Podcasts about precisionhawk

Welcome to your weekly news update, we have 5 stories for you this week, Air Aware Released, Legislators urge Pentagon to deny export licenses for DJI, PrecisionHawk shuts down operation, the FAA Reauthorization act and an important update to DJI Air 3 and Mini 4 Pro.

This week on The Exit: From the Japanese ice cream industry to US Federal Defense, Sascha Mornell has worked in vastly different industries, but throughout his career, achieving an exit has been the common denominator. Sascha has been a part of three exits, the first of which occurred when he joined a startup called Register.com where he was the first employee. That business achieved a successful $800 million IPO and gave him a taste of what it felt like to scale a business towards an exit. From there Sascha started two businesses, the first providing solutions to the civilian and defense markets of the federal government, the second is now the world's largest boat rental marketplace, Get My Boat. He exited both businesses successfully, and shares his truly unique entrepreneurial journey on this week's episode of The Exit. Sascha Mornell is a serial entrepreneur (with three out of five successful exits), philanthropist and investor. He is currently the co-founder and CEO of Getmyboat, the world's largest boat rental & water experience marketplace (a majority stake was acquired by Yanmar in 2022). Before Getmyboat he was the co-founder and CEO/Chairman of Phacil (acquired in 2019), a highly decorated and award-winning technology services federal government contractor. Prior to that, he served as the Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing at register.com, which he helped grow and take public in 2000 in a $800 million IPO. Sascha is also the Director and co-founder of the SaraVenture Foundation, a multi-million dollar non-profit (DAF) focused on community, education, youth and leadership causes. He is an angel investor in, and advisor to, Hazon Solutions (acquired by PrecisionHawk), YourMechanic (acquired by Wrench), MarkMonitor (acquired by Thomson Reuters), Osmio (acquired by Aramark/GrubHub), Tint, Perigee and Brij. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/saschamornell/ Getmyboat: https://www.getmyboat.com/ Flippa's First Access: https://flippa.com/exit For a Free Flippa Business Valuation: flippa.com/freevaluation -- The Exit—Presented By Flippa: A 30-minute podcast featuring expert entrepreneurs who have been there and done it. The Exit talks to operators who have bought and sold a business. You'll learn how they did it, why they did it, and get exposure to the world of exits, a world occupied by a small few, but accessible to many. To listen to the podcast or get daily listing updates, click on flippa.com/the-exit-podcast/

Bobby Vick, former Director of Agriculture of PrecisionHawk based in Raleigh, NC, talks with Adrian Percy about drones and how agriculture can utilize them. @AgTech360 agtech360@gmail.com go.ncsu.edu/CERSA southernipm.org

Techstination, your destination for gadgets and gear.   I’m Fred Fishkin.      The number of drones used for a wide range of commercial uses…including package deliveries…is poised to take off.   Couldn’t resist that…but it’s true.   And a company named PrecisionHawk recently was awarded two patents for...

Techstination interview: PrecisionHawk wins patents for automated unmanned air traffic control: VP Tyler Collins

Techstination interview: PrecisionHawk wins patents for automated unmanned air traffic control: VP Tyler Collins

When a utility embarks on a capital project, they’re doing so to serve their customers better, comply with regulations, and/or build the value of their asset network—and they’re increasingly making drones a part of their efforts. Utilities are using drones across the capital project lifecycle. Whether to inventory assets, monitor current project work, or evaluate pre-completion performance, project managers achieve greater data breadth and precision. Not only does this help justify CapEx spend, but it also enables better project management. PrecisionHawk, the market leader of commercial drone analytics, has seen first-hand the challenges of keeping utility asset databases up-to-date. During routine inspections for all of their utility clients, PrecisionHawk has found discrepancies in location data for up to 50% of poles. And while ground teams typically find that 10% of poles are out of compliance, they have, on average found that the number is actually 25-30%. As a solution, Drone technology is implemented to accurately geolocate all pole assets, convert imagery and data into metadata for quality assurance, and execute strategic business decisions accordingly with substantial evidence. Robert Henley joins me on Tech Talks Daily in a conversation about how utilities leverage drone technology to improve their asset management systems and validate capital projects tied to critical infrastructure.

In today’s show, Steve interviews Andrew Dennison, founder, Uplift Data Partners and Director of Enterprise Services at DroneDeploy. This show starts with Andrew recalling his high school life. Why did an engineering student from the University of Michigan enroll at Student Painters? Andrew reveals that he was looking for a unique opportunity that allowed him to garner the hands-on experience of running a business. Next, Andrew shares his experience of running a student painting business. How did an 18-year old with no prior business experience or painting experience successfully lead and manage people? Andrew shares his biggest takeaways and reveals how he managed to really scale up his business in his second year at Student Painters. Listeners will find the next segment of the show particularly interesting. Andrew decided to venture into drone technology in 2014 with Uplift Data Partners. This gamble paid off big time for Andrew as Uplift ended up provided their drone services to some of the largest organizations in the United States. Andrew started Uplift as a solo-entrepreneur and then managed to secure VC funding to scale up his business. How did someone like Andrew (who started with zero knowledge of drones) manage to convince VC’s to back him? He shares how his Student Painting network helped him in this fund-raising process. In this segment, Andrew draws some interesting parallels between running a technology company and a painting company. Is running a technology company significantly different from running a painting company? And, why did Andrew decide to sell out to PrecisionHawk just when his business was taking off? Towards the end, Andrew has some excellent advice for aspiring entrepreneurs. Tune in for some excellent nuggets! What You Will Learn in This Show: How a Student Painter stint can equip you with transferable skillsets How a Student Painter network can help you scale your business A “peek” into the future of drone technology How to start and scale up a business And so much more! Resources DroneDeploy YEAA

This week in drone news: An update to the DJI data leak that's been going on for years. A Canadian police drone collides with a Police Helicopter. Pix4D releases a new photogrammetry cloud service: Pix4Dcloud and Pix4Dcloud Advanced. And finally a Pilot Institute update: we reach 20,000 students and 36,000 enrollments, all thanks to you! Summary 00:42 - DJI Data Leaks: real or not? 04:03 - Police drone collides with a police helicopter 06:15 - New Pix4Dcloud offering 07:43 - 20,000 students at Pilot Institute - Get your own Pilot Institute T-shirt or Long Sleeve T: https://amzn.to/30CLtBw - Part 107 Made Easy: the most comprehensive ground school online. https://bit.ly/2AkRWq0 - Drone Business Made Easy: start your drone business with a solid foundation. https://bit.ly/3dVT55T - Drone Flying 101: the perfect course for beginners. https://bit.ly/2XUy3Pc - Drone Maneuvers Mastery: become a better pilot with these 50 maneuvers designed to improve your flying skills. https://bit.ly/3hkWkG3 - Cinematic FPV Drone From Scratch: build your own cinematic machine with this course. https://bit.ly/37oOfeG Script/Links DJI Data Leaks: real or not? A report from Booz Allen, an IT consulting company, was released this week regarding the long-debated possible data security issues from DJI drones. The report was prepared for PrecisionHawk, a commercial drone and data company. Booz Allen tested risk assessments of possible vulnerabilities for 3 drones: the Government Edition Mavic Pro, Matrice 600, and the Mavic 2 Enterprise. The testing did not identify data connections made by the drone platforms to DJI or Chinese servers. They did identify potential vulnerabilities that could be exploited or triggered by a threat source. The attacker would need to have physical access to the drone itself, or be within direct radio range during specific operations. The vulnerabilities were provided to DJI who said they mitigated several of them and will address the rest shortly. The report also said that “vulnerabilities will exist to some degree regardless of the UAS platform”. https://www.precisionhawk.com/blog/unmanned-aerial-intelligence-technology-center-of-excellence-conducts-risk-assessment-of-drone-technology When a police drone collides with a police helicopter A Royal Canadian Mounted Police AS350 helicopter collided with a SkyRanger R60 drone earlier in February but was only reported in June. The two aircraft were on a joint mission in British Columbia when the accident happen. It was classified as a midair collision, which happened at 300 feet AGL. No one was hurt and the helicopter did a precautionary landing on a road nearby. Damage was found on the helicopter to the main rotor blades and the tail boom and rotor. The drone itself was destroyed and with has a listing price of $100,000, it's an expensive lesson. https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/police-helicopter-collides-with-police-drone/

A plan to deliver cannabis in Seattle with drones, flying medical specimens to the lab with UAS, a Chinese 3-engine MALE drone, taking down small drones with an F-16, a Gremlins maiden flight, and a drone solution to parasitic disease in humans.

