Applied Newsroom
The newsroom features the latest news about Applied Aeronautics, including product launches, company news and events.
To contact our media department please email: info@appliedaeronautics.com
Boeing continues drone swarm flight trials in the UK
As part of these latest trials, four fixed-wing Albatross Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) were teamed to carry out a mission to detect and jam a radio frequency emitting from an enemy target.
Cross-industry partnership advances UAS right-of-way testing, research
The University of North Dakota’s John D. Odergard School of Aerospace Sciences (UND) has received additional funding from ASSURE for continued research into Right of Way rules using technologies associated with autonomous flight.
To support this effort, UND is working collectively with the University of Kansas and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University using Iris Automation and Sagetech Avionics’ Detect and Avoid solutions for cooperative and noncooperative traffic within the Applied Aeronautics Albatross UAV platform.
Cambium and Applied Aeronautics Partner to Produce Low-Cost, High-Survivability Military & Commercial Drones
New drones will feature a wide range of customizable benefits, including protection against laser attack, sustained heat and fire, as well as flexible launch and recovery systems and rapid in-field deployment.
Applied Aeronautics Joins Women and Drones to Elevate Female Voices in the Industry
Women and Drones, the premier global platform for women in the UAS (drone) and AAM (Advanced Air Mobility) industries, is proud to announce their partnership with Applied Aeronautics, a U.S.-based UAS (uncrewed aerial systems) manufacturer specializing in the design and manufacturing of affordable, long-range composite drones.
The Alfatross and Alf Force One: Inside the U of M's $2.7M drone research project
Eddie Jacobs is leading the $2.7M project, which is sponsored by the U.S. Army.
Photo Credit: Memphis Business Journal
Applied Aeronautics Announces new Albatross BVLOS aircraft integrated with Iris Automation’s Casia DAA Solution
Introduces new levels of airspace safety and remote pilot situational awareness, manufactured in new facility in Austin, Texas
Our Story: The Abridged Version
Everyone has their version of the “I started in a garage” story. Tales of the early days start up strife - equal parts terror and triumph. At Applied, we have several. Back in 2014, the industry looked a whole lot different.
Photo Credit: Embry Riddle Aeronautical University
UAS Students Gain Hands-on Experience Working on Sea Turtle Conservation Project
An Embry-Riddle student flight tests one of the unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) being used for the Turtle Tech project, a drone-based surveillance effort studying the behavior of local sea turtles. Project partners include Northrop Grumman and the Brevard Zoo.
Photo credit: Northrop Grumman
Turtle Power: Unmanned Aircraft Systems Supply No-Touch Tracking Solution
From May to October, Florida's Space Coast becomes a sea turtle hatching haven: More than 30,000 green, loggerhead and leatherback sea turtles arrive to lay their eggs. The challenge? Ensuring enough of these eggs survive to sustain the species at scale: Just one out of every 1,000-10,000 turtles survive to adulthood. Northrop Grumman and the Brevard Zoo have teamed up with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University to develop the “Turtle Tech” program — a technology for conservation effort that leverages unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) to discover where these sea turtles come from, where they're feeding and where they ultimately go.
Boeing Australia progresses with AI-enabled UAVs
Boeing Australia has conducted successful experiments in which unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) have been able to detect and act upon simulated targets.The Albatross UAV Airframe was used for this project.
Using machine learning techniques, Boeing Australia says it has been able to teach a UAV how to detect a target, make a decision, and take action. Read more
Transport Canada Approves BVLOS Commercial Drone Operations Utilizing Albatross UAV
Building an airship in Wewahitchka
Work continues on the tethered airship, or “mothership,” being created by Skyborne Technology, an UAV Corp. company. The airship will be a centerpiece of the disaster response and recovery technical center to be created at the Gulf/Franklin campus of Gulf Coast State College. Albatross UAV is being used as part of this effort. Read more
Photo Credit: Avans Hogeschool
Avans students test self-developed drones in South Africa: 'It was an unforgettable journey'
The project arose from a request from a company in South Africa, Safari Live from WildEarth. They provide live streams of safaris in a wildlife park, and were looking for a way to work more efficiently by spotting animals earlier. Read More
Sea Turtle Conservation Flies Forward Thanks to New Drone Project
To better understand the behavior of multiple sea turtle species along Florida’s Space Coast, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University has teamed up with aviation leader Northrop Grumman and the Brevard Zoo to launch a drone-based surveillance effort.
