This Week in the Unmanned Systems and Robotics World

On Jan. 24, Purdue officials and leaders celebrated the launch of the new Center for Brain-inspired Computing Enabling Autonomous Intelligence (C-BRIC). According to C-BRIC director Kaushik Roy, researchers at the center will work to develop “autonomous intelligent systems capable of reasoning and decision-making to complete mission-critical tasks without human intervention.” (Purdue)

According to a new study from AAA, American drivers are warming up to the idea of self-driving vehicles, as the annual survey reveals that 63 percent of U.S. drivers report feeling afraid to ride in a fully self-driving vehicle, which is a sizable decrease from 78 percent in early 2017. The survey also found that millennial and male drivers are the most trusting of autonomous technologies, as only half reported that they would be afraid to ride in a self-driving car. (AAA)

Drone Delivery Canada (DDC) has announced that in Q1 of this year, it will start testing its Raven X1400 cargo delivery UAS. The Raven X1400 is engineered to provide pay load capacities of up to 25 pounds, and is designed to fly approximately 60 kilometers. (Drone Delivery Canada)

Pilots from the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) recently spent a week at the Vicksburg Municipal Airport in Vicksburg, Mississippi learning to fly the BirdsEyeView FireFLY6 Pro UAS. Capable of flying up to an hour, and at a top speed of about 40 miles per hour, the UAS will be used by ERDC’s Environmental Lab for different mapping projects. (The Vicksburg Post)

City officials in Bismarck, North Dakota are considering using a driverless bus as part of a pilot program testing the use of autonomous vehicle technology on the city streets. If approved, the bus would be rented from March through October 2019. (Bismarck Tribune)

CSIRO and Saildrone have announced a partnership to “radically improve measurement and monitoring in Australian waters and the Southern Ocean.” The research partnership over five years between Saildrone and CSIRO’s Oceans and Atmosphere group will see the deployment of USVs, Saildrones, for the first time in Australian waters. (CSIRO)

Iris Automation, which provides collision avoidance for commercial UAS, has announced an $8 million Series A financing round. Money from the round will be used to fund the development of “crucial unlocking technologies for the autonomous flying robotics industry.” (Iris Automation)

After being awarded a 2-year Framework Contract with SSE Plc, Martek Aviation will use UAS to inspect SSE Plc’s 683 wind turbines across 47 sites throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland. The Framework Contract, which starts in February, covers inspection of different wind turbines, each with 3 blades, from a variety of manufacturers. (sUAS News)

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Worldwide’s College of Aeronautics and the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) have announced a partnership to offer the fire service education, training and certification opportunities to help fire departments in successfully implementing UAS. Embry-Riddle will provide UAS-related education, training and certification activities such as, but not limited to, information sessions, online courses and workshops. (Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University)

Skyfire Consulting, which is a public safety-focused UAS company, has announced that the FAA has signed off on the Los Angeles Fire Department's in-house UAS program, which Skyfire helped with. Skyfire says that the LAFD puts its trust in Skyfire based on the company’s “proven track record of success with FAA filings in the public safety space.” (PR Newswire)