Episode Highlights:Tyler's background, his passion for aviation, and what drew him to the drone industryHis first opportunity with PrecisionHawk and how he climbed the ladder to his role todayPrecisionHawk, its mission, offerings, and plans for the futureThe massive effort put into BVLOS work that has been spearheaded by PrecisionHawkRemoteID and its role for enabling BVLOS and safer drone operations overallKeys to PrecisionHawks leadership stance and success in the industryTyler's reflection on his drone journey thus far and his zeal for what's nexthttps://www.precisionhawk.com/

A Customer Experience Management firm, Digitell.me, has launched out of Germany. The company’s co-founders, Christopher Morasch, Ted Osammor, and Ole Scharpe have deep backgrounds in market research and experience management. Watchout Medalia and Qualtrics! If Digitell.me is like Quantilope…you are going to have a problem. Twitter Product Designer, Cathy Heng, released an article highlighting five things she has learned throughout her career. Lessons include knowing when to say goodbye, sharing and gaining visibility, getting a mentor, building relationships, and remembering to focus on what you want. In today’s mergers and acquisitions, BDI Research, Schlesinger Group’s Spain brand, acquires ThinkPhar, a qualitative research consultancy specializing in healthcare. Dun & Bradstreet, a leading global provider of business decisioning data and analytics, acquires Orb Intelligence, a digital business identity, and firmographic data provider. In human capital news, Kantar appoints Chris Morley as the Managing Director of UK, Ireland, and the U.S.A, for the Worldpanel division; and Dom Boyd as the Managing Director of Offer for the UK Insights division. Lara M. Oerter will now be serving as the Chief Operating Officer at Avenu Insights & Analytics. She previously served as the COO for PrecisionHawk and Senior Vice President with Blackboard. Find links to these stories in our show notes. For more detailed commentary, be sure to signup for our weekly newsletter at www.happymr.com. And that’s your daily briefing of marketing research news. Find Jamin Online:Email: jamin@happymr.comLinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jaminbrazilTwitter: www.twitter.com/jaminbrazil Find Us Online:Twitter: www.twitter.com/happymrxpLinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/happymarketresearchFacebook: www.facebook.com/happymrxpWebsite: www.happymr.com Sources: Digitell.me: https://www.digitell.me/en/ UX Planet: https://uxplanet.org/lessons-learnt-doing-ux-for-3-years-924391915c9f Schlesinger Group: https://www.schlesingergroup.com/en/thinkphar-acquisition-spain/ Dun & Bradstreet: https://www.dnb.com/perspectives/newsroom/dun-bradstreet-acquires-orb-intelligence.html LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrismorley/?originalSubdomain=uk Avenu Insights & Analytics: https://www.avenuinsights.com/2020/01/09/avenu-insights-analytics-announces-lara-oerter-as-new-chief-operating-officer/

Frank Gruber and co-host John Guidos talk about whether they could live without email and how society is changing with the elimination of the landline and a “home phone.” The discussion was loosely based on the latest newsletter which is shared below. I saw a story recently about Away Luggage and how they recently ousted their co-founder and CEO Steph Korey over her use of the communication tool Slack to intimidate employees. Away Luggage employees don’t use email, limiting communications to Slack’s public channels. While Slack does offer direct message functionality, the company, like others, utilizes mostly public channels to offer a more transparent work environment – which unfortunately made public intimidation possible (or… fortunately exposed bad behavior that might otherwise have been hidden?). This is not the first company to eliminate email. For example, Automattic, the company behind web blogging platform WordPress, was one of the earliest to embrace Slack as a primary communication tool. Could you run a business, or your life, without email?  This question made me think about how communication has evolved over the years. The day of the central “home phone” is something of the past. But the home landline taught me how to answer a phone (not knowing who was on the other end), speak to people of all ages, and communicate on others’ behalf. So, I’m curious if those skills are no longer being acquired by younger people. This brings a whole new reason for having a landline to light. The Atlantic recently dug a little deeper into this topic of the home landline which also forms a spontaneous connection to a household.  Celebrating People in My Network —Laurie Segall on the launch of Dot Dot Dot Media. —Lo Toney raised $42M fund to invest in startups at Plexo Capital.  —Michael Chasen, the CEO of PrecisionHawk, a Raleigh, N.C.-based provider of drone technology for the enterprise, on raising $32M in funding. —Jason Fudin, co-founder and CEO of WhyHotel, which operates 100 to 250 room pop-up hotels with 24/7 on-site staff in newly built, luxury apartment buildings, on raising a $20M Series B of funding.  —Justyn Howard and the team of Chicago-based SproutSocial on their recent IPO.  —Cody Bardo and the rest of the Trust & Will team for raising a $6M Series A round of funding with the goal of bringing estate planning To every family in America. —Mike Levins on jumping off the entrepreneurial diving board after a few decades in the corporate insurance world. I’m excited about his startup journey! Upcoming Events I am going to CES 2020 in early January so let me know if you’ll be in Las Vegas and would like to connect. Additionally, we’re in the process of planning our annual SXSW 2020 events taking place in early March in Austin, Texas. If you’re looking to do something at SXSW and need assistance, or if you’d like to get involved in supporting our efforts let me know.  Reading The eight-hour workday was set over 100 years ago, does it still stand up? —The Eight-Hour Workday Is a Counterproductive Lie The force? —A ‘no-brainer Nobel Prize’: Hungarian scientists may have found a fifth force of nature Could physics change forever? —Researchers at CERN break “The Speed of Light” This could have saved Steve Jobs. —Israeli scientists find a way to treat pancreatic cancer in 14 days Largest IPO ever for the company that supplies 10% of the world’s oil —Saudi Aramco prices shares at top of the range in the world’s biggest IPO Not good. —Oceans are running out of Oxygen If plants could talk… well it appears they can and we just don’t understand their language. —Recordings reveal that plants make ultrasonic squeals when stressed Blue Bottle going a bold green! —Bring your mug: Some Blue Bottles will no longer use plastic or paper cups This is extremely disturbing. —I’m a 37-Year-Old Mom & I Spent Seven Days Online as an 11-Year-Old Girl. Here’s What I Learned. What do you think? It seems to be missing a company or two, especially one that rhymes with Gruber. —The 12 Most Influential Startups of the Decade For increasing use as a singular pronoun for those who identify outside the gender binary… —‘They’ is the 2019 Word of the Year Listening Aside from getting into the holiday spirit with my favorite holiday playlist, I had a chance to listen to Elnaz Sarraf talk about her startup ROYBI which was just named one of TIME Magazine’s best inventions of 2019. Watching Last week, I got a chance to watch the annual lighting of the Christmas Prelude tree in Kennebunkport, Maine. It was snowing and chilly but nothing a little hot cocoa couldn’t help. If you’re stuck inside and looking for a new holiday movie to watch that fun for the whole family, you might want to give the new Disney+ original Noelle a try.  Gifting ‘Tis the season for holiday gifts – here are a handful of gift ideas for all ages this holiday season. I hope it helps you finish out your holiday shopping if you need ideas. If you’re looking for more holiday gift ideas, you might find our 2019 holiday gift guide interesting.  1.) Star Wars Instant Pot – It’s the classic instant pot pressure cooker, now dressed up like a Star Wars character. 2.) Baby Yoda – If you’ve been watching The Mandalorian on DisneyPlus then you know what I’m talking about. 3.) Baby Shark – Have a little one in your life? This might be a fun gift — if it doesn’t drive you bonkers from that catchy song. 4.) Weighted Blanket – They are all the rage this year. Sleep better with a weighted blanket. 5.) Roku Streaming Stick – Turn your TV into a smart TV even while traveling.  6.) KeySmart Pro – Organize those keys, add Tile so you don’t lose them and more. 7.) Kindle Whitepaper – Everyone reads, and this makes it easy even while in the pool as it’s waterproof. 8.) Travel Packing Cubes – Stay organized while traveling. 9.) Smartwool Socks – Who doesn’t like warm and dry feet? 10.) Yeti gear – Mugs, tumblers, or ramblers could be great gifts – since just about everyone drinks liquids. I hope you have a happy holiday season! Get updates like this right in your inbox before they hit the web by subscribing to the newsletter here.  

