#dronesforgood - ARPAS UK

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Forestry England : Field Data Collection Services DPS

Forestry England: This Dynamic Purchasing System is to establish a pool of qualified suppliers to provide field data collection services. Forestry England invites you to register if you can cover any aspects of field data collection as follows:

-Survey work such as National Forest Inventory (NFI) and Trees Outside of Woodlands (TOW)
-The installation of surveying/monitoring equipment for our National Capital Ecosystem Assessment (NCEA) work
-Suppliers who can help with our Forest Mensuration and Production surveys (such as U18), Forest Attribute Surveys to update GIS information, collection of data from experimental sites.

If you are specifically interested in the surveying work, successful suppliers will be required to undertake surveys such as but not limited to the following examples: Woodland surveys, Forest production and Forest attribute surveys, Storm and Windblown damage survey.

We are particularly interested in suppliers who have experience using GIS technology, handheld GPS devices, field survey techniques. We would like to also have the option to explore the use of future ancillary technologies such as Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS) and terrestrial based LiDAR. We do not expect all suppliers to be able to provide all services, not all of these skills will be required for each mini-competition.

Scope of Work:
The field data collection services may involve the following:
•GIS Mapping & Data Collection using GIS tools to collect, record, and submit spatial data.
•Tree Species Identification: Identifying trees in the field, with a particular emphasis on those highlighted in red on the NFI tree species list.
•Woodland Surveying & Field Techniques: Conducting surveys in woodland environments, utilizing GPS, Silva compass, and other field survey equipment.
•National Vegetation Classification (NVC) & Habitat Classification: Assessing and classifying habitats using the Broad Habitat classification system and identifying Priority Habitats.
•Stakeholder Engagement & Access Permissions: Engaging with landowners and the public to explain survey objectives and where necessary, seeking access permissions for data collection.
•Independent Working & Safety: Lone working in remote and urban environments, ensuring adherence to health & safety protocols.
•Data Submission & Reporting: Accurately recording, processing, and submitting collected data using Microsoft Office applications (Excel & Word) and any relevant data systems.

Areas of the country this DPS relates to:

East Scotland
North East Scotland
North Scotland
South Scotland
West Scotland
East Midlands
Eastern England
North East England
North West England
South East & London
South West England
West Midlands
Yorkshire & Humberside
Wales

For More Information

For further Funding, Bids & Opportunities

7 March 2025

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Wessex Rescue Achieves CAA Authorisation & Expands Capabilities

The Wessex Rescue Drone Unit announces it has successfully achieved CAA authorisation, a critical milestone that ensures their operations comply with regulatory standards. This milestone supports their ongoing efforts to expand capabilities and better serve the Fire & Rescue and Police services in their region.

With a training programme supported by UAV Hub and Dronedesk, the team is on track to have eleven qualified drone pilots by the end of the year to meet growing deployment demands, with six qualified pilots already and a further five in training. Their Mavic 2 Enterprise, provided by Dorset Police, has already proven highly effective during operations, including a major fire and water rescue exercise.

The unit has established a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Dorset and Wiltshire Fire Service to provide drone support for search and rescue operations. To ensure full coverage and enhance their ability to respond effectively in emergencies, the team has identified the need for thermal capability to be implemented. This would allow them to detect heat sources, which is critical for locating missing persons. Many search operations take place during night-time hours, and the addition of thermal technology would enable the team to deploy around the clock, providing 24-hour operational readiness.

Currently, drones are deployed from the Water Rescue Vehicle, with plans for a dedicated drone vehicle in the future. This would allow greater flexibility to support the water rescue team or assist the community where needed. The use of drones has already demonstrated significant benefits, such as identifying hazards before deploying rescue personnel, reducing risks, and improving overall safety during operations.

A Call for Support: Enhancing Thermal Drone Capability

The team is committed to improving their ability to save lives and serve the community. Acquiring a thermal drone is a critical step toward achieving this goal, and they would greatly appreciate any assistance the drone community can provide in helping them make this capability a reality. If you would like to learn more about their work and financially contribute – however great or small all donations area appreciated, please find the links below.

Contribute – GoFundMe

Learn about The Wessex Rescue Drone Team on Facebook

28 January 2025

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Protected: Towards Better Autonomy with Elastic AI for Aerial Robots – Seminar 4 Feb at 2pm

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ARPAS-UK publishes Drone in Action Report

ARPAS-UK has today published its first Drone in Action Report. The purpose of this guide is to provide examples which demonstrate the range of benefits and financial savings that can be achieved by the safe adoption of Drones.

