The importance of STEM programs in education continues to increase - and drones have become a growing piece of these programs. This webinar will discuss how various institutions have implemented drones into their STEM education, and will look at the response, struggles and successes of these programs.
Training
Training
Oceans Unmanned, DARTDrones train NOAA personnel on UAS operations
Seven NOAA ship officers and Navigation Response Team members recently received training on UAS operations from Oceans Unmanned and DARTDrones at the NOAA Marine Operations Center in Newport, Oregon.
Conducted over the course of two days, training included classroom instruction, as well as hands-on flights that focused on research and mapping missions conducted from vessels. Students also practiced launch and recovery procedures, and programmed mapping missions from the deck of the NOAA Ship Hi‘ialakai while alongside the marine facility.
K-State Polytechnic, Simlat partner to provide BVLOS simulator training
The Kansas State University Polytechnic Campus Applied Aviation Research Center has partnered with UAS simulation company Simlat to provide beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) simulator training.
The simulators will be part of a partnership with the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT), and initially will be used to train partners involved in the FAA’s UAS Integration Pilot Program. Course participants will receive a comprehensive training experience on simulation, as well as live flight events.
Regional UAS Public Safety-focused workshops begin in Virginia
On Thursday, June 27, the Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) announced the first in a series of regional UAS Public Safety-focused workshops, which are presented by the Virginia Center for Unmanned Systems and the Office of the Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security. Brian Moran, secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security, provided an overview of the state of UAS in the Commonwealth during the first workshop, which took place at the Virginia Public Safety Training Center in Hanover, Virginia.
Pima Community College, TuSimple launch autonomous driving certificate program for truck drivers
Pima Community College (PCC) and TuSimple have announced the launch of the first autonomous driving certificate program for truck drivers.
Known as the “Autonomous Vehicle Driver and Operations Specialist” certificate program, the program will provide truck drivers with the knowledge and skills needed to expand their roles in the industry, as it prepares individuals for a variety of jobs including training the autonomous system as test drivers, operating the vehicle in situations where autonomous driving is not suitable and to remotely monitor the system from a command center.
Soldiers train with first personal UAS in the U.S. Army
From April 29 to May 3, Program Executive Office Soldier (PEO Soldier) fielded the first personal UAS in the U.S. Army to soldiers of 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Along with inventory and taking possession of the technology, soldiers also spent the week-long fielding receiving classroom instruction on the system's capabilities, its controls, and how to operate it.
NextStep Robotics, developer of robotic therapy to help treat foot drop, receives $600,000 in funding
NextStep Robotics Inc., the developer of a personalized robotic therapy to help treat foot drop in recovering stroke patients, has announced that it received $600,000 during its second funding round.
With this round of funding, NextStep says that it will be able to move from prototyping and development to manufacturing and sales.
NextStep Robotics is based on intellectual property licensed from the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB). With more than a decade of research behind it, the robotic therapy is the “first effective treatment option for foot drop,” the company says, as it helps stroke survivors and others regain mobility using clinically proven rehabilitation training.
More than 500 students in New York State trained in use of UAS for public safety operations
New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo has announced that more than 500 students have been trained in the use of UAS for public safety operations at the State Preparedness Training Center in Oneida County, New York.
This milestone was reached in April during the New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services’ UAS Awareness workshop, which is one of four courses offered on UAS operations. The other courses offered are the UAS Part 107 Preparation Course, the UAS Basic Operator Course, and the UAS Advanced Operator Course.
The courses are designed to help educate public safety officials and first responders on how to integrate UAS into their public safety operations.
AeroVironment to provide allied nation with its Puma AE II small UAS, training and support
AeroVironment has received a $17,356,084 firm-fixed-price contract to provide an allied nation with its Puma AE II small UAS, training and support.
Delivery of the fully man-portable drone is expected by September 2019.
Designed for land and maritime operations, the AeroVironment Puma AE can land in water or on land. Equipped with its Mantis i45 sensor suite, the all-environment UAS provides the operator with extended flight time and a level of imaging capability never before available in the small UAS class, according to AeroVironment.
From Unmanned Systems Magazine: Simulations spur self-driving cars
Self-driving cars often grab headlines because of their on-road activity, such as when Alphabet’s Waymo recently launched its Waymo One taxi service in the Phoenix area, or when a Volvo serving as an Uber test vehicle struck and killed a pedestrian in Tempe, Arizona, last year. But much of the effort to turn driverless cars into reality takes place out of public view, in the virtual world.