Rides available in the Hexa Electric VTOL, mapping a railway project, low-altitude hurricane hunting, another reported drone strike, a DHS warning for private industry, another round of financing for PrecisionHawk, and spying on hippos with drones.

Ian Smith is joined by Michael Chasen, CEO of PrecisionHawk. The two discuss the latest from PrecisionHawk and the drone industry as a whole.

Working in human resources we often (OK – ALL the time) seem to be talking about the employee experience – but what does that look like in action? How, when and why do things like trust, and cultural values play a part?  And while HR has a role to play in enabling and nurturing a great employee experience, what about managers? How do we ensure EVERYONE is singing-the-same-song? Join us this week when we talk with Erin Miller, VP of HR at PrecisionHawk (they do stuff with drones!) about her team’s approach to ensuring a people-centric approach to HR | People Operations. (you can follow her on twitter here )   @DrivethruHR #DTHR

In this episode, we invited Michael Chasen, CEO of PrecisionHawk. Michael holds the distinguished honor of being the first guest to appear a second time on the podcast. Under his direction, PrecisionHawk has been focusing on expanding its suite of services while at the same time providing ever greater specialization for the industries it's serving. I brought Michael on to talk about the release PrecisionAnalytics, their AI-Driven Aerial Data Analytics software and his recent appointment as Chair of the Drone Advisory Committee. He’s one of the busiest leaders in the drone industry, so here’s your chance to get insights into how he is looking at the future.

Diana Cooper is the SVP of Policy & Strategy at PrecisionHawk, a company that provides training, drone consulting, and global flight services.

PrecisionHawk does some awesome work with drones—but you won’t see a lot of attention drawn to this in their marketing. Generally, people aren’t looking for “drone solutions.” So PrecisionHawk doesn’t look to identify those types of searchers; instead, they’re looking for people with a problem set. By getting down into the data to find what people really care about and are searching for, the company can steer clear of tire-kickers who would take up their time with minimal return (and who PrecisionHawk wouldn’t be able to help anyway). Our guest today is Nathan Cavicchi. He’s the Marketing Manager of Demand Generation at PrecisionHawk. In this episode, he lets us behind the curtain to see how a unique company’s marketing team navigates the balance between showing off their product and speaking to what buyers are looking for.

AirMap is a California-based startup that has raised $43.6M to help companies coordinate and scale drone operations in ever-changing airspace conditions. David Hose is AirMap's current CEO. Ian and David discuss: AirMap's history and current offerings LAANC, BVLOS, Remote ID, UTM DJI replacing AirMap with PrecisionHawk's airspace product AirMap's stance on Federal vs. municipal/local regulation and much more

