Drone News: Pix4Dinspect, first BVLOS in Canada, Pandemic Drone, NOAA UAS Program

Join Greg this week as he discusses the new Pix4D software suite called Pix4Dinspect and Pix4Dscan, the first beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) flight in Canada, a drone that can measure body temperature and heart rate to detect sick people, and finally the new NOAA UAS Program.

Link/Script
Pix4D releases new inspection software.
New software designed to help with tower inspections.
Provides the ability to preprogram flights, create a 3D model of the asset, and allow to select a specific section to load up the pictures.
Automated reporting capabilities.

First BVLOS Flights in Canada
Transport Canada granted Iris Automation and MVT Geo solutions the first BVLOS flight certificate.
Equipped with Onboard Detect-and-Avoid (DAA).
Does not require ground-based observers.
The approval is for flight in the test range in Alma, Quebec.

Pandemic Drone
The University of South Australia is working on a drone capable of detecting temperature, heart, and respiratory rates.
Working with Dragonfly Inc, an enterprise drone company (Quantix mapper).
Uses specialized sensors and a computer vision systems to detect vital signs.
Can detect heart rate of people from 30 to 150 feet away.
Originally designed for war zones and natural disasters.

NOAA establishes UAS Program
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is established a UAS program to collect environmental data for its science, products and services.
This includes seafloor and habitat mapping, ocean exploration, and emergency response.
The program will be housed in Lakeland, FL and with the University of Southern Mississippi in Gulfport, MS.

[gadget_Bob]

Interesting that you mention Pix4D. I've just started playing with 3D modeling. It's pretty cool, even if you just want to do it for fun. The processing costs can get expensive if you're doing large areas but there are ways to do small areas for free. Thanks for covering all areas of UAS life, Greg!

[MikeKinney]

Allways like watching your videos, they are informative and interesting.
Take care.

[jamescaron]

Thanks for the report, Professor. I live 1/2 hour from Gulfport, I wonder if NOAA is hiring.