Graham Brown, Chair of ARPAS-UK says, “When applied, drones are faster, cheaper, safer and greener than other solutions for the same job. We want businesses, as well as the general public, to understand the immense benefit of drones and understand that there will be positive adoption over the coming years.”

Innovation with drones reshapes industries, tackling environmental, efficiency, cost, and safety issues, paving the sustainable future path.

In the dynamic landscape of technological advancement, the safe adoption of drone technology stands as a testament to innovation, human ingenuity and its capacity to redefine and improve industrial operations. This report examines a collection of use cases across a spectrum of sectors, each showcasing the transformative impact of drones. From asset and building inspection to the precision agriculture fields to the complex infrastructures of oil and gas platforms, we explore how uncrewed aerial vehicles or drones are not just enhancing operational efficiency but also creating the path towards a safer, more sustainable future.

View the Drones in Action Report

Author: Mohammed Hasan
Support by: Graham Brown, Anne-Lise Scallierez, Aleksander Kowalski, Chris Daniels, Sarah Lay, David Thurston, Rupert Dent, Elena Major, Annabel Worthington, Ashna Sharma, Dylan Brooks & Prajjwal Roy
Graphics: Sam Barrett, Manna & Canva

View further Drones & Industry Reports

12 November 2024

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Saudi Arabian AI & Drone Exhibition Forum

ARPAS-UK is thrilled to announce a ground-breaking partnership with SAADEF, the Saudi Arabian AI & Drone Exhibition Forum, taking place from the 4th-6th of November in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This collaboration signifies an incredible opportunity for ARPAS-UK to extend its reach into the Middle East, a region poised for rapid expansion in drone technology and AI applications. Representing the UK drone industry, Mohammed Hasan will lead the ARPAS-UK delegation at the exhibition, showcasing the innovation and expertise of our members to a global audience.

For ARPAS-UK Members:
This partnership provides unparalleled exposure to a booming international market, allowing members to gain visibility among Middle Eastern stakeholders, government bodies, and private enterprises with interests in drones, AI, and advanced air mobility. Through this event, ARPAS-UK aims to create new avenues for collaboration, sharing knowledge, and aligning with emerging global standards.

Networking and Expansion Opportunities:
As members of ARPAS-UK, this collaboration offers you a channel to explore partnerships beyond UK borders, fostering cross-cultural exchanges and promoting your work on an international platform. By joining our delegation, you have the chance to network with key players in the Saudi market and beyond, giving you insights into local demands, potential clients, and future prospects in a rapidly evolving region.

Invitation to Participate:
To maximise member representation, we invite all interested members to submit an A4 poster summarising your company’s services, recent projects, or drone innovations to membership@arpas.uk. These posters will be featured prominently at our stand, ensuring your work reaches an audience of global industry leaders and potential collaborators.

Get Involved in Shaping ARPAS-UK’s Middle East Strategy:
Beyond the exhibition, we are also compiling a list of member interests regarding the Middle Eastern market. If you have specific areas of interest, whether in direct partnerships, regional insights, or unique applications for drones and AI within the Middle East, please get in touch. Together, we aim to create a tailored approach that maximises the benefits of this partnership for all our members, paving the way for an annually revived collaboration with even greater potential in the future.

This partnership represents ARPAS-UK’s commitment to supporting our members as the drone industry expands globally. Join us as we seize the opportunity to foster growth, knowledge-sharing, and innovation on a global scale.

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Enhancing Safety and Efficiency with DJI: WATCH AGAIN

DJI Presentation on the Latest Enterprise Use Cases and an Overview of Data Security

In this webinar, DJI presents real-world enterprise use cases that showcase the practical applications of DJI solutions across sectors. Additionally, they provided a comprehensive overview of data security measures integrated into their products, ensuring that daily operations remain secure and compliant. DJI: Enhancing Safety and Efficiency.

Speaker Bios:

Freda Peng, Head of Overseas Solutions Engineering, DJI Enterprise

Freda joined the DJI Enterprise team in 2018, and has been involved in the creation of several DJI Enterprise products, such as the M300 RTK. She has been amazed by the hard work of Enterprise users and is proud that drones can revolutionize productivity and increase the work safety in hazardous environments. She hopes to continue to optimize DJI products and solutions by learning from Enterprise end users.