The Open Source CEO Bob Young’s journey from renting typewriters to co-founding an open-source software company to founding a self-publishing platform. Entrepreneurship carries a lot of prestige these days. But back in the 1970s, when one freshly minted, Canadian college grad decided to start his own business, the only real perk was a business card that read, “Bob Young: President” that he could show to his mom. This, Young explains, was the single greatest benefit of starting a business back then. It wasn’t about the money, the eager investors, or the thousands of devoted fans (he didn’t have any of those). He just hoped he could reassure his mom that she didn’t have to worry about him anymore. “We now have the smartest kids in our high schools going to college to study entrepreneurship,” he says. “Whereas, back in my day, all the smart kids went and got ‘real jobs’ as lawyers or accountants or whatever and became CEOs of big corporations, and it was us dumb kids who started businesses because no one would employ us.” For Young, that meant printing up a fancy business card and, with a little money from friends and family, buying a small, failing typewriter rental business for cheap. From there, though, things got interesting. Young quickly pivoted from typewriters to computers, until a mid-career stumble led him to the world of open source software, a field in which he thrived. Young has since gone on to found Red Hat, a multinational company that offers non-proprietary software solutions to businesses. In 2018, IBM announced it would acquire Red Hat for around $34 billion. Today, Young is at the helm of a few businesses, including self-publishing platform Lulu.com, continuing his passion for democratic, open distribution models that favor the little guy. But despite his 40 years in entrepreneurship, he still lists just a single skill under “Specialties” in his LinkedIn bio: typewriter sales. “I’m a typewriter salesman, and that is the value I bring to the companies that I’m involved with,” Young says. “I’m a sales and marketing guy, and I have to hire smart accountants and smart engineers and smart product managers, because those are skills that I don’t have. My one contribution is in the sales and marketing side of the projects I’m involved in.” When Success Turns Sour Young realized almost immediately that his first business had to evolve, and fast. Shortly after he bought the typewriter rental business, he dug through old customer records to find those listed as inactive, and began calling them to try and entice them back into the fold. One of the businesses that had often rented typewriters from the previous owner was a phone company called Bell Canada. After speaking with the office manager, a sweet woman who invited him to come visit even though, “when you come by all I’m going to do is show you why I don’t need your services anymore,” Young headed off to downtown Toronto to meet with her. As she walked him through the open-plan office building, he saw several hundred employees, who only four years previously had used rented typewriters, at work in their cubicles. They were all staring into computer screens. “We then, immediately of course, got into the computer equipment rental business,” Young says, laughing. He managed Hamilton Rentals from 1979 until he sold it in 1984. He then founded Vernon Computer Source, another equipment rental business, that same year. In 1992, Young was on cloud nine. He had just sold his second computer rental business to technology services company Greyvest Capital, Inc., mostly for shares in the company, and took a stable, comfortable job there. Then came NAFTA (the North American Free Trade Agreement), which eliminated tariffs between the United States, Mexico, and Canada. That led to financial troubles for Greyvest, and suddenly Young’s life ceased to be as stable as he’d expected. “In ’93, I found myself in Westport, CT, unemployed with a net worth of something less than it had been when I graduated college 15 years earlier, only now I had three children, a wife and a big mortgage.” Just as Young had made his next big step forward in his career, it had all come crashing down around him. But looking back on this time in his life, Young is grateful for this heartbreaking failure, because he links it directly to the birth of Red Hat, Inc. Trying on a New Hat Shortly before its demise, Greyvest sent Young to New York to pursue the Unix workstation (a special computer designed specifically for scientific or technical endeavors) market, asking him to get to know the users in the big financial services companies and engineering companies in and around the city. Greyvest was in pursuit of new rental and leasing customers, and this was precisely what Young did best. To accomplish this, he had been attending evening user group meetings and offering a helping hand. He had even started a modestly sized newsletter. But when the bankruptcy of Greyvest forced him to walk away from the computer rental business for good, his goals shifted. What if, he wondered, he could transform his newsletter into something more? As Young explains, the true value of an online newsletter doesn’t lie in the subscriptions. It’s all about the mailing list. Products of value to those particular customers can be marketed and sold using the list. And so, ACC Corp. was born, and through it, Young transformed his mailing list into a catalog filled with programs and software that catered to his audience: the ACC PC Unix and Linux Catalog. Linux and Unix were two similar but competing operating systems initially released in the early 1970s. The major difference? Linux was free and open sourced. Unix was not. Through the catalog, he had the greatest success in the sale of Linux-based products, so when he asked his customers to share what else he could add to his catalog, and they directed him to a tiny project filled with potential called Red Hat Linux, he was intrigued. Red Hat Linux promised to be a new and improved version of the Linux Young’s customers already knew and loved, so Young knew he needed to check it out. Young called the creator, Mark Ewing, who was working out of his spare bedroom and his own bank account, and asked him to send over 300 copies of Red Hat Linux for him to sell through the catalog. Silence. Young questioned Ewing’s hesitation to do business with him. Ewing explained that he had only planned to manufacture 300 copies of Red Hat Linux in total. Young meshed his big dreaming style with Ewing’s engineering prowess, and the two co-founded the version of Red Hat, Inc. that still thrives today. He had taken a circuitous route to the software industry, but he was grateful that he finally arrived when he did. “Whether it was Steve Jobs or Bill Gates, they’re both contemporaries of mine and it’s been fun sort of growing up in the industry watching those guys be successful,” he says. “I was late to the party of success, but I was pleased with Red Hat’s success.” Young served as the company’s CEO from its founding in 1993 until shortly after the company went public in 1999. “Once we became a public company, and we had 400 employees, I realized I’d never worked for a company of 400 employees, much less managed one,” he says. As he faced down the wild host of new rules, regulations, and responsibilities that came with being CEO of a public company, Young recognized that the best thing he could do to ensure the company’s success was to embrace his own weaknesses and step away. “One of the tricks to being successful is to be self-aware,” Young says. “None of us—no human being—is anywhere close to being perfect. In fact, I’d argue that most of us are barely adequate, even among the most successful of us. But if you know what you’re good at, and you know what you’re not good at, then you can build organizations that protect themselves from your failings.” Young also recognized an entrepreneurial wanderlust stirring in his heart. “I’m an early stage startup guy,” he says. “I really, really like the big idea, and I really like selling the big idea, but once I convince people that the big idea is worth pursuing, I lose interest in it and I’m looking for the next big idea.” He explains that this is an excellent quality when you’re just starting a business and hunting for your great, big idea, but that, once a company is off and running, it can become a serious problem. “Repetition and precision are things I do not do,” he says with a chuckle. “I never have done. This is why I was such a terrible student as a kid. My mind just doesn’t work that way. My mind works always on the next idea.” So, he decided to call Matthew Szulik, who would become the next leader of Red Hat, into his office for a chat. “Probably the biggest single contribution I made to Red Hat’s success was getting out of Matthew’s way and letting him turn our fledgling Red Hat business into the billion-dollar enterprise it is today.” Although the time had come to bid Red Hat farewell, Young is still incredibly proud of their ongoing success. “It was this wonderful adventure that worked out astoundingly well,” he says. “We weren’t sure if we could build a business there, but we knew if we could it was going to be a huge business, because open source—sharing your software, sharing binaries with your customers—was simply a better way of building software than the previous proprietary model that all the other software companies were pursuing at the time. “To have that vision come true has been a bit of an out of body experience, and it gives me great pleasure,” he says. And just like that, the co-founder of Red Hat was off on a journey to find his next big idea and turn it into a reality. Open Source Publishing Today, at just shy of 60 years old, Young owns the Canadian football team the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and serves as CEO of craft marketplace Needlepoint.com and chairman of drone company PrecisionHawk. But the endeavor he says he is currently most passionate about was one he founded in 2002—Lulu.com. Through this print-on-demand self-publishing and distribution platform, Young wanted to revolutionize the publishing industry. He wanted to serve authors who write on niche subjects and catered to niche audiences. In other words, the ones that would be turned away by the traditional publishing industry, no matter the value the book offered to the market it intended to serve. “We serve the interests of the author,” he explains. “The publishing industry is set up to serve the interest of the readers, and the author is just a cog in their machine.” Young has a special passion for creators would otherwise get chewed up by “the machine,” no matter their industry. This is partly why he recommends founders consider platforms like Shopify to sell their products rather than relying on the “FANGs” (Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google). “The consolidation we are seeing on the internet is making early internet pioneers nervous,” Young says, “because the whole point of the Internet was to bring more democracy—to put more control in the hands of the consumer, of the user of the internet—and we are seeing it move away from there.” When a business owner sets up an Amazon store or a Facebook page to sell from, those customers no longer belong to the business owner. They belong to Amazon or Facebook. “You want your customers to have loyalty,” he says. “The problem with setting up your shop on Amazon is Amazon is competing with you for the brand and the attention of the customers you’re sending to Amazon, and that’s not in your interest of building a strong brand for your product and your service.” Young explains that when an author sends their customers to Amazon to buy their book, Amazon immediately begins recommending other titles in that subject to the customer before they have even been able to purchase the title they originally intended to buy. “Amazon has just absconded with your customer,” he says. “Amazon is happy to have you as a merchant, because they want you to bring all your customers to Amazon so they can sell them other things. Shopify is the exact opposite of that.” Rather than sending new customers to Facebook.com/YourBusiness, he urges business owners to start sending customers to YourBusiness.com. He also encourages founders to “pay attention to the principles behind the internet, not just the buttons that Facebook and Google give you.” “The internet itself is this great, open vista, and if you build your market using the foundational elements of the internet, no one can ever take that away from you.” He’s hopeful that the rising generation of founders and business owners will be savvy enough to navigate these stormy seas. “As this next generation of entrepreneurs get going, they’re going to understand…you’ve got to be really careful about surrendering your customer to your supplier,” he says. “You want to find suppliers who are going to partner with you to build your business, not using you to build their business.” Whether in the computer rental space, the arena of open source coding or his current realm of self-publishing, Young has always lived by the principal of democratizing access to the tools that build success. Through collaboration and inviting more voices to the table, advancements come more swiftly, and this is a principal that even Young, a self-proclaimed “dumb kid” who started out selling typewriters, can embrace. Bob Young’s Tips on Cultivating Self-Awareness Bob Young says that he owes much of his success to self-awareness. By leaning into what he is good at and hiring others to cover areas where he struggles, this self-proclaimed typewriter salesman has found remarkable success. Young insists that even those who struggle with self-awareness can develop it, and these are three of his tips for harnessing that growth: 1. Put the Pride Aside “So many of us are prideful,” Young says. “We worry about being criticized.” But as founders, and as humans, there is always room for growth. Rejecting that evolution in favor of belief in our own mythology only prevents us from reaching our greatest potential. Young says that, in order to achieve any increased level of self-awareness, pride first has to be eliminated from the equation. 2. Listen to Critiques More Than Compliments Once pride is silenced, it’s time to let the criticisms reach our eyes and ears, even though it may sting a little. “We worry that people think we’ve made a mistake or that we’ve done something dumb,” Young says. “If you can flip that around and look at your mistakes as your biggest single learning opportunity that day or that week or that year, now when people criticize you, they’re more valuable to you than the people who compliment you.” Choosing to embrace our own failings today, no matter who brings them to our attention, is the only way to make sure those same failures don’t repeat tomorrow. 3. Be Honest With Yourself Young is comfortable with sharing the skills he lacks, especially in the area of customer support. He explains that, although he loves his customers, he cannot find the patience to help a new customer struggle through a problem he’s solved for 600 customers who came before. He says that it took many years, and many, many customers pointing out this flaw, for him to internalize the criticism, but once he did, and once he genuinely considered the critique, he recognized that he and his customers would be better served if left that work to someone else. He says his brain simply isn’t wired for customer service, so he relies on those around him who are. To maximize self-awareness, Young says we should accept what we are great at, grow where we are able, and rely on the talents of others to support us where we perpetually fall short. Key Takeaways How Bob got his start in entrepreneurship by selling typewriters How a visit to Bell Canada convinced Bob to make the transition from typewriter rentals to computer rentals How his net worth got wiped out and what he did next His transition from equipment leasing to software when he cofounded Red Hat Why he decided to step away and hire a CEO for Red Hat The project he cares most about now: print-on-demand self-publishing and distribution platform Lulu.com Why he’s paying a lot of attention to Shopify Why the next wave of entrepreneurs needs to be wary of relying on big tech companies How to cultivate more self-awareness as a founder His thoughts on Red Hat being acquired by IBM for $34 billion  

In this episode of the DELTA Podcast, I meet up with Diana Cooper, Senior Vice President of Policy & Strategy. We discuss the complexities of drone regulations and how you can do your part to promote new legislation. Also, hear him answer the question “Fact or fiction: DJI will lead the industry in the United States over the next five years?” Visit www.FLIR.com/delta for more tips, tricks, downloads, and conversations.

