All posts by Jeff Salmon
UAS Crystal Ball 2017
Four things to watch for in the UAS space next year. Regulation: I just made up an acronym—“GBVLOS”—Getting beyond visual line of sight. With the rollout of the FAA’s Rule 107 allowing sUAS into the NAS for commercial work, the profession breathed a sigh of relief. Issues still remain, though: namely exemptions for BVLOS. So...
UAS Surveying without GCPs
The subject of applying direct georeferencing to UAS platforms was a recurrent theme at the 2016 Commercial UAV Expo last week. Direct georeferencing offers the possibility of mapping without the use of ground control points, providing UAS operators a significant advantage in terms of speed. As an example of this technology, we reached out to...
Mars Colonization: Mars Need Surveyors, Part Two
This is Part 2 of our Mars Needs Surveyors series from the Pangaea newsletter. Part 1 is here. As the dream of Mars colonization comes to fruition, what would surveyors be tasked with? Habitat construction SpaceX’s Elon Musk’s vision is to build a city on Mars (appropriately named SpaceX City) that would eventually be inhabited...
Mars Colonization: Mars Needs Surveyors!
Elon Musk’s plan to make us a space-faring and multi-planetary species will provide another planet to survey. Late last month, SpaceX’s founder Elon Musk unveiled his plan to start Mars colonization by 2025. Musk believes passionately that for humankind to survive in the long run, we must become a space-faring and multi-planetary species. Sooner or later,...
UAS at The Intersection of Preparation and Opportunity
“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity” —this advice is attributed to Roman philosopher Seneca. His counsel is particularly relevant to the current stage of UAS here in the U.S. Unmanned technologies have created big opportunities, and the FAA’s Rule 107 has unleashed them (to a high degree, arguably). Investors are paying attention. Just...
The UAS Platform, and How to Pick One
Secrets to Successful Selection Think UAS platform selection is cut and dried? Well, did you know that fixed-wing UAS, not multirotor, are the best fit for a specific (and growing) inspections market? Or that by choosing an amped-up multirotor UAS, your fee schedule could also get amped-up? Now that FAA Rule 107 is the law...
