Robotics Trends

AAI Receives $39 Million Award for Additional Shadow Systems In addition to 91 previously delivered systems, AAI Corporation has been contracted to deliver three new Shadow Tactical Unmanned Aircraft Systems to support U.S. Army and Marine Corps. bringing the total of ordered systems to 116. AAI Corporation, an operating unit of Textron Systems, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company, announced that it has received a $39 million production order for additional Shadow Tactical Unmanned Aircraft Systems (TUAS). The order includes two additional units for the U.S. Army and one for the Marine Corps. Including this new order, a total of 116 Shadow TUAS have been ordered by the Army, Army National Guard, Army Special Forces and Marine Corps. To date, AAI has delivered 91 Shadow systems and deliveries now extend through March 2011. “Our goal… View this post
Filed in: Security & Defense Robotics • Opinion
Tagged: robotics, robot, Aai corporation, unmanned aerial vehicle, shadow, autonomy, unmanned aerial system, autonomous

Next-Generation of Global Hawk Unmanned Aircraft Takes Flight World’s first fully autonomous high-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aircraft system, the Global Hawk will carry the Multi-Platform Radar Technology Insertion Program (MP-RTIP) active electronically scanned array radar making well suited for designed for persistent ISR. The first Block 40 configuration of the RQ-4 Global Hawk high-altitude, long-endurance (HALE) unmanned aircraft system (UAS) successfully completed its first flight on Nov. 16. Designated AF-18, the advanced capability aircraft flew for approximately two hours from Northrop Grumman Corporation’s (NYSE: NOC) manufacturing facility in Palmdale, Calif., to Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. Photos accompanying this release are available at http://media.globenewswire.com/noc/mediagallery.html?pkgid=6904 “AF-18, the eleventh of the next-generation Global Hawk Block 20/30/40s to arrive at Edwards Air Force Base, performed beautifully,” said George Guerra, Northrop Grumman vice president of HALE systems. “This flight… View this post
Filed in: Security & Defense Robotics • Feature • Robotics Features
Tagged: Northrop grumman, uav, robotics, robot, unmanned aerial vehicle, unmanned aircraft system, global hawk, uas

Smith Detection, AeroVironment and US Army Collaborate on Chemical Agent-Detecting UAV Partnership combines powerful chemical sensors and advanced algorithms to enable rapid aerial chemical detection and tracking by unmanned aerial vehicles. Smiths Detection announced the successful creation and demonstration of an unmanned aircraft chemical detection and identification system capable of warning troops against chemical warfare agents. The detection and identification system, able to fit in the interchangeable nose cone of a Raven® UAV, is a result of the collaborative efforts between Smiths Detection, AeroVironment, Inc. (AV) (Nasdaq: AVAV), the U.S. Army Edgewood Chemical Biological Center and other U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) laboratories. To provide safe and effective standoff detection and identification capability of chemical hazardous events, the sophisticated chemical sensor nose cone was developed specifically to fit into AV’s RQ-11B Raven as part of a DoD… View this post
Filed in: Service Robotics • Latest News
Tagged: uav, robotics, robot, unmanned aerial vehicle, raven, aerovironment , Smith detection, unmanned air system