The world of pork and trade is changing like crazy with African Swine Fever. Mike sits down with Michael Chasen, the CEO of PrecisionHawk, for an interview sponsored by HTS Ag.

Kevin Lang of PrecisionHawk talks about the many applications for drones, Del Ratcliffe and Don Rea discuss some POS software issues, and 2019 Golf Business Conference emcee Kraig Kann lets you in on what to expect at the February event.

Minh Le, CEO at CityLink.AI, discusses integrating connected technology into communities. Daniel Wagner, CEO at Country Risk Solutions, talks about whether the benefits of artificial intelligence outweigh anxieties.Diana Cooper, Senior VP of Policy and Strategy at PrecisionHawk, explains how industries are being revolutionized by drones. Dr. Aleksandra Mojsilovic, Head of AI Foundations at IBM, discusses applying AI technology with human intelligence. And we Drive to the Close of the markets with Andrew Slimmon, Senior Portfolio Manager at Morgan Stanley Investment Management.  Hosts: Carol Massar and Jason Kelly. Producer: Paul Brennan 

Minh Le, CEO at CityLink.AI, discusses integrating connected technology into communities. Daniel Wagner, CEO at Country Risk Solutions, talks about whether the benefits of artificial intelligence outweigh anxieties.Diana Cooper, Senior VP of Policy and Strategy at PrecisionHawk, explains how industries are being revolutionized by drones. Dr. Aleksandra Mojsilovic, Head of AI Foundations at IBM, discusses applying AI technology with human intelligence. And we Drive to the Close of the markets with Andrew Slimmon, Senior Portfolio Manager at Morgan Stanley Investment Management.  Hosts: Carol Massar and Jason Kelly. Producer: Paul Brennan  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

Australian startup Emesant is using Hovermap technology to map underground environments. Also, drones and wildlife, another PrecisionHawk acquisition, the Chinese CH-7 UAV, remotely recharging drones, and the Robird drone for airport wildlife management.

Ryan O'Donnell - the Host of PeopleTalk - talks with Erin Miller at PrecisionHawk about Diversity & Inclusion in Tech on this episode of PeopleTalk. This episode is proudly sponsored by EmployUs. EmployUs is building a people success platform to help companies recruit and retain their employees. Find out more about EmployUs by visiting their website www.employus.com

What are the three trends that define the future the drone industry? For that question, we turn to Michael Chasen, technology entrepreneur and CEO of PrecisionHawk - the leading company in the commercial drone space. PrecisionHawk provides the hardware, software and services to companies that want to deploy drone technology to create actionable business intelligence.    Prior to PrecisionHawk, Michael co-founded Blackboard and led the company as CEO for 15 years and successfully sold it to Providence Equity Partners for $1.7 billion in 2011. He then started and was CEO of SocialRadar, a company focused on the mobile location services space which he sold to Verizon in 2016. Michael is also an investor and advisor to several start-up ventures and mature companies across the technology spectrum. In this edition of the Drone Radio Show, Michael talks about PrecisionHawk and its evolution to become a leader in the drone industry, recent company acquisitions and trends that he believes will be driving the drone industry in the coming years.  

Find out why Drones are changing the way companies do business in the future with our latest podcast with with Jared Brickman, Director of Marketing at PrecisionHawk. Jared shared his journey from starting his own company, to building a content marketing program for world's biggest retail dentistry brand, to leading the marketing efforts at PrecisionHawk. Learn more about Jared and PrecisionHawk: Jared Brickman - LinkedIn PrecisionHawk - Commercial Drone Solutions for Enterprise --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Michael Chasen just joined PrecisionHawk in January 2017 and he has already led the company through a series of strategic acquisitions, the most recent of which includes Hazon LLC and InspecTools Inc. Both companies have deep ties to the energy sector and the specialized expertise increasingly in demand from enterprise clients. Michael sees the acquisitions as only one step in a move to provide solutions custom tailored to the vertical markets.

Hi, I’m Marc Boucher and this is the SpaceQ podcast. This is a special podcast in that it is our 50th, and marks one year since I started the show. I want to thank our growing audience who have contributed to having our podcasts played 20,000 times so far. To keep this show going we need your continued support. For those who are not yet supporting us through our crowdfunding site on Patreon, I would ask that you consider supporting us now. The address is https://www.patreon.com/spaceq My guest this week is Philip Ferguson, Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, at the University of Manitoba, a position he started last fall. Phil was also was recently named as the NSERC / Magellan Aerospace Industrial Research Chair in Satellite Engineering at the university. As you’ll hear, Phil has had a pretty eventful career working in industry before settling in at the University of Manitoba last fall. He received his PhD in Aerospace Engineering at MIT and has worked on the International Space Station's Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator program, commonly referred to as Dextre, Canada’s first microsatellite MOST, NEOSSat, the RADARSAT Constellation Mission and drones. Along the way he’s worked at MDA, Dynacon, Microsat Systems Canada Inc., Magellan Aerospace and PrecisionHawk. In our conversation you’ll hear how Phil is helping in trying to make the University of Manitoba a Small Satellite Innovation Hub.

Funding for Aurora Flight Sciences and PrecisionHawk, drones for first responders, compliance with FCC communications rules, Chinese development of a heavy cargo drone, and a KFC drone promotion.

Thomas Haun is Executive Vice President of PrecisionHawk, a drone company in North Carolina with $29 million in total venture funding. Besides developing their own software, making a fixed-wing drone, and reselling DJI drones, PrecisionHawk works on beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) regulatory research with the FAA on the Pathfinder program. Additionally, the company develops LATAS, a technology for the future of airspace management. And to round it all out, PrecisionHawk even owns a satellite imagery company called TerraServer. Thomas and Ian discuss the dichotomy between commercial drones and regulations, the future of PrecisionHawk, and the fact that a drone can literally kill you—but also save your life.

The Naval Research Laboratory powers a drone with a new fuel cell design, an Amazon patent to identify threats to drones, PrecisionHawk reports on BVLOS technology needs, and the FAA drone registration system reaches its one-year anniversary. Members of the chemistry and tactical electronic warfare divisions from the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory with the Ion Tiger unmanned air vehicle. Photo courtesy U.S. Naval Research Laboratory. News NRL completes first flight of UAV with custom hydrogen fuel cell Scheme of a proton-conducting fuel cell, courtesy Wikipedia.   A team from the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) has developed and flown the Ion Tiger powered by a new hydrogen fuel cell developed at NRL. The program manager at the Office of Naval Research said, "NRL having the know how to build their own fuel cells in-house gives ONR and the U.S. Navy the understanding and tools needed for transitioning fuel cells to the fleet."   Amazon gets US patent for 'countermeasures' to protect drone delivery Amazon was awarded a technology patent for a system of "countermeasures of threats to an uncrewed autonomous vehicle."  The system is based on a mesh network and communication between multiple drones that detect possible signs of a compromise. Precisionhawk Research Outlines Operations Risk for Drones Flying Beyond Line of Sight Under the FAA Pathfinder Program, PrecisionHawk's Phase 2 research indicates technology assist is critical for beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations. PrecisionHawk found that human control is subject to variability and cannot be relied upon exclusively for safe BVLOS flight. Good situational awareness technology is also needed. Drone Registration Marks First Anniversary December 21, 2016, marked the one-year anniversary of the FAA web-based drone registration system. More than 600,000 owners have registered and the FAA calls the system “an unqualified success.” Also, “The rule and the registration system were primarily aimed at the thousands of drone hobbyists who had little or no experience with the U.S. aviation system. The agency saw registration as an excellent way to give them a sense of responsibility and accountability for their actions. The agency wanted them to feel they are part of the aviation community, to see themselves as pilots.” One-Year Anniversary of the FAA's Drone Registry http://youtu.be/gQyedp8vmk0 Videos of the Week Watch the 6 Most Innovative Drone Videos of 2016 Time selected six drone videos they considered to be those that most challenged our perspectives: The Nature Video Perfected The Destruction of Aleppo The Construction of Apple Campus 2 The Tight Squeeze Approach The Single Shot Approach The Top Down Approach Human Flying Drone This super heavy lift multirotor has enough power to lift a man. Filmed in Finland. Be sure to also watch the “behind the scenes” video. http://youtu.be/At3xcj-pTjg  

