October 2017

NOAA UAS Program SBIR Partner exceeds several shipboard UAS requirements. Long range and endurance are capabilities not often associated with VTOL aircraft. But Aerovel’s unmanned Flexrotor, a unique miniature tailsitter, is cut from a different cloth. Last week a Flexrotor named for the sea nymph Actaea lifted off into a grey and rainy morning with 7.5 kg of fuel onboard. It transitioned from hover to wing-borne flight, and soldiered on through a showery day, a blustery […]

Report for the NOAA Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Program Office The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Program teaming with the National Weather Service (NWS) Weather Forecast Offices (WFO) analyzed the observational requirements for post-hazard damage assessment (PDA), or “damage surveys” to determine an approaches to acquire unique, affordable PDA imagery using UAS. In addition to providing other viable benefits for NWS WFOs, this technology may be applicable to assessing damage

Michael Kratsios, Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy U.S. Chief Technology Officer, The White House Keynotes at the Conference The NOAA UAS Program briefed the 2017 Drone World Expo in San Jose, CA October 2nd to 5th.  Thought leaders, industry experts and end-users gathered at Drone World Expo in the heart of Silicon Valley to present real-world solutions to business and environmental challenges.  UASs have provided the capability to capture data for applications including

NOAA’s Office for Coastal Management (OCM) with NOAA UAS Program Continues UAS Surveys of National Estuarine Research Reserves (NERR). NOAA’s Office for Coastal Management (OCM) with NOAA UAS Program Continues UAS Surveys of National Estuarine Research Reserves (NERR).   In September 2017, the team collected Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data and digital imagery using Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) at the San Francisco Bay NERR.  This is the third NERR survey in the past year as