A consortium made up of AT&T, Direct Relief, Merck and Softbox has completed a program that tested the potential of using UAS to deliver
Testing
Testing
Driverless shuttle unveiled in Newcastle, Australia
The city of Newcastle, Australia has unveiled its new driverless shuttle.
Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes revealed the vehicle for the first time at Keolis Downer’s Hamilton depot. Exhaustive safety testing will soon begin at this location, and once testing is complete, passengers will be able to experience the vehicle along the harbour foreshore.
“This is a major milestone for the city’s smart city journey, and I look forward to working with Transport for NSW and partners Keolis Downer on this unique opportunity to make the future of automated transport in Newcastle a reality as we transform the city into a living lab,” Councillor Nelmes says.
Autonomous shuttle begins pilot phase in Crozet, Virginia
The pilot phase of Virginia's first public autonomous shuttle service has begun in Crozet, Virginia, according to Perrone Robotics Inc., JAUNT Inc., and Albemarle County, Virginia.
Known as Autonomous Vehicle, Neighborhood Use (AVNU), the shuttle service features a Polaris GEM vehicle equipped with Perrone Robotics' TO Navigate You (TONY) autonomous shuttle technology.
Equipped with perception and guidance capabilities, the Neighborhood Electric Vehicle (NEV) shuttle will have a safety driver onboard, but it will operate fully autonomously as it drives through county neighborhoods and downtown areas on public roads, navigating vehicle and pedestrian traffic.
Waymo testing complimentary Wi-Fi and other features in its autonomous vehicles
According to Reuters, Waymo is testing complimentary Wi-Fi in its autonomous vehicles operating in the greater Phoenix area.
Right now, Waymo’s Chrysler Pacifica minivans operate in a 100-square-mile territory around Phoenix. A subset of users participating in the trial of the vehicles can use the Wi-Fi, which would allow them to work on their laptops.
NUAIR validates parachute for Flytrex's package delivery drones
Northeast UAS Airspace Integration Research (NUAIR) has announced that it has validated the parachute on the package delivery drones of Israel-based drone company Flytrex as compliant with industry standards, after completing extensive testing at the New York UAS Test Site in Rome, New York.
For NUAIR, this is the second parachute standard validation that it has performed. NUAIR says that the validation advances the potential for commercial drone package delivery and routine flights over people.
“NUAIR is proud to provide companies with this level of standards testing at the New York UAS Test Site,” says Tony Basile, chief operations officer at NUAIR.
Starsky Robotics successfully tests unmanned 18-wheeler on Florida highway
Starsky Robotics says that it is the first company to test an unmanned 18-wheeler on a stretch of U.S. highway.
Starting June 16, Starsky began testing a Volvo semi-truck equipped with cameras and radar on a 9.4-mile stretch of the Florida Turnpike in Orlando. The vehicle was connected to a Starsky “teleoperations” center in Jacksonville.
During testing, the truck performed several tasks, including navigating a highway rest area, merging onto the Turnpike and changing lanes, all while maintaining an average speed of 55 miles an hour.
Aurrigo develops autonomous baggage carrying dolly for airports
After being approached by the International Airlines Group (IAG) about using its expertise in driverless technology to develop the world’s first autonomous baggage carrying dolly, UK-based autonomous tech company Aurrigo has developed and deployed an autonomous ‘baggage’ platform that can transport luggage around airports.
Since March, an existing dolly that was converted into a self-driving, electric vehicle using lidar and GPS technology has been operating in Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport, and it is now operating in the baggage handling area.
Aurrigo worked with British Airways (BA) to get the dolly operational at Heathrow Airport.
From Unmanned Systems Magazine: The concept of one operator, many unmanned systems takes shape
Technology has advanced so far, so quickly that unmanned systems —in the air, on land, on or under the sea —will soon have the capability to undertake missions that we have yet to fully define or understand.
By late 2020 for example, the U.S. Air Force could have fighter aircraft-sized UAS that could fly in formation with manned F-35s or F-15s, break off to reconnoiter 100 miles away, and launch their own smaller drones to strike targets on the ground.
XQ-58A Valkyrie demonstrator completes all test objectives during June flight
After completing its inaugural flight in March, the XQ-58A Valkyrie demonstrator successfully completed all of its test objectives during a June 11 flight at Yuma Proving Grounds, Arizona.
The flight lasted 71 minutes.
“The XQ-58A is the first Low Cost Attritable Aircraft Technology flight demonstrator with (unmanned aircraft systems) technology to change the way we fly and fight, and build and buy,” says Doug Szczublewski, program manager.
Zomato successfully tests drone technology; aims to get food to customers in less than 15 minutes
Zomato, an Indian restaurant search and discovery service, has announced that it has successfully tested its drone technology.
The company says that it met all of its parameters during the non-commercial delivery, which covered a distance of five kilometers in about 10 minutes. Using a hybrid UAS—a fusion of rotary wing and fixed wings on a single UAS—the company reached a peak speed of 80 kilometers per hour, carrying a payload of five kilograms.
Zomato's goal is to develop technology that gets food to customers in less than 15 minutes, so that they can enjoy their food as close to the state in which it was prepared by the chef at the restaurant. But the company says that 15 minutes is only possible if they take an aerial route.