The FAA quickly grants some Part 107 exemptions, drought-stricken agriculture embraces UAS, the Facebook Aquila drone is meeting with some success, and a robot pilot offers to make existing aircraft unmanned.   Photokite Pro tethered flying camera system for professional use cases and live broadcasting News CNN Wins FAA Waiver To Fly Newsgathering Drones Over People CNN received a Part 107 waiver from the FAA to fly UAS in the U.S. over people. Previously, CNN had only flown only over unpopulated areas. The newsgathering duties are performed with a small Fotokite Pro tethered quadcopter. Earlier this month CNN announced its Aerial Imagery and Reporting (CNN AIR) unit with two full-time UAS operators. In a first, FAA allows PrecisionHawk to fly drones where pilots can't see them The Federal Aviation Administration has also given PrecisionHawk an exemption to fly in the U.S. beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS). The exemption came on August 29, when Part 107 became effective. PrecisionHawk Executive VP Thomas Haun said, “In agriculture, now that we have an exemption to fly beyond the visual line of sight, we can fly an entire farm, not just one field, efficiently.” The FAA issued 76 waivers on that day, most of them applying to night flying. Virginia Woman Blasts Drone 'to Smithereens' with Shotgun In June, Jennifer Youngman was at home cleaning her shotguns. Two men arrived nearby and began flying a drone in the area. Ms. Youngman happens to be a neighbor of actor/director Robert Duvall. When the drone ultimately flew over her property at a height of 25 or 30 feet, she discharged one of her newly cleaned shotguns, much to the distress of the drone. Mark Zuckerberg meets Pope Francis, gives him a drone On his tour of Italy following the recent earthquake which killed hundreds, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg met with Pope Francis. Zuckerberg presented the Pope with a model of the solar-powered Facebook Aquila drone designed to provide Internet access to regions without connectivity. Feds turn to space experts NASA for small-drone traffic plan Actually, NASA also has aeronautics experts, and those are the ones working on the UTM, the UAS Traffic Management project. NASA has two “A”s. In drought, drones help California farmers save every drop The severe California drought continues, with dire consequences for farmers growing food. One farmer with a 2,400-acre tomato crop estimates his drones that detect irrigation leaks could save enough water for over 550 families of four for a year. He also started using a thermal camera to show moisture variations in soil, and even established a drone management position at his company. AUVSI (Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International) says about 2,100 companies and individuals have FAA permission to fly drones for farming. Flight fantastic: Instead of rewiring planes to fly themselves, why not give them android pilots? Instead of designing new planes to be unmanned aircraft, Shim Hyunchul and his colleagues at KAIST (the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology) have a different idea: Put a robot in the pilot's seat. The PIBOT (short for pilot robot) is a humanoid robot with a head, torso, arms and legs. Cameras act as eyes while arms and legs operate the controls like a human pilot. Videos of the Week This is Why Drones and Balloons Don't Like to Play Together White helium balloons were released as part of a celebration, but the wind changed and carried the balloons into a DJI Phantom. The string from one balloon caught the propellor and down came the drone. Facebook Tests Internet-Beaming Plane Facebook just announced the first flight of its unmanned, high-altitude Aquila unmanned aircraft. First drone footage of Uluru released: Video The first drone to operate under permit inside Australia's Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park captured the spectacular 600 million-year-old monolith.  

Initiatives announced by the U.S. Government and private sector that advance the integration of Unmanned Aircraft Systems into the National Airspace System. Also, a 2.5 ounce ADS-B solution, drones that obstruct fighting wildfires, and drones that help fight wildfires. The pingBuddy WiFi ADS-B receiver White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) Workshop on Drones and the Future of Aviation White House Announces New UAS Commitments Made Across the Board At the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) Workshop on Drones and   the Future of Aviation, many steps were announced that advance the integration of UAS into the National Airspace System: The National Science Foundation will receive $35 million to research how UAS can be deployed for applications like infrastructure inspections, disaster response, agricultural, and studying severe storms The U.S. Department of the Interior will use UAS in search-and-rescue operations and to augment manned aircraft operations. UAS industry associations committed to implement educational programs that address privacy best practices. The FAA will charter an Unmanned Aircraft Safety Team (UAST) similar to the existing Commercial Aviation Safety Team. Government and industry stakeholders will “analyze safety data and develop non-regulatory interventions to mitigate potential causes of accidents involving unmanned aircraft.” See FAA Announces Drone Advisory Committee. By winter 2017, the FAA will propose rules for operating sUAS over people, and ask for public comment. NASA will conduct research on detect-and-avoid and command-and-control technologies that lead to standards. NASA and the FAA will launch a data exchange working group under the UAS Traffic Management (UTM) research team to develop common a data format for sharing information between UAS operators and UTM users. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will begin collecting gravity measurements with RPVs that improve surface elevation measurements over the United States. NOAA will also investigate how to add UAS observing capabilities to the NOAA fleet of ships. The Department of the Interior (DOI) will share near-real-time fire location information with the public by July 2017. By December 2017, the DOI will augment manned aircraft missions by developing payloads that can be flown by UAS. By October 2018, the DOI will develop and maintain a training program for the use of UAS in Search and Rescue (SAR). The U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General will publish new findings and analysis of public opinion on drone deliveries. In the private sector: Zipline International will demonstrate using UAVs to deliver medical supplies in hard-to-reach areas. Flirtey will focus on humanitarian applications for drone delivery technology. The Commercial Drone Alliance will lead an effort to educate the American public on the integration of UAS into the National Airspace System. Sinclair Broadcast Group, the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI), and the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA), will develop and broadcast drone safety public service announcements. Alphabet's Project Wing will conduct an operational research study of delivery drones at an FAA UAS Test Site. See Alphabet will begin testing its delivery drones inside the US at test centers. They will also “develop and deploy an open-interface, airspace management solution for safe low-altitude small UAS (sUAS) operations using existing low cost, scalable communication and information technologies.” The Drone Racing League (DRL) will release best practices for the drone racing industry, including event guidelines, organization, and safety measures PrecisionHawk is announcing its Phase I Pathfinder results demonstrating the safety of extended visual line of sight (EVLOS) operations f...

A manned aircraft manufacturer looks ahead to UAS, whale-watching drones, ADS-B for UAS, a report on U.S. drone retail sales, and the U.S. Commerce Department issues privacy guidelines. News Air Tractor® Makes Entry into the UAS Market - Acquires Yield Defender Air Tractor, Inc. produces a number of manned agricultural aircraft: 400, 500, 600 and 800-gallon capacity airplanes powered by Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6 turbine engines. But they've seen the future, and it's unmanned, so they've purchased Hangar 78 UAV and its Yield Defender unmanned aerial system. Air Tractor President Jim Hirsch says, “We have done our research, and it's clear that aggressively investing and further developing unmanned aerial systems into agriculture will enable Air Tractor to remain an industry leader and provide the latest technology to ag producers as UAS capabilities mature and are integrated into the industry.” Yield Defender UAS systems are engineered for the agriculture industry. Their UAS has Near Infrared (NIR) sensors, thermal imaging, and Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) technology. PWWA looks toward regulations of whale watching drones The Pacific Whale Watch Association wants to make sure whales remain wild. They recognize the research value of drones, but they don't know if hobby drones disturb whales. Additionally, they say current laws are vague or don't exist. For now, PWWA asks drone operators to follow the Whale Wise Guidelines: stay at least 200 yards outside the perimeter of a whale or pod, and more than 400 yards from the path of a traveling pod. Obstacles Appear to Extending GPS-Based ADS-B for UAV Operations Inside GNSS published a comprehensive article that looks at issues and possible solutions for using the automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) system on unmanned aircraft. The FAA has mandated installation of the ADS-B system in manned aircraft by 2020. Obstacles to using ADS-B on UAVs include: cost, weight, and large numbers of drone flights. Also, many areas in the U.S. do not have ADS-B coverage below 500 feet. Harris Corporation, the FAA's prime contractor for ADS-B, announced ADS-B Xtend, a dual-band receiver and relay system that can be installed in areas without close-to-the-ground ADS-B capabilities. It provides UAV operators with aircraft tracking data, maps, and weather information. Harris is partnering with PrecisionHawk to include information from the Low Altitude Tracking and Avoidance System or LATAS, which uses cellular networks. The Xtend ground receivers have a 150-mile range, and they can be attached to existing structures or even to mobile vehicles for roaming coverage. Drone dollar sales for the past 12 months were three times higher than sales from prior year Retail research firm The NPD Group released a report that says for the twelve months ending in April, drone sales have grown 224 percent year-over-year to nearly $200 million. Drones with 4K cameras accounted for more than one-third of dollar sales, and drones with built-in GPS accounted for 64 percent of revenue. Drones with an average price greater than $500 accounted for 56 percent of dollar sales and drones sold during the 2015 holiday season increased 445 percent from the prior year. Privacy fears: Panel has advice for drone operators The Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration has released the 8-page Voluntary Best Practices for UAS Privacy, Transparency, and Accountability. [PDF] The best practices are directed to both commercial and non-commercial drone users. The document describes voluntary best practices, many relating to the collection of “Covered Data,” or information collected by a UAS that identifies a particular person. Due to First Amendment issues, the guidelines do not apply to newsgathering and news reporting organizations. The appendix lists eight guidelines for “Neighborly Drone Use.” Video of the Week Drone Roof Inspection

