Two small drones approved by FAA for civilian use in the US
by
Frank Tobe
Insitu’s Scan Eagle x200.
Two small drones, Insitu‘s Scan Eagle X200 and AeroVironment‘s PUMA, have become the first federally certified unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) for civilian use in the US. One will operate off the Alaska coast to survey ice floats and wildlife; the other will conduct commercial environmental monitoring in the Arctic Circle, assist emergency response teams in oil spill monitoring and conduct wildlife observations.
Both drones have fixed wings, weigh less than 55 pounds each, and have wingspans of less than 10 feet.
Puma AE. Photo courtesy of AeroVironment, Inc.
Puma AE. Photo courtesy of AeroVironment, Inc.
Frank Tobe
guest author
Frank Tobe is the owner and publisher of The Robot Report, and is also a panel member for Robohub's Robotics by Invitation series.
Multi-Robot Learning
March 29, 2021
March 29, 2021
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