Industry News

Kumbh Mela is one of the largest religious gatherings on earth. It is a mass Hindu pilgrimage on the banks of Ganga of faith where Hindus gather to bathe in a sacred river.In preparation for the event,  local police are planning on using underwater drones at the fair in 2019 for the first time for surveillance and rescue operations.Hundreds of thousands of people will be bathing daily in the river so Visual and SONAR (Sound Navigation & Ranging) sensors would be utilised by the police to en

How Drones, Robotics and Autonomous Systems Are Being Utilised in the Construction Sector.Technology develops at such a pace that the extent of emerging capabilities, or more precisely - The increasing commercial viability of Drones within the construction sector, may not be fully realised where it is needed.This article details innovative approaches to ‘Robotics, and Autonomous Systems’ (RAS), aiming to encourage ‘out of the box’ thinking while noting that some solutions may involve lar

The Drone Delivery Group (DDG) calls for improved coordination across government in order to harmonise quality and safety standards for drones operating autonomously in multiple domains. On 18 January 2023, the DDG delivered its landmark white paper ‘A National Strategy for Drones Across Land, Sea and Air’ to the Department for Transport (DfT) and the department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). Eight months in the making, the paper describes a drone strategy that can meet

Drone Delivery Group’s new white paper outlines why the UK government must act now to capitalise on autonomous drone systems technology. The Drone Delivery Group (DDG) calls for improved coordination across government in order to harmonise quality and safety standards for drones operating autonomously in multiple domains.On 18 January 2023, the DDG delivered its landmark white paper ‘A National Strategy for Drones across Land, Sea and Air’ to the Department for Transport (DfT) and the depa

The Clued-up publication is devoted to the subject of electronic conspicuity in our developing airspace infrastructure.  Why do we need it, what has changed, what does it do, where can i get it and what will it cost?  Who will benefit, where is it likely to be necessary, when is it likely to be mandatory and will it be required by all air vehicles and in all classes of airspace?  This Clued-up publication looks at all of those aspects and tackles each in a very practical manner.  It is a ver

While small businesses are becoming increasingly purpose-driven, it looks like businesses are also becoming increasingly digital, and embracing agile business models that allow them to quickly adapt to new environments.Throughout human history, crises have been pivotal in developing our societies.Pandemics have helped advance health-care systems, wars have fuelled technological innovations and the global financial crisis helped advance tech companies. The present coronavirus pandemic will arguab

During the COVID-19 pandemic, air drones or unmanned aircraft systems have played vital roles, from delivering aid to monitoring social distancing. However, issues such as safety, security and the sharing of airspace have continued to delay their full commercial use.Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) have undoubtedly become the technology of the moment which, from humble beginnings, is set to create an industry to rival the automotive and aviation industries combined. UAS gained notoriety as toys,

Whilst the European Commission have delayed the EU UAS Implementing Regulation 2019/947 until 31 Dec 2020, they have not announced a delay to EU 2019/945 (unless we missed that announcement here at  the DDG).  This effectively means that new Drones introduced into the European market after 1 July 2021 have to abide by the EU Conformity rules in 2019/945 and must be CE marked. In order for your Drone system to be assessed the UK has to set up a UK SchemeSo if you are a UK Drone designer, how d

The UK Drone Delivery Group, the new drone industry initiative established to provide guidance on the steps required for the UK to accelerate the growth of the UK drone industry, has today released its long-awaited ‘White Paper’ for public consultation. The White Paper calls for the development of new testing grounds, which are expected to significantly transform the UK’s potential to achieve world-leading status in the fast-moving drone industry.Robert Garbett, founder of the UK Drone De

Categories: Airspace changePublic engagement on the criteria for assessing and accepting the Airspace Change MasterplanAs part of the CAA’s Airspace Modernisation Strategy, CAA and the Department for Transport (DfT), have commissioned NERL to establish an impartial team known as the Airspace Change Organising Group (ACOG) to lead the programme to create a coordinated implementation plan for airspace changes in Southern UK. This is being referred to as the Masterplan for short.

