3D Robotics (3DR) has announced that its Site Scan software platform is integrating with DJI’s UAS. ​Through this partnership, Site Scan customers will now be able to use DJI's UAS for their jobs while maintaining the same workflow as before, as they continue to use 3DR’s mobile app, Site Scan Field, to collect data. DJI’s UAS will work seamlessly with Site Scan and all of its capabilities, including autonomous flight modes, multi-engine cloud processing, and its suite of tools designed for construction, which includes those used for performing topographic surveys, measuring stockpiles, and exporting native Autodesk file formats.

This Week in the Unmanned Systems and Robotics World Simlat, which is a provider of training and simulation systems for UAS, has announced that it will provide its existing and new customers with a high-fidelity maritime simulation, which includes an enhanced dynamic wave model that takes into account the sea state and the weather conditions, along with the characteristics of simulated vessels such as length, weight, drought and center of mass. Applications such as search and rescue operations, security and marine life exploration will benefit from the improved visuals.

Central New York-based Gryphon Sensors has developed a mobile Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM) system called Mobile Skylight. Among its many capabilities, the Mobile Skylight system, which is equipped with a variety of self-contained multispectral sensors, provides “accurate three dimensional detection of low-flying, small UAS at a distance of out to 10 kilometers.” Mobile Skylight is contained in a “sleek, rugged van,” and is described as a “complete mobile command center” that features 4x4 off-road capability, and can be transported anywhere without a commercial driver's license. The system is designed for quick deployment for a number of different tasks, including search and rescue operations, special event security, and utility inspection, to name a few.

Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in Australia will use UAS to find and protect koalas in South East Queensland. Through a two-year project, QUT will provide rapid estimates of koala abundance, using UAS and high resolution imagery. The project is being led by Dr. Grant Hamilton from QUT’s Science and Engineering Faculty, who says that the technology would “provide a robust survey method for detecting koalas and estimating their numbers.” “The primary emphasis of this project is on the ecology of koala conservation, and we are using drones and automated imaging technology as tools to assist,” Hamilton says through the school's website.