The Turtle Tech project, leveraging two different unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), will provide crucial conservation insights as well as paying jobs for students, said John M. Robbins, associate professor of Aeronautical Science at Embry-Riddle.
Photo Credit: Avans Hogeschool
Spotting Bambi, Simba and Dumbo super fast thanks to drones and an app from Breda students
Photo Credit: Iris Automation
Albatross UAV Flies Historic FAA Approved BVLOS Flight
The Kansas Department of Transportation's (KDOT) Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Integration Pilot Program (IPP) has successfully completed the first beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) drone operation using only onboard detect-and-avoid systems. The platform utilized for these operations was the Applied Aeronautics, Albatross UAV.
Albatross Flies BVLOS with Kansas DOT & Iris Automation
The Kansas Department of Transportation recently received permission to conduct the first ever Beyond VIsual Line of Sight (BVLOS) drone operation in the USA leveraging only onboard detect and avoid systems.
This is the first-ever FAA authorized operation to fly without a requirement for visual observers or ground-based radar and is the result of the 31-member Kansas Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Integration Pilot Program (IPP) team efforts to advance drone technologies.The Kansas flight tests will use the 22-lb. (10 kg) maximum takeoff weight Albatross fixed-wing drone supplied by Applied Aeronautics of Austin, Texas.
Photo credit: The Star
Perfecting the Lower Altitudes
The testing at Costin involved a single-wing drone, made of carbon fiber, about nine-feet wingtip-to-wingtip, weighing maybe 10 pounds and capable of flying 60-100 mph.
The testing involved programming the drone to adhere to flight plans and instructions to essentially map the airport property, instructions coming from a computer that could, in theory, have been located anywhere in the world, Lawson said.
Applied Aeronautics Named Leading UAV Manufacturerer Alongside Lockheed Martin, Textron and DJI
The Global Small UAV Market Growth 2019-2024 study - released this week - includes Applied Aeronautics among the list of leading UAV manufacturers
Credit: TMT
Halting Illegal Fishing in the Seychelles
Expectations are rising as the FishGuard Initiative is launching its pilot project in the Seychelles. The launch involves testing out a new approach to reduce illegal fishing in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the Seychelles. Many coastal and Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are experiencing an increasing level of illegal fishing, a problem currently having an impact on the fisheries resources and economy of the local communities on the Seychelles.
Photo Credit: Iris Automation (featuring Albatross UAV)
A computer-vision collision avoidance solution developed for drones may one day make every aircraft a little safer.
It took months of testing before the crew at Iris Automation realized what the system they created is really capable of. Now, with about 7,000 real-world close encounters purposely flown, along with more than 40,000 encounters simulated by an increasingly sophisticated computer model, “we’re pretty sure at this point we’re better than human vision,” said Iris Automation CEO Alexander Harmsen.
Photo Credit: SkyQraft
SkyQraft Sweden to Fly BVLOS with Albatross
We're thrilled to report that SkyQraft received the first license for BVLOS operations in Sweden today (May 22, 2019), utilizing the Albatross UAV platform. This is a testament to the teams hard work and dedication to safe, reliable and affordable commercial operations.
Applied Aeronautics Drone Complies with New Transport Canada Requirements For Advanced Operations
Applied Aeronautics, the affordable commercial drone manufacturer, today announced their Albatross UAV complies with the latest Transport Canada regulations for advanced drone operations in controlled airspace, as well as operations near people and operations over people.
ATESS Leading The Way For Unmanned Aerial Systems
A squadron not normally known for flighthas taken liftoff. Members of 8 Wing Tren- ton’s Aerospace and Telecommunications Engineering Support Squadron (ATESS) recently celebrated the success of their unmanned aerial system (UAS). While on the outside it looks like a commercial drone, it’s much more sophisticated than that explains UAS team member Mas- ter Corporal (MCpl.)
Progress of Unmanned Aerial Systems Program at UTEP is Soaring
Test Site Bravo in Tornillo, Texas, on the eastern fringe of El Paso County, will serve as the flight test range for cSETR’s burgeoning UAS program. The new test site will see a runway and completion of other test and evaluation infrastructure development within the next two years. The center already has grown its UAS fleet to 11 state-of-the-art aircraft and expanded laboratory facilities to support UAS research and development. UTEP’s growth in east El Paso County represents the realization of efforts to turn the region into a vital component to meet the workforce needs of a rapidly-growing segment of the aerospace industry.