The UAS Registration Task Force issues its report to the FAA, and industry responds. A free, worldwide UAS course for new users, and package delivery by drone down under. UAS Registration Task Force The Registration Task Force provided its sUAS registration recommendations [PDF] to the FAA. The FAA will now consider those recommendations, as well as the public comments received, and issue its requirements for registration. If all goes according to the plan, these will come from the FAA this month, in December. In its final report, the Task Force recommended: Registration for all drones between 250 grams (.55 pounds) and 55 pounds operated outdoors Registration by owner, not by drone. One registration number applies to all your drones. As an alternative, you can instead register by manufacturer serial number. Registration is required by time of flight, not at point of sale. Required information: name and street address. Optional information: email address, phone number. Registration number (or serial number) displayed on each drone. No fee, no citizenship requirement, minimum age 13. Registration should be web-based with the certificate mailed/emailed to registrant. AMA Reacts to DOT Task Force Recommendations on UAS Registration The “AMA agrees that registration of UAS makes sense at some level and for flyers operating outside the guidance of a community-based organization or flying for commercial purposes.” But the Academy of Model Aeronautics does not support registration for its membership flying non-commercially. The organization argues that members operate under a community-based organization: “Adding an additional requirement for AMA members to register at the federal level is contrary to the intent of the Special Rule for Model Aircraft in the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012. Public Law clearly states that the FAA is prohibited from promulgating any new rules for recreational users operating within the safety guidelines of a community-based organization. Congress by no means intended to grant a free pass for individuals who operate model aircraft. Instead, it clearly intended to leave risk mitigation and the development of appropriate safety guidelines for the operation of these devices by the members of the AMA to the nationwide community-based organization.” DJI Concludes Participation on FAA Drone-Registration Task Force “We share the concerns of many of the 4,700 people who filed comments that this process was initiated in response to sensational headlines rather than data-based risk assessments, and contradicts the provisions of several federal statutes. Nonetheless, we undertook in good faith the assignment, which was not to argue the law, but to use our expertise and knowledge as the world's largest drone manufacturer to recommend to the Administrator a national drone registration system intended to be minimally burdensome to consumers and professionals, and effective at the stated goals.” 5 Things to Know About Mandatory Drone Registration Lia Reich is Senior Director of Communications at PrecisionHawk, and PrecisionHawk was a member of the task force. In this piece, Lia provides some major points concerning the Task Force recommendations, but she also notes that she was on the “Women in Drones” panel at the Drone World Expo in San Jose. The panel discussed some of the ways that women can better influence outcomes in the commercial drone space. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University – Worldwide to Offer Free Online UAS Course for New Users Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University – Worldwide is offering “Unmanned Aerospace Systems (UAS) - Key Concepts for New Users.” The massive open online course (MOOC) runs from Jan. 11 to 24, 2016. Registration opens Dec. 8, 2015. The MOOC will consist of two 30 to 40-minute pre-recorded presentations, interactive discussion boards, and supporting links and videos. MOOC topics will include: UAS Basics

A company in North Carolina has designed an air traffic control system for unmanned aerial vehicles, and is partnering with the Federal Aviation Administration to roll out the program nationwide. PrecisonHawk's chairman of the Board is Red Hat Founder Bob Young. The company is one of only 3 in the country allowed to fly UAVs out of sight.

A company in North Carolina has designed an air traffic control system for unmanned aerial vehicles, and is partnering with the Federal Aviation Administration to roll out the program nationwide. PrecisonHawk's chairman of the Board is Red Hat Founder Bob Young. The company is one of only 3 in the country allowed to fly UAVs out of sight.

News from the 2015 AUVSI Conference, including the Pathfinder Program where the FAA partners with industry to develop commercial UAS technology. AUVSI Unmanned Systems 2015 Conference The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) held its Unmanned Systems 2015 Conference May 4-7 in Atlanta, Georgia. At the Conference, the FAA announced the “Pathfinder Program” which it called “a partnership with industry to explore the next steps in unmanned aircraft operations beyond the type of operations the agency proposed in the draft small unmanned aircraft systems rule it published in February.” Speech – "UAS Pathfinder Program Announcement Press Conference" Press Release – FAA-Industry Initiative Will Expand Small UAS Horizons In his speech, FAA Administrator Michael Huerta said, “We're partnering with three leading U.S. companies who have committed extensive resources to perform research that will help us determine if and how we can safely expand unmanned aircraft operations in the United States. These companies reached out to the FAA to work with us on exploring three key types of unmanned operations.” The industry partners and three focus areas are: Visual line-of-sight operations in urban areas. CNN will look at how UAS might be safely used for newsgathering in populated areas. Extended visual line-of-sight operations in rural areas. This concept involves UAS flights outside the pilot's direct vision. UAS manufacturer PrecisionHawk will explore how this might allow greater UAS use for crop monitoring in precision agriculture operations. Beyond visual line-of-sight in rural/isolated areas. BNSF Railway will explore command-and-control challenges of using UAS to inspect rail system infrastructure. Huerta said, “We anticipate receiving valuable data from each of these trials that could result in FAA-approved operations in the next few years. They will also give insight into how unmanned aircraft can be used to transform the way certain industries do business – whether that means making sure trains run on time, checking on the health of crops, or reporting on a natural disaster.” On the NPRM, Huerta commented on the number of public comments received, noting that it will take time to address them and finalize the rule. The Pathfinder Program is designed to expand expand the use of unmanned aircraft in the meantime. PrecisionHawk to work with FAA on UAV extended line-of-sight safety PrecisionHawk will formulate a framework for fixed wing and multirotor UAVs for missions in agriculture, forestry, and other rural industries. PrecisionHawk will also test its LATAS (Low Altitude Tracking & Avoidance System) traffic management system. AUVSI: New tethered UAV for CNN CNN announced that it will become the launch customer for the Drone Aviation Corp WATT UAV.  This tethered drone that can take power from the tether and simultaneously transmit data back to the ground. The electric quadrotor is activated with a mobile tablet and can hover at up to 300 feet for 8 hours. Tim Trott Interview with Jay Willmott At the AUVSI Conference, Tim Trott from Southern Helicam caught up with Jay Willmott, Founder and President of unmanned technology consultancy Nexutech. Vortex UAS A conversation with Vince Donahue, the Founder and President of Vortex UAS. Vortex provides tailored solutions for businesses utilizing UAS, including pilot training, consulting, and other services. This is a condensed version of the full interview originally published in Episode 347 of the Airplane Geeks podcast. Videos of the Week Surf the world's most extraordinary waves with drone videos Shot by photographer Eric Sterman with a GoPro on a Phantom 2 during two days at the “Jaws” surf break on the North shore of Maui. Good Morning, San Diego! The scenes in this video were captured around sunrise over a period of four months. Shot using a GoPro HERO3 Black Edition camera mounted on a DJI Phantom 2 Quadcopter with ...

