SCHRIEVER AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. — The 2nd Space Operations Squadron accepted control of GPS III Satellite Vehicle Number 75 March 27 at Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado.  The vehicle is the second GPS III satellite to be accepted into the program, but the first to be accepted during a global pandemic. “We’re continuing to make major strides even while working through this pandemic, and we continue to expand our capability to further the program […]

Image: Iris Automation MVT Geo-solutions, in partnership with Iris Automation, has been granted the first beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) Special Flight Operations Certificate (SFOC) by Transport Canada using only onboard detect-and-avoid (DAA) systems. The approval was granted based on the utilization of Iris Automation’s DAA system, called Casia, which provides commercial drones with automated collision avoidance maneuvers. The waiver permits flights within the Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Center of Excellence’s controlled airspace Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) […]

March 31, 2020 Ruairi Oneill, a 24-year-old commercial filmmaker from Ireland, was seven days into a long winter trek in northern Sweden when he fell through the ice while crossing a frozen river. Thinking quickly, he planted his trekking poles to keep from submerging fully into the quick-moving water, but still emerged soaked all the way to the top of his knees. Within minutes, the arctic temperatures began to freeze his pants and boots, making […]

Hackers came together online at the Raw Galileo 24-hour hackathon over the weekend to develop innovative solutions that leverage Galileo raw measurements for use on Android-based mobile devices. Organized by the University of Nottingham and the European GNSS Agency (GSA) as a part of the FLAMINGO project, the hackathon challenged the participants to develop solutions addressing two key challenges, enticing them with a prize pot of EUR 6000. In the first of […]

Photo: Topcon Topcon Positioning Group is offering a new Thermal Mapper for asphalt paving. It is designed to monitor temperature segregation to prevent future problems and measure performance, as well as provide accurate compliance reporting — all with real-time kinematic (RTK) positioning accuracy. The mapper records temperature readings behind an asphalt paver as the paving is in progress and provides a visualization to operators in real time of whether the mix falls within a predefined […]

March 28, 2020 With the cancellation of several marquee aviation events, our aviation team is bringing an educational line-up of webinars to you. Ranging from an overview of our latest products, such as the GI 275 and GTN Xi series, to cost-effective autopilot upgrades, these free webinars offer pilots and customers a broad overview of our latest avionics solutions, while also providing a general operational overview. These aviation webinars are scheduled in Central European Time […]

A small, inexpensive and highly accurate gyroscope, developed at the University of Michigan, could help drones and autonomous cars stay on track without a GPS signal. “Our gyroscope is 10,000 times more accurate but only 10 times more expensive than gyroscopes used in your typical cell phones. This gyroscope is 1,000 times less expensive than much larger gyroscopes with similar performance,” said Khalil Najafi, the Schlumberger Professor of Engineering at U-M and […]

Photo: Gannet77/E+/Getty Images Draganfly Inc., a leading North American-based commercial drone company, is partnering with Windfall Geotek to develop drone-based solutions for landmine detection. Windfall Geotek is a Quebec-based technology services company and a leader in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced knowledge-extraction techniques in the mining sector. The companies will work to develop an artificial intelligence (AI) driven unmanned aerial systems solution for landmine detection in the defense, humanitarian and other sectors […]

March 27, 2020 Podcast: Play in new window Backcountry flying is one of the last means of true exploration. Pilots fly specifically designed aircraft deep into untamed and virtually untouched wilderness in search of solitude and beauty. This is a pastime that Todd Simmons has practiced with his brother and friends for years. However, in summer 2018, Todd was involved in a violent plane crash at a remote landing strip called Dewey Moore in the […]

LOS ANGELES AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. — On March 23, the U.S. Space Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center successfully transferred the second Global Positioning System III space vehicle (GPS III SV02) to Space Operations Command.  GPS III SV02, dubbed “Magellan” in honor of Ferdinand Magellan, the Portuguese explorer who led the first expedition to circumnavigate the Earth, is now officially under the control of the Second Space Operations Squadron located at Schriever Air Force […]