The latest news about Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS). What’s happening in the industry. What’s the latest technology. Who are the leaders.
Draganfly Innovations will be participating in the 2011 Annual Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police conference. This years event takes place in Windsor, Ontario and will feature speakers from police services across Canada. The conferences theme is “Strategic Partnerships for Effective Policing: Making the Right Connections for the Right Reasons”, and will focus on how Canadian police must be armed with the knowledge and training in order to maintain the level of professionalism demanded by the Canadian public.
We will have booth #600 set up for the duration of the event and will have Draganflyer X6 and X8 UAV helicopters on display. We will not be able to fly the helicopters at the event due to space limitations; however both helicopters there will be fully functional and we invite you to ask the Draganfly Innovations representative that will be present any questions.
For more information about the CACP 2011 conference you can visit their website. More information about the Draganflyer X6 and Draganflyer X8 UAV helicopters is available on our website.
This article is copyright protected. Written permission by Draganfly Innovation Inc. must be granted to use anything from Draganfly.com
At the scene of an early May homicide in Regina, Saskatchewan, police used the Draganflyer X6 UAV helicopter to obtain aerial pictures and video of the crime scene. As onlookers watched the Draganflyer X6 fly, Regina police department officers were using it to preserve the crime scene in digital form, ensuring that important details were kept as evidence for use in their investigation.
This is exactly the kind of work that the Draganflyer UAV RC helicopters were designed to do. Using multiple rotors and an advanced flight computer, Draganflyer helicopters automate most of the tasks that pilots would usually have to perform. This frees users to focus on getting the aerial pictures and video that they need for their application and also greatly reduces the amount of training required to use the helicopter.
Draganflyer UAV helicopters use brushless electric motors to lift camera payloads weighing up to one kilogram. Custom designed lithium polymer batteries allow for flight times of up to 20 minutes which permits police, government and private industries to get outstanding aerial pictures with a minimum amount of downtime.
You can read the original leaderpost.com article and learn more about our UAV RC helicopters on our website.
This article is copyright protected. Written permission by Draganfly Innovation Inc. must be granted to use anything from Draganfly.com
ARAS 360 is a software platform for 3D accident reconstruction. At a June 20th police training class in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, participants combined the ARAS 360 system with aerial images supplied by a Draganflyer X6 UAV helicopter to produce a full color, photo realistic reconstruction of a test area. Sgt. Dave Domoney and his team flew the Draganflyer X6 helicopter over the area while other members of the Saskatoon Police Services were using a Sokkia Total Station (part of the ARAS 360 package) to obtain terrain data points.
Twenty minutes later, the data was ready to be integrated using the ARAS 360 software. The high resolution aerial images obtained using the Draganflyer X6 UAV and its onboard 10 mega pixel camera were aligned with the terrain points obtained with the Sokkia Total Station and then processed, producing a 3D terrain model.
After being processed, the terrain model can be used by police to reconstruct traffic accidents in full 3D with photo realistic texturing. This technology is useful for law enforcement officers because it allows viewers to see a reconstruction of a traffic accident or other incident from any angle or position as if they were there at the time . The physics engine that the ARAS 360 package uses is capable of producing an accurate reconstruction of an accident and coupled with the aerial photos Draganflyer UAV helicopters provide, makes a powerful system for use by law enforcement officials.
More information about the Draganflyer UAV helicopters and applications to law enforcement is available on our website. Information about the ARAS 360 system is also available.
This article is copyright protected. Written permission by Draganfly Innovation Inc. must be granted to use anything from Draganfly.com
On Tuesday August 24 2010 Draganfly Innovations unveiled the all new Draganflyer X8 at the annual AUVSI conference in Denver Colorado. Draganfly Innovations is demonstrating the Draganflyer X8 at their booth inside a 10×10 foot octagonal cage and also in the aviation demonstration area at the AUVSI trade show.
You can find Draganfly Innovations at booth number 2025 and flying in the aviation demonstration area each demonstration day from 11:00 to 12:00 am.
Along with the Draganflyer X8, Draganfly Innovations also unveiled the new hand held ground control station (GCS). The optional hand held GCS combines all the features of the Draganflyer controller and the Video base station into one ergonomically designed package.
The innovative hand held GCS is capable of displaying real time video from the helicopter on its 6.3 inch daylight viewable bright LCD screen. The displayed video can also be recorded with the use of the hand held GCS built in digital video recorder. Running a linux operating system on an Intel Atom Z530 CPU makes this new hand held GCS capable of running Draganview software right on the controller. All the features of the video base station and the controller right in the palm of your hands.
This article is copyright protected. Written permission by Draganfly Innovation Inc. must be granted to use anything from Draganfly.com
The Draganflyer X8 UAV helicopter will be featured at the 2010 AUVSI (Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International) conference. We will be flying the Draganflyer X8 UAV inside a 10×10 foot octagonal cage, inside the conference hall. You can see the Draganflyer X8 UAV in action at our booth (# 2025) from August 24 to 27 2010. We will also be flying the Draganflyer X8 UAV in the aviation demonstration area from 11:00 to 12:00 AM on each demonstration day.
