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Can drones help your business meet its environmental commitments?
By Tony Roberts, iLaw Solicitors LtdFreddie Mercury once sang: “I want it all - and I want it now”. Green activists may not be singing from the exact same songsheet, but they are not far off. Under constant pressure from campaigners, governments are ratcheting up the pressure on the business world. Commitments become more onerous; deadlines shorten. Many businesses will need to adapt radically to avoid the thumbscrews and drones will often be a crucial part of their response. The International Energy Agency predicts that global energy usage will surge as the world bounces back from the covid pandemic. In the immediate term, governments will need to prioritise the generation of tax receipts to fill depleted coffers, but at the same time the UK government is planning to host the COP26 summit in November 2021 and the Biden administration is rejoining the Paris Climate Change Accord. The upshot is that international pressure will cascade down to individual countries, whose Read More »
New patented autonomous drone for pressure-regulating water tank inspection
New patented autonomous drone for pressure-regulating water tank inspection Hokkaido Electric Power and ACSL have developed a drone capable of autonomous flight in a pressure-regulating water tank of a hydroelectric power plant, which is a non-GPS environment* *Equipment for mitigating water hammer caused by sudden output changes such as power shutoff of a generator. It is a cylindrical structure with an inner diameter of several tens of meters and a depth of several tens of meters. Water hammer is a phenomenon in which a strong impact and high-water pressure are generated in the water pressure pipe when the water flow is suddenly shut off due to a sudden stop of the water turbine. In order to fly stably, the drone uses the structure such as the riser pipe in the pressure-regulating water tank as a mark to determine the positional relationship with itself (patent pending: Japanese Patent Application No. 2021-000814). The idea is to improve the utilization rate of hydrop Read More »
Successful hybrid power unit operation test for heavy drones by ADJ
Aero Development Japan Co., Ltd. succeeded in operating tests of a hybrid power unit that combines Halbach generator and gas turbine power, which is being developed for heavy-duty and long-distance drones. A hybrid power system that combines the unit with a propeller motor and ESC (a motor for high voltage propellers of DC300V (AC200V) class for drones) is being developed with the goal of flying a large drone with a total weight of over 150 kg carrying 50 kg of payload for 60 minutes. According to ADJ, the development of power sources for drones using gas turbine engines and Halbach generators will be an advanced initiative not only in Japan but also in the world. This technology is a patented invention of Professor Morishita of Kogakuin University, and the ADJ development partner holds a license for the Halbach generator. Read More »
VIZGARD: Practical AI Solutions for Defence and Security
VIZGARDDrone Major welcomes London-based SME VIZGARD to our roster of world-class suppliers. Their FortifAI computer vision software provides real-time intelligent tasking and alerts for drones and PTZ camera platforms. FortifAI's server runs in the background on PC, edge, and cloud platforms to offer C2 and GCS software an ever-growing list of AI-powered enhanced capabilities such as:Market-leading counter-UAS detect/track/classify capability. Detection of people, cars, boats, drones, birds, planes and helicopters.Cutting-edge single object tracking of any agile target with no model training required.Real-time face redaction.Electronic image stabilisation.Precision drone landing on moving vehicles in GPS-denied environments.Horizon trackingVIZGARD's solution aims to significantly reduce time-to-market by streamlining the integration process with a browser-based test application, well-documented API and prompt technical support. Once deployed, they make it easy for non-technical Read More »
Japan: The Land of rising business opportunities for overseas organisations
Japan UAS Industrial Development Association (JUIDA), long-time partner of Drone Major Group, is pleased to announce its new services dedicated to overseas companies interested in breaking into the Japanese market.Since its establishment in 2014, JUIDA has been facilitating the healthy growth of the UAS commercial use in terms of regulations, education, research and business/international cooperation.Established to meet the needs of both the public sector (Japanese government) and the private sector (industries), reaching more than 12,000 members and more than 200 accredited drone pilot schools, and now involved in the UAM research field as well, time has come to open our network and our expertise to overseas companies. Read More »
Delivering value through engineering expertise
DASIS (Develop and Supply In-Sync) is a supply chain management consultancy that offers UK SME’s a secure and safe route to manufacture. Together with a trusted consortium of supply partners, our dedicated team manages all aspects of the product manufacturing processes from concept to completion. The businesses we support operate predominately in the defence, automotive, aerospace and sectors.A family of partnersDASIS holds a firm belief that companies thrive and grow stronger through collaboration. Through the consortium we offer a unified and bespoke service that ensures on time delivery of first-class products and components. It is a transparent and secure process that puts our clients at the heart of every project. With extensive knowledge of programme management, combined with hands on manufacturing experience, we are fulfilling a dream of synchronising UK supply chain activity. Read More »
Let’s talk about Grant Funding
Following the economic impact of the pandemic, at Swoop we have continued to see an increase in demand for grant funding - particularly innovation funding.The most appealing thing with business grants is that the money doesn’t have to be paid back. However, they often come with a match funding requirement (typically 25% - 50%) in place. Another consideration is that during the application process your business may have to set and agree the expected outputs to be achieved from the activity that is to be funded by the monies provided.The good news is there are thousands of grants available in the UK, both at a national and regional level. Many grants are also sector-specific. In the Spring Budget March 2021, a number of grants were discussed like the: Read More »