Tingting He, Senior Policy Manager at DJI

Tingting leads policy engagement between DJI and government stakeholders in Europe and in the UK. Since joining DJI Europe in 2017, Tingting has focused on drone policy discussion across Europe and in the UK, as well educational and advocacy campaigns to help drive industrial efforts in operating safely.

View further webinars…

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Swarm Robotics: Call for Research Papers

This is an invitation to all those interested or working in the field of swarm robotics to submit a paper to Nature.

Guest Editors: Dr Antonio Tsourdos of Cranfield University and Dr Henry Leung of Calgary University, Canada.

Submission deadline: 29 May 2025

Inspired by the collective behaviour of social insects, swarm robotics involves the coordination of large numbers of relatively simple robots, often relying on local interactions and decentralised control, to perform tasks that would be difficult or impossible for a single robot to accomplish. Potential applications of swarm robotics are diverse, including environmental monitoring, search and rescue, and medical applications.

This Collection welcomes original research from the fields of robotic and software engineering, as well as complex systems and network theory.

For More Info & Submission Info

9 October 2024

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Great engagement at DroneX 2024 – ARPAS-UK’s Debrief

What a show! The quality of conversations at DroneX 2024 was high with what felt like more attendees than in previous years. We certainly barely stopped, to the extent that the only photo we took of the team at the show was taken at the end of the two days and after we’d packed up!

That includes our new member of staff, Annabel, who was thrown in at the deep end somewhat, having only joined us two weeks ago. However, her background in ROV-supported subsea inspection in the oil and gas industry combined with her natural curiosity about the drone industry are already proving that she will be an asset to ARPAS-UK and our membership. Welcome on board, Annabel!

ARPAS-UK taking part in CAA and DFT Panel

Highlights included the panel discussion moderated by Amanda Smith, Sellafield, with Sophie O’Sullivan, CAA, Vickie Murdy, UKRI, Anne-Lise Scaillierez, ARPAS-UK, and Louisa Smith, Apian, on “Unlocking Drones for UK industry: what can innovators, the regulator and government do to help?”. There was more audience than chairs in the theatre! Anne-Lise had the challenging task of sharing industry concerns

Our Keynote Presentation

Graham Brown, Chair, and Anne-Lise Scaillierez, CEO delivered a keynote address on industry updates and ARPAS-UK activities to support the industry. Their presentation can be accessed in this password protected post – MEMBERS ONLY

Part of the Jury for the AAM Innovation Award

Finally, Anne-Lise had the honour to be a judge together with Nicola Ridd, DfT, and Gary Smith, CAA, for the DroneX Advanced Air Mobility AAM Award. The jury delivered the AAM Award to Inteliports.

In addition, don’t forget to:

So good to meet in person!

26 September 2024

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Protected: ARPAS-UK launches BVLOS SIG Manifesto and SIG Launch Event

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SkyLift announce the success of their most recent offshore heavy lift project with Ørsted

Over the course of just 10 flying days, SkyLift successfully delivered 5,460 kg of cargo to 94 wind turbines—an impressive 94 deliveries! In one day alone, they moved 1,150 kg of cargo. This achievement showcases the power of precision and teamwork.

The 70 kg drones – which have a wingspan of 2.6 m – can transport up to 100 kg of cargo and will help improve operational efficiency and safety while reducing carbon emissions from operating an offshore wind farm.

In this specific case, Orsted decided to update some critical evacuation and safety equipment in each of the wind turbines at the Dutch offshore wind farm. Normally, a vessel would sail from one wind turbine to the next, using several different cranes to lift each box to the top of the wind turbine. Instead, the drone simply flew back and forth from an offshore supply vessel directly to the top of the nacelle, allowing the company to update the equipment 10-15 times faster than normally.

This pioneering move marks a significant leap forward in operational efficiency and safety in the offshore wind industry. The drone flight from the vessel to the turbine takes about four minutes per turbine, while the conventional approach without using drones can take approx. six hours. Taking vessel transport between the turbines and from-and-to shore into account, Ørsted has been able to complete the tasks at Borssele 10-15 times faster than normally.

Drones will reduce costs and time, improve operational safety and efficiency and will reduce carbon emissions due to fewer journeys by ship. This will all lead to further improve the commercial fundamentals of offshore wind for investors, governments, and corporations.

Read Moonrock’s interview with Harry Getliffe, COO of SkyLift.

Both SkyLift and Moonrock Drone Insurance are ARPAS-UK Members

21 August 2024