In advance of potential floods this spring, the North Dakota Department of Transportation (NDDOT) and Northern Plains UAS Test Site (NPUASTS) are joining forces to help improve and supplement their current UAS program.
“We are very excited for this partnership and what it means for our UAS program and the state of North Dakota,” says NDDOT Director Bill Panos. “This imagery will provide us with valuable information and give us a new prospective on flooding.”
To enhance emergency response to flooding across the state, UAS will be used to capture photo and video for NDDOT. NPUASTS will use its own resource and local vendors to accomplish the emergency response efforts.
Data
Data
MIT researchers enables soft robotic arm to understand its configuration in 3D space using "sensorized" skin
MIT has announced that for the first time, its researchers have leveraged just motion and position data from the “sensorized” skin of a soft robotic arm to enable it to understand its configuration in 3D space.
MIT notes that soft robots made from highly compliant materials—similar to those found in living organisms—are being championed as safer, and more adaptable, resilient, and bioinspired alternatives to traditional rigid robots. Giving these deformable robots autonomous control is considered a “monumental task,” though, because at any given moment, they can move in a virtually infinite number of directions, which makes it hard to train planning and control models that drive automation.
Parrot, RIIS partner to develop custom applications of AI for Parrot's ANAFI drone platform
Parrot has partnered with mobile app, web development and IT consulting services provider RIIS to develop custom applications of artificial intelligence for Parrot’s ANAFI drone platform.
Together, the companies will explore how AI and computer vision technology, combined with drone data capture, can be used to solve a number of industry challenges using an efficient and cost-effective approach.
“We are excited to explore the immense capabilities AI and drones will deliver to our clients through our ongoing partnership with RIIS,” says Jerome Bouvard, Parrot director of Strategic Partnership.
“At Parrot, we are always looking for innovative solutions for our enterprise partner’s every-day pain points.”
Newly launched marine tech and data company Armada to add 15 marine robots to Ocean Infinity's current fleet of AUVs
Ocean Infinity has announced the launch of Armada, which it describes as a “new pioneering marine technology and data company.”
With a focus on combining technology and sustainability, Armada will initially add 15 bespoke designed marine robots to Ocean Infinity’s current fleet of AUVs.
“We are very excited to be launching Armada, which perfectly complements the other service offerings in the Ocean Infinity Group,” says Dan Hook, managing director for Armada.
“The pioneering technology makes our operations world leading in terms of environmental sustainability and safety, whilst still achieving the very highest levels of data quality and value for our clients.”
XOCEAN's XO-450 USV conducts seabed surveys for Greater Gabbard Offshore Wind Farm
Considered a first for the offshore wind sector, XOCEAN’s XO-450 USV recently conducted seabed surveys on seven of the turbines at the Greater Gabbard Offshore Wind Farm, a joint venture between SSE Renewables and innogy.
To validate data collection before the vessel departed the work locations, experts located in the United Kingdom monitored the data collected from shore in real-time throughout the survey.
According to XOCEAN, the survey demonstrates the “highly flexible and collaborative nature” of this technology, which ultimately allows industry experts to have direct access to real time data, from any location.
Schiebel's Camcopter S-100 UAS provides situational information during toxic pollution crisis in Malaysia
During the Kim Kim river toxic pollution crisis in Malaysia last year, Schiebel’s Camcopter S-100 UAS was used to provide critical situational information, the company has announced.
Last March, more than two tons of illegal chemical waste were dumped in the Kim Kim river, which is located near Johor Malaysia, the largest industrial area in the South of Malaysia. This resulted in toxic fumes being released throughout the adjoining area, which impacted more than 6,000 people, resulting in many being hospitalized, and several schools being closed.
SkySkopes announces spin off company for UAS-related oilfield operations
Professional drone services company SkySkopes has announced the launch of SkySkopes Oil & Gas LLC, which is a new spin off company for UAS-related oilfield operations.
senseFly announces partnerships with Trimble and Microsoft
To demonstrate the capability and suitability of its fixed-wing drones and drone sensors for precision agriculture, senseFly has announced partnerships with Trimble and Microsoft.
“Trimble and Microsoft are major players in the agriculture sector, and these relationships are a testament to senseFly’s drones operating at the high standards required by large organizations to deliver the results they need,” says Gilles Labossière, CEO of senseFly.
From Unmanned Systems Magazine: Drones, software provide farmers with extra tools to manage complex data
Precision agriculture using drones has become much less about the novelty of having an eye in the sky and much more about fusing data from a variety of sources and platforms — including drones, satellites, ground sensors and others — to enable farmers to make informed decisions.
One company that has become a major player within the farming industry is Toulouse, France-based Delair, which provides visual data management technologies. The company’s cloud-based platform, the Delair.ai platform, allows users to manage, process, view, analyze and collaborate around aerial data.
