Category Archives: General

By Josh Solomon

WASHINGTON – Thousands of unmanned aircraft systems—commonly known as drones—could be buzzing around in U.S. airspace by 2015 because of a law passed last year, raising both safety and privacy concerns among some lawmakers and advocacy groups.

Already, drones are in use counting sea lions in Alaska, monitoring drug trafficking across our borders and conducting weather and environmental research. In fact, 327 drones to date are licensed by the Federal Aviation Administration to fly over U.S. soil.

But the FAA expects that number to increase to 30,000 by 2020, fueling what could become a $90 billion industry.   Continue reading →

By Catherine Reid and Summer Delaney

Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Institute is a pioneer in unmanned aerial aircraft research. This particular experiment, led by student Jonathan Butzke and Professor Maxim Likhachev, examines robotic decision making. The drone flown in the experiment can sense obstacles in its path and move to avoid them.

By Stephanie Yang

Drones have become increasingly common at U.S. universities for research and career preparation. According to the FAA, 95 schools are certified to fly drones now compared with 23 in an FAA list released in April 2012.

WASHINGTON— Three dozen universities now have government approval to use unmanned aerial vehicles — or drones — for everything from bachelor’s degree programs to environmental surveillance, while others are flying drones closer to the ground without any certification. And the presence of drones on college campuses is expected to increase exponentially as the Federal Aviation Administration works to loosen regulations on authorizing drone flight.   Continue reading →