Ideas
Can Robots and Drones Help to Fight COVID-19?
Using drones to help make our living and working spaces a little safer is not too much of a stretch.
Emerging Tech
Trump Takes Executive Action on Drones in Final White House Days
The executive order encourages federal agencies to divest from unmanned aerial systems manufactured by China, Russia and Iran.
Cybersecurity
GSA to Remove Almost All Drones from Contract Offerings Over China Concerns
By Feb. 1, all but five unmanned aerial vehicles will be removed from the General Services Administration’s offerings.
Emerging Tech
Pentagon Releases Strategy for Countering Small Drones
The strategy’s accompanying implementation plan is set for release later this month, DOD officials said.
Emerging Tech
FAA Unveils Final Drone Rules for Remote ID, Nighttime Flights and Operations Over Humans
Unmanned aircraft systems will have to broadcast their “digital license plates” to legally zip around most places in the future.
Emerging Tech
Intel Agencies Seek to Perfect Biometric Recognition from Drones
Intelligence and military researchers want to merge facial recognition with other biometric methods to identify people from long distances and steep angles
Emerging Tech
NIST Plans New Drone-Advancing Challenge Competition
Potential scenarios include locating stranded first responders with thermal imaging, tracking them where GPS is inaccessible, and more.
Emerging Tech
Transportation Department Rolls Out New Program to Further Drive Drone Integration
It will build on a recently completed pilot that used drones to deliver small packages, count cattle—and more.
Artificial Intelligence
Navy Program Will Use AI on Drone Images to Predict Fleet Maintenance Needs
Simple Technology Solutions will use Google Cloud to build a machine learning tool trained on drone images.
Emerging Tech
Small, DIU-Approved Drones to be Made Available for Agencies to Purchase
The systems are deemed secure after months of development and testing.
Ideas
How to Hide from a Drone – the Subtle Art of ‘Ghosting’ in the Age of Surveillance
An umbrella could protect from more than just rain.
Emerging Tech
DHS Wants to Know What the Public Thinks About Using Drones During Emergencies
A forthcoming survey will ask people about their knowledge of unmanned aerial systems and how they are used, and their opinions on the ethical implications.
Ideas
Smart Cities Can Help Us Manage Post-COVID Life, but They'll Need Trust as Well as Tech
But as we prepare to move beyond this crisis, cities need to design systems that are prepared to handle the next pandemic.
Emerging Tech
A Medical-Delivery Drone Service Gets Approval Amid Coronavirus
ZipLine, whose drones have delivered more than 100,000 packages in Africa, will begin flights in North Carolina.
Emerging Tech
Did That Drone Just Tell Us to Stay 6 Feet Apart?
At least 40 law enforcement agencies across the country have used drones in the past few months for coronavirus-related purposes.
Emerging Tech
Big Tech and Aviation Companies to Set Standards For New Drone-Tracking System
The eight vendors will set the technology standards for FAA’s Remote ID program to track drones and their operators.
Emerging Tech
How the Justice Department is Permitted to Use Counter-Drone Technology
The guidance enables the agency and its subcomponents to intercept, damage or destroy threatening drones in some cases.
Emerging Tech
Special Delivery: DOJ Charges Two Men for Delivering Prison Contraband with Drones
The smuggled goods included drugs, phones, saw blades, syringes and Just for Men hair color.
Emerging Tech
Defense Digital Service is Taking Over a Drone and Counter-Drone Development Team
Building and scaling a suite of new drone capabilities is one of the Defense Department’s top priorities, officials said.
Emerging Tech