Hydrogen, Drones, Sustainable Aviation and Green Airports
The European goals are clear, carbon neutrality must be achieved by 2050, essentially with any means necessary. Transportation is responsible for about 25% of all greenhouse gas emissions and aviation is 12% of that.While no silver bullet exists for everything then one of those technologies, which can make a dramatic impact has been hydrogen. Instead of theoretically carbon-neutral fuels such as biofuels, hydrogen vehicles produce no emissions and Europe has recognised its potential with clear and ambitious production targets of 1M tonnes by 2024 and 10M tonnes by 2030. The use in transportation being one of the key priority areas. Read More »
Drone Cage is flying high
It was while working as a drone pilot for a company providing inspections in difficult to reach places that James Dyke realised there was a massive gap in the market. And that with the critical knowledge and experience he possessed as a pilot, an engineer and using the latest 3D printing technology, he could create a business that would potentially save huge amounts of money for companies around the world.Just a few years on he is supplying Drone Cages to the armed forces, law enforcement agencies, search and rescue, as well as the professional UAV community, globally.The drone James piloted for the survey company had a protective barrier, so should the drone have a bump, the barrier should protect it – potentially saving the owner the cost of a new UAV. Read More »
New Solution For Coastal And Maritime Surveillance A Technology Breakthrough
A proud new supplier to Drone Major, FLY-R develops a unique range of rhomboid wing UAVs that has many technical, operational and financial advantages over traditional aircraft. This aerodynamic configuration take the benefits of the fixed wing aircraft, while significantly improving the speed range, endurance and radius compared to aircraft of comparable size. Compared to these conventional aircraft, the Rhomboid formula offers: Read More »
DRONE CONTROLLING DEVICE
SKYCORP OÜ, specialist hydrogen drone manufacturer, technology integrator and autonomous aerial ecosystem builder, is pleased to announce it has filed a patent submission with the European Patent Office for its Internet of Drones enabling Drone Controlling DeviceThis new patent-pending module provides enhanced communications, locational intelligence, command and control and means that drones can now be traced also when not operational, introducing additional redundancy, increasing safety, and enabling new applications.These features are particularly necessary when looking to integrate with Unmanned Aircraft System Traffic Management (UTM) while looking to enable autonomous operations during remote beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations. “This idea started from tying our own holistic hydrogen drone ecosystem together while adding redundancy to communications and control channels for increased safety and autonomy. Read More »
AgEagle Aerial Systems and Valqari Piloting On-Demand Drone Delivery of Food and Beverages to Golfers
WICHITA, Kan. & Chicago – February 16, 2021 – (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) – AgEagle Aerial Systems Inc. (NYSE American: UAVS) (“AgEagle” or the “Company”), an industry leading drone systems and solutions provider, and Valqari, LLC, creator of the patented Smart Drone Delivery Station, today jointly announced that the companies have teamed to produce a turnkey, fully automated, on-demand drone delivery system for order and delivery of food and beverages to golfers while they are in active play on a golf course. Earlier this week, AgEagle and Valqari demonstrated its innovative new drone delivery system to officials at the Sun City Country Club, the proud home of the 2015, 2016 and 2017 Arizona Women’s Open and the 2015, 2017 and 2019 Arizona Special Olympics State Golf Championship. The primary objective of the demo was to test and affirm the functionality of the system hardware and mechanical components of the drone delivery system in a real-world use case. A food a Read More »
Successful flight of Japan's largest transport drone (49kg PL)
Onozuka Seiki Co.Ltd has developed ESC, a high-efficiency motor for large-sized transport drones using electromagnetic steel sheets for high-speed rotary motors made by Nippon Steel. They succeeded in flying a drone with 49kg PL. The multi-pole high-speed rotary motor has a high motor drive frequency and is highly effective in reducing eddy current loss due to the thinning of the thickness of the electromagnetic steel plate used for the motor core. The technology cultivated in EV (Eco-run solar car) is applied to this motor, it has higher efficiency & lower heat generation than conventional large drone motors. Thus, it can withstand operations under summer high temperatures. By making the motor and ESC double redundant, consideration was given to the reliability required for large transport drones in the event of a failure. By optimizing the control characteristics of the drive system for large-scale transport drones, it is no longer necessary to adjust the parameters Read More »
Aeronext and its 4D GRAVITY technology opened a test line in Kosuge Village
Aeronext and its 4D GRAVITY technology opened a test line in Kosuge Village in anticipation of social implementation of logistics drones.Logistics systems that utilize drones are attracting attention as a solution for areas where land transportation is difficult or where there is a lack of delivery personnel.The logistics drone "Next DELIVERY ®" developed by Aeronext adopts the original center of gravity control technology "4D GRAVITY ® ︎" to realize horizontal transportation of luggage regardless of the orientation of the aircraft. By eliminating the bias of luggage during transportation, it is possible to transport medical and precision equipment and deliver meals, which is difficult with conventional drones. Read More »
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries will commercialize a system that can operate multiple drones from a distance of 1,000km by 2022.
