Unmanned Insitu aircraft tracks whales off Australia

2011-10-04

Unmanned Insitu aircraft tracks whales off Australia
Boeing subsidiary Insitu has turned its ScanEagle unmannned aircraft from defense missions to whale counting.

Insitu Pacific, the Bingen, Wash., company’s Australia-based subsidiary, has finished the second phase of a trial with Australia’s Murdoch University to see if unmanned systems are a cost-effective, capable alternative to surveying marine mammals with manned aircraft.

“Flying for a long time, at a low altitude, well off the coast is a high-risk mission for a manned aircraft,” Insitu Pacific Managing Director Andrew Duggan said in a news release.

“ScanEagle is not only safer than manned aircraft for monitoring mammals, it is also environmentally friendlier,” he added, noting that ScanEagle can fly for more than 24 hours at a time on less than five quarts of fuel.

During the two-week operation, Insitu Pacific’s ScanEagle was launched, controlled and retrieved from North Stradbroke Island, off the coast of Queensland, Australia, taking up to 3,000 images of humpback whales each day. It also demonstrating its ability to operate effectively in Class G commercial airspace, which is key to Insitu’s goal of expanding civilian use of unmanned systems.

In addition to boosting a Washington business, this could provide a new, better way for local whale counting and other needs, such as monitoring fuel pipelines.

Company:  Boeing

Boeing Australia has successfully conducted flight tests of the latest artificial intelligence technology.

2020-09-15
Boeing Australia has successfully conducted flight tests of the latest artificial intelligence technology.

The Australian division of the American aircraft manufacturer Boeing has made significant progress in using artificial intelligence (AI) to train UAVs to detect, make decisions, act during a mission and independently adjust the route to obtain more accurate data.

UAV successfully sees and avoids another aircraft while in flight

2014-02-11
UAV successfully sees and avoids another aircraft while in flight

In a recent flight test in Australia, a Scan Eagle UAV succeeded in visually identifying an approaching Cessna aircraft, and letting its own ground-based operators know that evasive action was required.

Air Force's Unmanned Plane Passes 400 Days in Orbit

2014-02-05
Air Force's Unmanned Plane Passes 400 Days in Orbit

The U.S. Air Force's unmanned X-37B space plane has now circled Earth for more than 400 days on a hush-hush mission that is creeping closer and closer to the vehicle's orbital longevity record.

Boeing Phantom Eye Completes Second Flight

2013-02-27
Boeing Phantom Eye Completes Second Flight
ST. LOUIS, Feb. 26, 2013 — Boeing’s [NYSE: BA] liquid hydrogen-powered Phantom Eye unmanned airborne system completed its second flight Feb. 25, demonstrating capabilities that will allow it to perform intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) missions for up to four days without refueling.

Boeing Names Michael Kurth as VP/GM Unmanned Airborne Systems

2012-12-19
Boeing Names Michael Kurth as VP/GM Unmanned Airborne Systems
The Boeing Co. announced that company veteran Michael Kurth will oversee Boeing’s unmanned airborne systems as of Jan. 1. Kurth, currently managing director of Boeing Defence UK Ltd. (BDUK), will relocate to St. Louis as vice president and general manager of Unmanned Airborne Systems Programs, reporting to Boeing Military Aircraft President Chris Chadwick. David Pitchforth, managing director for UK Rotorcraft Support, a division...

Boeing Demonstrates Autonomous Ship-based Capability of Unmanned Little Bird Rotorcraft

2012-08-07
Boeing Demonstrates Autonomous Ship-based Capability of Unmanned Little Bird Rotorcraft
The Boeing Unmanned Little Bird H-6U successfully performed 14 autonomous takeoffs and landings from a ship during flight tests in July, a significant milestone for a medium-size vertical-takeoff-and-landing unmanned...

Boeing Will Display Wide Range of Military and Commercial Unmanned Systems at AUVSI12

2012-08-02
Boeing Will Display Wide Range of Military and Commercial Unmanned Systems at AUVSI12
Boeing will spotlight several unmanned systems that meet a variety of customer needs during the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) Unmanned Systems North America 2012 conference and exhibition....

First flight for hydrogen fuelled Phantom Eye

2012-06-05
First flight for hydrogen fuelled Phantom Eye
Boeing’s Phantom Eye unmanned airborne system (UAS) completed its first autonomous flight June 1 at NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. The 28-minute flight...

2nd Boeing-built Orbital Test Vehicle X-37B begins flight

2011-03-21
2nd Boeing-built Orbital Test Vehicle X-37B begins flight
Boeing announced the successful launch of the second Boeing-built X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV) for the US Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office (RCO). The OTV was launched on an Atlas V rocket into a low-Earth orbit today at 5:46 p.m.

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