This Week in the Unmanned Systems and Robotics World

Otto used its autonomous semi-truck to deliver 200 Christmas Trees to a nonprofit called Guardsmen, based in San Francisco. The truck was being driven in “manual” mode, but the company plans for it to go fully autonomous in the future. The money collected by Guardsmen from selling the trees goes to support at-risk youth in the Bay Area. (Inverse)

Residents in the town of South Orange, New Jersey are raising money to purchase a better camera for the police department’s UAS. According to South Orange Police Sgt. Adrian Acevedo, who purchased the UAS with his own money, some of the primary uses of the UAS and its upgraded camera would be to search for people at night, as well as providing an aerial point of view during active shooter and burglary situations. Thus far, $200 has been officially raised, thanks to a bake sale that was held in the fall. (The Village Green)

An Arkansas man named Joe Williams has created his own UAS company called Ascending Impressions, which provides video coverage via UAS for local events such as birthday parties and weddings. Williams flies a DJI Phantom quad-copter, which he calls the “Frankendrone.” Williams, who is also a meteorologist for the 188th Wing's unmanned aircraft operation overseas, is currently working with the Arkansas public school system to develop curriculum for students with an interest in flying and maintaining UAS. (Times Record)

The city of Kolkata, India is planning to have driverless trains by March 2018. The trains, which would be considered Grade of Automation 3 (GoA 3), have autonomous start and stop capabilities, but need human intervention to operate the gates. GoA 3 trains currently operate in the Indian cities of Chennai, Bangalore and Lucknow. (Hindustan Times)

Australia has welcomed the country’s first fully autonomous vehicle to its roads, the RAC Intellibus. Equipped with six Lidar sensors, four 3D imaging cameras, and a GPS system that provides its exact location and distance travelled based on starting point, the 11-seat, fully electric bus is designed to cover the final stretch of a person’s travel, rather than replace conventional bus routes. (SMMT)

Maryland drivers might have to share Interstate 95 with driverless vehicles, after the Maryland Department of Transportation announced that it has asked the Federal Transportation Department to use the I-95 corridor as a testing ground. The University of Maryland to the south and Aberdeen Proving Ground to the north were the areas suggested by officials. (CBS Baltimore)

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has granted Amazon a patent to protect UAS while making deliveries, giving drones and their technology an extra layer of protection. The patent would seek to protect against potentially “malicious people,” with an emphasis on a “mesh network,” as well as communication between UAS. (CNBC)

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