Cooperative Drone Project Sends Meteorology Researchers Sky High
Oklahoma State University researcher Dr. Jamey Jacob has dreamed for over 30 years of marrying technology to meteorology for more accurate weather forecasts.
“I can remember as an undergrad at Oklahoma that we were always looking for ways to get sensors into weather systems to more accurately get the data to forecast,” Jacob said. “My dream is that in two years we can hand over a drone to a meteorologist and they can operate it and get the data they need to be even more accurate.”
LETU engineering students building, testing advanced drone
“We’re just trying to get the autopilots in there. We just want them to fly automatically. And they will take pictures and we have a program that will stitch all the pictures together and they’ll be GPS tagged,” Wooten said.
After students make their mistakes which could lead to a crash, they graduate to the Albatross, the same drone used by:
“Fifty-five countries around the world, and government agencies far and wide,” Schubarth stated.
The Applied Aeronautics Albatross Showcased at Boeing and Queensland Government Summit
The Applied Aeronautics Albatross, equipped with technology from leading Queensland firms, was on display last week at the signing of a partnership between The Boeing Company and the Government of Queensland.
New Capabilities unveiled at Futurescape 2018
FutureScape 2018 lived up to its title as Survey Drone unveiled the latest aircraft in their fleet of unmanned aerial vehicles.
The Applied Aeronautics Albatross, imported from Texas USA, is one of the largest fixed wing survey platforms in the UK and will enable the company to undertake ever larger surveys on sites in the UK and overseas. With a wingspan of 3m, the Albatross certainly made an impression at Futurescape, hovering above our Quest UAV Datahawk and DJI multi-rotor aircraft.
Applied Aeronautics Announces Continued Momentum Led by Rapid Top-Line Growth
Applied Aeronautics, the affordable commercial drone provider, today announced tremendous company growth led by booming year-over-year top-line performance. Further, in 2018, Applied Aeronautics doubled its customer based, expanded its suite of proprietary technology, increased its employee count, and grew its facilities in Austin, Texas.
ATLAN Space uses Artificial Intelligence to Fight Illegal Fisheries with the Help of Albatross UAV
Badr Idriss of ATLAN Space is one of three winners of the National Geographic Marine Protection Prize winners. Badr’s project, the FishGuard pilot, aims to identify and reduce illegal fisheries in the Republic of Seychelles through drone technology and expert analysis. Photo credit: Sebastian Voortman-CC0-license | The Drone is Albatross manufactured by Applied Aeronautics
Applied Aeronautics Doubles Production Capacity
Applied Aeronautics today announced that it has successfully doubled its production capacity in less than two years. The California based company designs and manufactures affordable, long range UAVs for the professional market.
Aloft with Applied Aeronautics' Albatross Drone, Interview with Ryan Johnston, Founder
The advantages of fixed-wing drones over quadcopters are many and varied. For starters, fixed-wing platforms are more operationally efficient than quadcopters. This translates into longer flight times, extended range and consequently more ground covered per mission.
PX4 Albatross UAV Auto Takeoff and Lidar Supported Landing
This is the result of several weeks development and testing by the core PX4 dev team. After numerous tests with the Bormatec Maja we switched to our target aircraft, the 3 meter wing span Albatross UAV from Applied Aeronautics.
Swiss Fang UAV Search And Rescue
We are just settling down after an intense week of building and testing. 10 days ago we received our airframe of choice for the competition: the Applied Aeronautics Albatross. The intermediate goal was to bring PX4 fixed-wing support one step further by improving support for completely automatic missions from takeoff...
Moses Enters Fight Against Zika Virus
In his work with the United Nations, Nathan Moses, M3 Consulting Group, presented his drone related research Monday to an international group focused on developing management and potential eradication programs to combat the recent outbreak of Zika Virus and other mosquito-borne diseases in Latin America and across the world.
Crowdfunded Albatross Could Bring Quality Drones To The Masses
Applied Aeronautics sees its new Albatross drone as one perched between two extremes in unmanned aircraft: the low cost and high breakability of traditional hobbyist drones on one end, and the high cost of durable, professional drones on the other. With a crowdfunding project well under way, Applied Aeronautics hopes that its drone can swoop into the sweet spot in the middle, creating a useful tool that people can actually buy and use.