Photo: Matt Kryger/IndyStar)

When someone drowns in Indiana, conservation officer Jim Hash is tasked with finding the body.

He's been called four times since July, including in August when 56-year-old David Fiege went missing while paddleboarding on Eagle Creek Reservoir. Without any witnesses to help — and with 2.3 square miles of water to search — authorities faced a tough challenge.

With the assistance of a helicopter, boats and sonar equipment, Fiege's body was found within two days. Officials also relied on one particularly important tool: an ROV — short for underwater remotely operated vehicle — which functions like a submarine drone.

INDIANAPOLIS STAR

Crews locate body of missing paddleboarder

Weighing 14 pounds, or about the size of a beer cooler, the device glides through water with propellers while using sonar and a camera to locate victims' bodies, cars, guns and other evidence. The drone allows officers to work more quickly while making the job less risky for divers.

"The most important part of our job is to bring closure to the family members," said Hash, who piloted a drone during the search for Fiege's body. "Paramount to that, is the safety of our officers."

Divers are in harm's way the moment they enter the water.

An ROV — remotely operated vehicle — functions as a submarine drone for Indiana conservation officers. (Photo: Matt Kryger/IndyStar)

Murky water with zero visibility. Waterways loaded with tree limbs, fishing line and other unseen obstacles.

In the past, divers would line up tethered to each other with ropes and slowly search underwater to find a victim's body. Divers had to take breaks and refill their air tanks. A search even in the best conditions could take days.

Now, most recovery operations are over within a few hours.

"These are dives that require heavy exertion in zero-visibility water with entanglement risks," said Fishers Fire Chief Steve Orusa, a diver for 30 years who authored a training manual on the subject. "If you can use sonar, boat-based or on a remotely operated vehicle, now you have the ability to keep the divers out of the water."

Technology has made diving safer, but the equipment came after two Indianapolis firefighters were killed in training accidents.

Paul Jolliff became entangled 48 feet underwater on June 14, 2002, during what would have been his last training dive before becoming certified. His diving partner swam to the surface and yelled for help. But without a line or radio, rescue divers couldn't find Jolliff's exact location. The 37-year-old father of two was lost.

By Vic Ryckaert 

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