Categories: Aerodrome safety, Air display and events, Airspace alerts, Airspace change, Autogyros, Balloons, Drones, Flight training private, Gliders, Microlights, Private pilot aeroplane, Private pilot helicopterCHIRP General Aviation FEEDBACK Edition 83CHIRP General Aviation FEEDBACK Edition 83Flight Planning and the use of electronic devices is a major theme in this edition. Every flight needs to be planned thoroughly and the use of electronic devices can ensure NOTAMs and Controlled Airspac

Categories: Air displays and events, Air traffic control, Airspace alerts, Balloons, Commercial pilot helicopter, Drones, Flight training private, Gliders, Microlights, Private pilot aeroplane, Private pilot helicopterAlert for Restricted Airspace - Cheltenham (Temporary)Alert for Restricted Airspace - Cheltenham (Temporary)Restriction of Flying Regulations for Cheltenham Festival 2020 from 10 to13 March 2020. Details by NOTAM and in AIC M013/2020.  Restrictions also apply to the o

One of the UK’s leading drone experts today urged British property owners and business leaders to leverage the opportunity of their under-used land for drone testing, to help accelerate the rate of growth of the UK drone industry, in the face of what he described as ‘an emerging ‘bottleneck’ to growth’.Robert GarbettRobert Garbett founder of the UK Drone Delivery Group, which is the first industry initiative to provide guidance on the steps required to enable accelerated commercialisat

Categories: Drones, Gliders, Microlights, Private pilot aeroplane, Private pilot helicopterJamming activity will take place 10 - 21 February 2020, 0800 and 1800 GMT, near RAF Spadeadam and surrounding areas.This may affect cockpit devices and UAS systems operating on 433MHz, 868MHz (FLARM/PilotAware), and 2.4GHz, 5.8GHz (WiFi) within 30 NM of 550306N 0023318W (spadeadam) up to 40,000 FT AMSL.During the trials GPS moving maps and WiFi devices (including UAS systems) may suffer intermittent or to

Please find below details of the CAA Publication you have selected. Dependent on availability, you are able to download the file, or purchase a printed copy.EU exitEU exit Please note that, in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a negotiated agreement, some CAA website content and application forms may continue to carry the EASA logo or reference the EU or EASA rather than the UK CAA in the short term. These will be updated in due course following the UK’s departure from the EU. In t

Please find below details of the CAA Publication you have selected. Dependent on availability, you are able to download the file, or purchase a printed copy.EU exitEU exit Please note that, in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a negotiated agreement, some CAA website content and application forms may continue to carry the EASA logo or reference the EU or EASA rather than the UK CAA in the short term. These will be updated in due course following the UK’s departure from the EU. In the

Shetland Space Centre (SSC) is developing a vertical launch spaceport on the island of Unst, Shetland. The spaceport will launch small rockets into space from Lamba Ness on Unst in a Northerly direction over the sea. To ensure that the launching rockets are protected from other air users SSC (the change sponsor) are undertaking an Airspace Change with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). The change process is described in CAP 1616, which can be found at this link: https://publicapps.caa.co.u

Help us identify volumes of controlled airspace in which the classification could be reviewed On 30 October 2019 the Secretary of State for Transport wrote to the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to amend the 2017 Air Navigation Directions to give us a new role regarding the way in which airspace is classified. This now means that we must:Regularly consider whether to review the classification of airspace;consult airspace users as part of that review;where we consider a change to classification

Just like the drone industry itself, the Amsterdam Drone Week is rapidly outgrowing its infancy. Together with the High Level Conference on Drones, co-organized by the European Aviation Authority EASA, the second edition of the event made Amsterdam the epicenter of the global drone industry. In addition, important milestones were achieved in the adoption of European legislation and regulations concerning U-space.Just like the drone industry itself, the Amsterdam Drone Week is rapidly outgrowing

The push for digitalization in the global business age exacerbate with challenges familiar to manufacturers. Increased volatility in prices and availability of raw materials, the response to rapid swings between product shortages and capacity overages, staff fluctuations, concerns about intellectual property security, and the frequent movement or closure of industrial sites - all increases competitiveness and search for efficiencies.Autonomous drones help companies respond to time, cost, and qua