Unmanned Aerial Systems / Drones

During a high-speed test of the rotors, the command sequence controlling the test ended early due to a “watchdog” timer expiration.

NASA is one step closer to achieving the first flight on another planet as the Ingenuity Helicopter touched down on Mars over the weekend.

NASA is targeting no earlier than April 8 for the launch of Ingenuity on Mars . But before that happens, it must hit a series of milestones.

Many parcel delivery drones of the future are expected to handle packages weighing five pounds or less, a restriction that would allow small, standardized UAVs to handle a large percentage of the deliveries now done by ground vehicles. But will that relegate heavier packages to slower delivery by conventional trucks and vans? A research team…

New soft actuator can flap nearly 500 times per second, giving drones insect-like resilience.

Skydio, a Calif.-based drone developer, has become the robotics industry’s newest unicorn after closing a $170 million Series D funding round. This brings Skydio’s total funding to date to more than $340 million. Skydio is the first U.S. drone maker to be valued at more than $1 billion. Skydio’s drones are best known for their…

Balaram described what it took to develop the helicopter and what to expect on Mars.

Ingenuity’s four carbon-fiber blades spin in opposite directions at around 2,400 rpm – many times faster than a helicopter on Earth.

Enterprise drone data company DroneDeploy raised $50 million in Series E financing. The round was led by existing investors Energize Ventures and AirTree, with participation from Bessemer, Scale, Emergence, Angelpad, Uncork and Frontline Ventures. This funding brings DroneDeploy’s total fundraising to date to $142 million. The investment will be used to expand the company’s products…

Wingcopter, a German developer of commercial drones founded in 2017, raised $22 million in Series A funding. Wingcopter will use the funding to scale its presence in the drone delivery space, with a special focus on healthcare-related applications. The Wingcopter 178 Heavy Lift drone can cover distances up to 120 kilometers (74.5 miles) and offers…

Welcome to Episode 31 of The Robot Report Podcast, which brings conversations with robotics innovators straight to you. Join us each week for discussions with leading roboticists, innovative robotics companies, and other key members of the robotics community. You can subscribe to The Robot Report Podcast on Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Google Play, SoundCloud, Spotify and more. Please subscribe to the podcast and leave us a…

About one week after issuing two rules that could finally open up the commercial drone industry, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has appointed new members to its Drone Advisory Committee (DAC). The committee gives the FAA advice on key drone integration issues by helping to identify challenges and prioritize improvements. The new mmbers are executives…

Both companies make cameras, sensor systems and unmanned systems, among other products, but there is not much overlap.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued two new rules for U.S. drone operators, a potential significant step forward for the commercial drone industry. The FAA will allow small drones to operate at night and over people and will require remote identification of the drones. Remote ID will be required for all drones weighing 0.55 lb…

While investment in robotics and automation continued apace in November 2020, the total amount was about half of what it was in the same month a year ago.

WiBotic, which has developed wireless charging systems for mobile robots, aerial drones, and lunar systems, has joined the Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing Institute.

Canadian machine vision firm Immervision has been working on providing low-light capabilities to aerial drones and a wider field of view for autonomous vehicle lidar.

It’s no secret the U.S. Army wants its small unmanned aerial systems to operate quietly in densely-populated regions, but tests to achieve this can be expensive, time-consuming and labor-intensive according to researchers. Miranda Costenoble, a researcher with the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command, now known as the DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory, presented work at…

Skygauge Robotics has closed a $3.3 million CAD seed round to expand its team as it develops drones to relieve humans of dangerous tasks such as infrastructure inspection.

Welcome to Episode 26 of The Robot Report Podcast, which brings conversations with robotics innovators straight to you. Join us each week for discussions with leading roboticists, innovative robotics companies, and other key members of the robotics community. You can subscribe to The Robot Report Podcast on Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Google Play, SoundCloud, Spotify and more. Please subscribe…

Airdata UAV and Autel Robotics have partnered to offer a one-month free trial of the AirData Enterprise fleet management software to users of the Autel EVO Series II drones.

Stanford University’s “Photoacoustic Airborne Sonar System” could be installed on drones to enable aerial underwater surveys and mapping of the deep ocean.