DJI and 3D Robotics introduce new quadcopters, more FAA exemptions, EASA looking at RPAS regulations, and export control implications for drones. News The World's Largest Drone Company Unveils Newest Product DJI Phantom 3 DJI introduced the Phantom 3 in two models, the Professional at $1259 and the Advanced at $999. The Professional offers a 1080P 4K camera. Both come with the Lightbridge Technology offering real-time HD Video from up to a mile away. The DJI app now includes a flight simulator. 3D Robotics teases stylish drone with pro features   3D Robotics released a teaser video for a new quadcopter to be introduced April 13th. It looks like the styling team took a page from the DJI Phantom book. Engadget believes it will have first person view out of the box, a pre-programmable flying route, perhaps follow-me settings, and a new gimbal design.   3D Robotics Launches DroneKit, Its API For Building Drone Apps A few weeks ago, 3D Robotics launched “DroneKit,” an open-source API for writing drone apps. It works with any drone that uses its APM autopilot. With the API, developers can write web-based and mobile apps, as well as apps written in Python that run on the drone itself. FAA Grants 30 New Commercial UAS Exemptions The FAA approved 30 more commercial UAS exemptions, including exemptions for insurance companies USAA and AIG. In a press release (FAA Approves Drone Petition), USAA says, “The Federal Aviation Administration approved USAA's petition on April 2 to conduct research and development on its new unmanned aircraft system (UAS) program to better serve members, especially after catastrophes.” The FAA approved USAA's use of a PrecisionHawk drone for daytime, line-of-sight flights under 400 feet with a trained pilot. USAA will work with PrecisionHawk to develop best practices, safety and privacy protocols, and procedures for future operational use. In another press release (It's Wheels Up with ‘Transformative Technology') written before the petition was submitted, USAA provides some examples of the applications they have in mind: “We're constantly seeking ways to better serve our members, especially during catastrophes, when getting into neighborhoods immediately after can be dangerous to human life, and applying new technologies is one way we can do that,” says Alan Krapf, president, USAA property and casualty insurance group. USAA has teamed up with Texas A&M University to research and develop how to effectively put UAS to work for its members. This is being conducted with the University's Roboticists Without Borders and Center for Robot-Assisted Search and Rescue (CRASAR). Also granted exemptions were AeroVironment for agriculture, aerial survey, and patrol applications, and senseFly for precision agriculture. The total number of approved exemptions is now 99. The FAA has received 700 applications. EASA Presents its Vision for the Future of the Aviation Regulatory System EASA (the European Aviation Safety Agency) published an ‘EASA Opinion' with proposals for the future of the aviation regulatory system. They include proposals for Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPASs). As part of implementing a General Aviation Road Map, EASA proposes to amend existing regulations to introduce, “...the necessary flexibility for small, low-risk GA as well as for Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPASs) by introducing provisions which will allow possible deviations from existing requirements, where appropriate.” US policy on the export of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS): a detailed look and analysis The U.S. Department of State conducted a UAS policy review and has issued a new policy that governs the export and subsequent use of commercial and military unmanned systems. The new policy could allow export of weaponized UAS to U.S. allies, under certain circumstances and uses. The policy also could also allow export of more types of commercial UAS to other countries,

Guest Dr. Ernest Earon is President and Co-founder of PrecisionHawk. Their Lancaster Platform is designed around the goals of ease of use and autonomous collection of high resolution aerial data. Much of the focus is on agricultural applications, but their platform, and data collection and analysis methodology is applicable to a variety of industries. The NUAIR Alliance, one of the six FAA UAS Test Sites, has a COA for the PrecisionHawk and we talk with Dr. Earon about that program. Also, we discuss the UAV industry in general, operating in an environment of regulatory uncertainty, and prospects for the future. The PrecisionHawk UAV & Data Software video presents an overview of the PrecisionHawk company and the capabilities of the Lancaster Platform.   Dr. Earon earned his doctorate from the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies in 2004, and has over 10 years experience in the field of unmanned aerial vehicles and intelligent, autonomous vehicle control. He has led development teams for the Canadian Space Agency, Quanser, and Defense R&D Canada His work has had an emphasis on unique unmanned aircraft. Dr. Earon led the design, development and implementation of the sensor package and vehicle control for intelligent lunar robots. Other programs include the development of a novel aircraft design now a commercial product, and the development of coordinated heterogeneous teams of unmanned aircraft and ground vehicles, leading to an autonomous UAV flight mission demonstration for Defence R & D Canada.  

NUAIR becomes the fifth FAA UAS test site to receive a COA, DJI introduces a new model, regulations in the EU and Singapore, North Dakota and Yellowstone in the news, businesses embrace UAVs in Charlotte, and how long until we see deliveries by drone. News NUAIR Cleared to Begin First Flights of Unmanned Aircraft Systems The Northeast UAS Airspace Integration Research Alliance (NUAIR Alliance) and Griffiss International Airport announced the receipt of their first Certificate of Authorization (COA) by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). From the press release: “The approval of this application clears the way to begin testing of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) in New York under the FAA-designated Griffiss International Airport UAS Test Site… Before the first test flights can start, the NUAIR Alliance team will establish an independent safety review board to collect additional information and create a flight plan... Once that process is finished, the NUAIR Alliance-Griffiss team will coordinate a series of test flights on behalf of Cornell Cooperative Extension.” “The COA allows Cornell Cooperative Extension to fly a UAS manufactured by PrecisionHawk below 400 feet over a farm in western New York. Currently, PrecisionHawk works with clients on a global scale across a variety of industries including agriculture, insurance, oil and gas. For this operation, the Lancaster Hawkeye Mk III, a small fixed-wing aircraft, will carry visual, thermal, multi-spectral and video sensors. These sensors will evaluate field crops like corn, soybeans and wheat, collecting data on conditions like crop growth, insect activity, disease spread, soil conditions and more. This information is critical to advancing the precision agricultural industry which is why this sector is expected to be an early adopter of civil and commercial UAS in the United States and is estimated to comprise 80 percent of the civil and commercial UAS market.” DJI's Newest Pro-Level UAV Puts Its Phantom Lineup to Shame It gets all the press, but the Phantom isn't the only multicopter that DJI makes. The Spreading Wings S900 Hexacopter is referred to by DJI as an “aerial system for the professional creator.” House of Lords launches inquiry into civil use of drones Like elsewhere, civilian use of UAVs in the EU is growing. So the same questions come up: issues of safety, controls that ensure privacy, and economic benefits. The Lords' EU subcommittee on Internal Market, Infrastructure and Employment has called for submissions to get expert written and oral evidence on this topic. They'll be looking at standards for Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) across the EU. The deadline for submitting evidence is September 19, 2014. The final report in expected March 2015. How should UAVs be regulated? Experts weigh in The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) is also considering UAV regulations for hobbyists and for commercial operations. There are existing rules for UAVs under the Singapore Air Navigation Order: no operation within five kilometers of an aerodrome, and maximum flight altitude of about 61 meters. But the CAAS wants to determine if additional requirements are needed. Grand Forks AFB hosts first integrated UAV flight On August 1, two MQ-9 Predator Bs were operated in close proximity in unrestricted airspace. This took place at the Grand Forks Air Force Base in North Dakota, by the 319th Operations Support Squadron. They actually accomplished an additional milestone when a manned private aircraft asked to do a brief runway approach. Drone crashes into famed hot spring at Yellowstone National Park Visitors to U.S. National Parks continue to use UAVs to create videos at the Parks, despite the ban announced in June by the National Park Service. Several drone crashes have occurred at Yellowstone National Park, including one where a tourist crashed his camera-equipped multi-copter into the Grand Prismatic hot spring.