The Draganflyer X8 UAV is larger than our other UAV models, using 8 independently driven rotor blades for thrust and control. Besides giving the Draganflyer X8 more stability in windy conditions and better visibility, the increased size allows for a payload capacity of 1 kilogram (2.2 lbs). This increased payload capacity will allow the Draganfly X8 UAV to carry a selection of high resolution DSLR still cameras for professional photography applications. The Draganflyer X8 UAV will also support low light, FLIR infrared and other specialized cameras for police, government and military applications. The following video shows a computer rendering of the Draganflyer X8 UAV helicopter.
The Draganflyer X8 will be our first UAV to offer true digital video transmission using an IP camera system. The soon to be released IP camera systems transmit video over a wireless 802.11n wifi connection, forming a small local network between the transmitter and receiving station. Digital video and IP cameras support the following features:
- Simultaneous pictures and video – Each IP camera has an internal memory
buffer that stores video before it is transmitted. This means that you can take high resolution digital still photos with the IP camera while it is still recording video, allowing you to get exactly the pictures that you need.
- Security and encryption – The IP cameras operate over their own wireless network, which can be encrypted to prevent unauthorized access to the video stream.
- Reduced interference – Digital video is much less susceptible to interference than analog video. Reduced signal strength usually results in a lower frame rate, but not decreased image quality.
IP video cameras will be offered with the Draganflyer X8 and Draganflyer X6 in the near future. We will also have a video conversion kit available, that converts signals from our analog camera selection to digital video and broadcasts it over the 802.11n protocol.
Draganfly Innovations. Inc staff will be present during the entire event, and we will be flying the Draganflyer X8 UAV in the conference hall. Features such as the video base station, wireless telemetry, handheld controller and HUD features will be demonstrated. However, as we will be flying indoors the Draganflyer X8 UAV will not have a GPS signal to use for the GPS hold function.
You can learn more about the Draganflyer X8 UAV helicopter on our website. You can also visit the AUVSI website for scheduling, hotel, transport, and entrance fee information.
This article is copyright protected. Written permission by Draganfly Innovation Inc. must be granted to use anything from Draganfly.com
The Draganflyer X6 UAV Helicopter was recently featured on defensetech.org, a website that writes about current military technologies and applications. One of the defensetech.org reporters was in Farnborough England and found our reseller, Air2Air Ltd. was demonstrating the Draganflyer X6. The following video was taken on the site of the demonstration:
The defensetech.org news article notes that the Draganflyer X6 can by flown by practically anyone with only a few hours of flight training. Although the Draganflyer UAV helicopters are highly maneuverable, they have a sophisticated flight computer and 11 onboard sensors that allow pilots to focus on getting outstanding aerial pictures and video.
You can learn more about the Draganflyer UAV helicopters on our website. You can also read the defensetech.org news article.
This article is copyright protected. Written permission by Draganfly Innovation Inc. must be granted to use anything from Draganfly.com
The Draganflyer X4, Draganflyer X6 and Draganflyer X8 UAV RC helicopters will be featured at the 2010 AUVSI (Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International) conference. We will be demonstrating all of our UAV RC helicopters live in the conference hall and will also have an information booth with staff available to answer questions. A prototype for the upcoming Draganflyer X8 UAV helicopter will be flown as well. We will be located in booth #2025 and will be demonstrating for the duration of the conference which runs from August 24 to 27 2010.
The AUVSI (Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International) was formed in 1972 when the use of unmanned target drones in the Vietnam War prompted the creation of the National Association of Remotely Piloted Vehicles (NARPV). NARPV eventually grew as the industry expanded, leading to the creation of the modern AUVSI organization. The AUVSI is dedicated to promoting the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) through education, communication, and leadership. This year’s AUVSI conference is expecting record attendance in excess of 5000 visitors from over 30 different countries. There will also be more than 100 international speakers giving presentations on the UAV industry and latest developments. This years tradeshow will feature live demonstrations from a wide variety of exhibits. Draganfly Innovations Inc. was the first company to demonstrate live at the AUVSI at the 2009 conference, blazing the trail for other live demonstrations in the following years.
Draganfly Innovations Inc. staff will be flying all of our UAV helicopters indoors, and we will demonstrate our UAV helicopters features including aerial photography, aerial videography, and the computer controlled base station with wireless telemetry and an HUD display. Because we will be flying indoors we will not be able to demonstrate the GPS hold feature. The following AUVSI promotional video shows some of the technology that will be present at this years conference.
You can learn more about the Draganflyer UAV helicopters on our website. You can also visit the AUVSI website for scheduling, hotel, transport, and entrance fee information.
This article is copyright protected. Written permission by Draganfly Innovation Inc. must be granted to use anything from Draganfly.com
