Posts by Dave Clarke
eVTOLs Need Lithium Batteries
Flying cars will likely be powered by lithium batteries. How these batteries will be safely and economically recycled remains to be seen.
Drone Alone: Advanced Air Mobility Advances Pilotlessly
During the EnRicH 2021 European Robotics Hackathon, the San Antonio, Texas-based Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) successfully demonstrated an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) that fully autonomously explored and mapped the interior of the Zwentendorf Nuclear Power Plant located in Zwentendorf an der Donau, Austria. The Zwentendorf plant is the world’s only nuclear facility that has been fully built but never activated. This makes…
U-Space – The EU’s Evolving Plan for UAVs and UAM
The Single European Sky Air Traffic Modernization Research (SESAR) Project is working to develop policies to facilitate the European Commission’s Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy. SESAR will define, deploy, and develop technologies to create an air traffic management system throughout the European Union (EU) for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), including drones and air taxis. First…
UAVs May Be Unmanned, But They Soon May Not Be Un-Mothed
Scientists have created a smellicopter, which pairs live antennae from a moth to an autonomous drone for potential use in navigating hazardous environments where robots cannot be used.
Charting New Territory with UAV Photogrammetry
There are many emerging uses for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), from firefighting to emergency rescues, military operations, and even cloud-seeding to produce rain. Photogrammetry may be one application that has, until now, flown under the radar of the UAM industry and public awareness. What is photogrammetry? The American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASSPRS)…
Urban Air Mobility: The Legal Challenges on the Horizon
In the 21st century, technology can evolve at breakneck speeds. Legislators and regulators are sometimes challenged to manage those new technologies and keep pace with their advances. With the impending evolution (revolution?) in urban air mobility (UAM), we were curious how the legal and regulatory landscape is evolving – and will need to evolve –…