The defence technology that enables stable flight of the aircraft is being diverted to the private sector: for disaster prediction and monitoring of power transmission lines.MHI’s fighter jets and submarines can control their own movements while automatically following an adversary and notifying users of abnormalities. The commercial adaptation will use secure internet connections to control drones flying through wind gusts of 30m/s. The system will allow a controller in Tokyo to direct drones to Tanegashima, an island 1000km South.MHI also plans to launch an analysis service for data taken with drones, using defence technologies such as artificial intelligence and precise image processing that makes full use of artificial satellites. Read More »
Photographic & Survey Equipment Cover
Moonrock Insurance have launched a new drone insurance product in response to growing demand from customers, including UAV operators in the media, emergency services, agriculture, inspection and construction sectors.Moonrock now offer drone insurance that also provides cover for non-drone related items in one single policy, including all camera, video and survey equipment, as well as devices like laptops and mobile phones.We have had an uplift in requests from customers over the past couple of years seeking a single policy encompassing many of their insurance requirements in one place, and we have sought to meet this with our specialist cover. Read More »
Guest-blog: Stephanie Barnes discusses the importance of knowledge management
Peter Drucker once said: ‘that today knowledge has power because it controls access to opportunity and advancement’.The 4th Industrial Revolution is undoubtedly the century of knowledge. The everyday usage of available advanced information, business and internet technologies in business activities confirm that this is not only a phrase from the literature, but true reality.Globalisation has brought many modern trends, and companies have the task to be flexible and adapt as quickly, easily and painlessly as they can in order to survive in the competitive market. Read More »
Automatic inspection of wind power plants using J-Power, KDDI and drones
The blade was inspected by remote control by taking a picture of the wind power plant with a drone equipped with auto flight software. It is thus possible to shoot three blades of a stopped wind turbine from four directions in one flight.By using auto-flight technology, local maintenance personnel can inspect the blades with simple settings and can quickly inspect during an emergency such as a lightning strike.The team was able to take a picture of the entire wind power generator (blades, towers, etc.). It can be taken in about 20 minutes per unit, and the time can be shortened to 1/10 compared to usual inspection methods. Read More »
Kawasaki Heavy Industries succeeded in flight test of unmanned compound helicopter "K-RACER
Kawasaki Heavy Industries succeeded in flight test of unmanned compound helicopter "K-RACER" The technology was demonstrated by an unmanned tester aiming at high speed, which is technically limited in the conventional helicopter, and in this test, stable flight by autonomous control was confirmed. The K-RACER is a special type of testing machine called a compound helicopter that has a main rotor (4 m in diameter), main wings and propellers on both sides instead of a tail rotor. The left and right propellers can cancel the torque associated with the rotation of the main rotor and generate forward thrust. In forward flight, the main wing shares the lift to reduce the burden on the main rotor, and the concept is to enable high-speed flight that cannot be achieved with conventional helicopters. The power source is the supercharged engine of the company's motorcycle "Ninja H2R". Kawasaki Heavy Industries will utilize the results obtained in this test for the development of VTOL ma Read More »
Successful development of an intensity measurement system using Kansai TV and drone
Kansai TV has developed a radio wave measurement system for terrestrial digital broadcasting using drones to measure the radio wave radiation pattern (graph of the direction and intensity of radio waves emitted from the antenna) of TV relay stations in Japan. An intensity measuring unit consisting of a PC & an intensity measuring instrument is connected to the communication port that normally connects the camera, and GPS data (flight position and time) obtained from the drone during flight and the intensity measuring instrument are connected. By transmitting the electric wave strength obtained from the above to a tablet on the ground via wireless LAN, the measurer can check the radio wave emission pattern directly after the flight by a simple menu operation. In the verification flight, the practicality of this system was confirmed by measuring the radio wave radiation pattern in the horizontal direction at the same time as the visual inspection by the drone camera at multiple rel Read More »