Moonrock launches the UK’s first dedicated drone insurance policy for hobbyists and recreational users
Moonrock Drone Insurance has launched the UK’s first dedicated drone insurance policy for hobbyists and recreational users.
In addition to their commercial policy, this new drone insurance will for the first time give consumers the opportunity to purchase cover for accidental drone damage as well as 3rd party public liability, fly-a-ways, and theft.
The policy is available to click and purchase online at hobby.moonrockinsurance.com providing instant insurance cover, alongside advice and support from drone insurance professionals.
The product is underwritten by Munich Re Innovation Syndicate who provide the capacity and insurance expertise.
Simon Ritterband managing director of Moonrock Drone Insurance commented, “Since launching the Moonrock commercial policy 5 years ago, it has always been our long-term ambition to offer a similar service to the recreational market. With the number of UK drone hobbyists currently 200,000 +, we see this as the perfect time to launch into the market.
In the past the public perception of drones has not always been positive. However with the recent introduction of a government and CAA mandated drone registration system, perception has significantly improved in the wider community. We are definitely seeing a growth in the use of drones in the non-commercial space, such as photography enthusiasts sing drones to capture photographs and videos from a birds-eye view.”
This new drone insurance policy fills the gap in the market to provide drone hobbyists with the much-needed cover that has previously only been available to commercial pilots.
Terrafugia Inc. Launches New Brand and Commercial UAV
Commaris debuts flagship product at Commercial UAV Expo in Las Vegas
LAS VEGAS, NV. – Terrafugia Inc. today announces the launch of a new brand, CommarisTM, and the brand’s first product, the SEEKERTM, an innovative, electric, fixed-wing/VTOL hybrid aircraft designed explicitly for autonomous commercial aerial applications. Commaris will debut the SEEKER at the Commercial UAV Expo in Las Vegas from Sept. 7 through Sept. 9.
The SEEKER has a long-endurance capability with more than three hours of flight time without a battery change, saving time and reducing costs while supporting multiple payload configurations at a top speed of over 60 mph. The UAV employs an advanced, fully composite airframe with a wingspan of 15 feet and a payload lifting capability of up to 10 pounds. Its modular design is easy to assemble and disassemble in the field in under three minutes.
“We are very excited to launch our new brand, Commaris, and its first product, the SEEKER. This UAV is designed to perform a wide variety of commercial inspection operations in applications such as power, gas, oil, mapping, agriculture, and security,” said Kevin Colburn, President of Terrafugia and Commaris. “Our team of experienced aviation professionals has created an extremely capable, commercial-grade UAV that, in many situations, will deliver results that typical rotary-wing UAVs or helicopters cannot come close to providing.”
The SEEKER’s innovative, aerodynamic design includes powerful but quiet electric motors that help it achieve a noise signature of only 40 decibels on the ground and near-silence at 500 feet AGL. The UAV is the ideal aircraft for security, powerline patrols, and missions operating in noise-sensitive environments, ensuring operations will be completed quickly and quietly.
The SEEKER’s large payload-carrying capability will be customizable with a variety of modular options, such as a 30x optical zoom EO/IR camera for inspection, a 120-megapixel high-resolution camera for terrain mapping and 3D modeling, a six-band multispectral camera designed for precision agriculture analysis, a LiDAR system, a laser methane sensor, or a corona discharge sensor, most of which will feature the ability to stream data to the operator in near-real time.
Commaris will debut the SEEKER during a live demonstration at the UAV Expo’s “Beyond The Cage Live Outdoor Flying Demonstrations” taking place on Sept. 7, 2021, at 9:25 a.m. PT at the Henderson Equestrian Park North. Representatives will be available for questions after the demonstration and at the Expo’s exhibitor hall at the Mirage Las Vegas, booth #407.
CommarisTM, a brand of Terrafugia, Inc., delivers unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for commercial operations in power, gas, oil, mapping, agriculture, security, and more. Its flagship UAV, the SEEKERTM, provides industry-leading flight times with ultra-low noise output, fast and precise vertical takeoff and landing, and dual-GPS systems with automated route planning. The SEEKER’s large payload-carrying capability is customizable with a variety of modular options, such as a 30x optical zoom EO/IR camera for inspection, a 120-megapixel high-resolution camera for terrain mapping and 3D modeling, a six-band multispectral camera designed for precision agriculture analysis, a LiDAR system, a laser methane sensor, or a corona discharge sensor, most of which will feature the ability to stream data to the operator in near-real time. Terrafugia and Commaris are members of the Geely Technology Group. For more information on Commaris, please visit www.Commaris.com.
About Terrafugia
Terrafugia was founded in 2006 with the goal of delivering the world’s first practical flying car. After making steady progress, in 2017, Terrafugia was acquired by the Geely Holding Group and began leveraging contributions from sister companies Volvo Cars, Lotus Cars and CEVT. In early 2021, Terrafugia received the first FAA airworthiness certificate for a roadable aircraft in 60 years.
Today, as part of the Geely Technology Group, Terrafugia’s team of experienced professionals is focused on the launch of our new brand, CommarisTM, which delivers unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for commercial inspections in power, gas, oil, construction, agriculture, security, and other industries.
Flare Bright wins UK MOD Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) follow-up contract.
Following a successful initial DASA contract to prove the concept of true autonomy in drones, Flare Bright have been awarded a larger follow-up contract to provide the same autonomy in powered drones to give increase persistence and endurance. This project will deliver a fixed wing drone that can fly without GPS or any remote-control, when other drones are unflyable due to jamming and denial.
Flare Bright’s latest £425,391 contract lasts for 13 months and recently commenced, and follows on from the completion of an initial £226,500 contract that successfully concluded in April 2021. It will be announced at DSEI, to coincide with Flare Bright being selected to showcase its success at DASA’s stand (H2-110) and representatives will be talking through the innovative technology throughout the show.
The military is increasingly using drones. GPS will often be denied and spoofed, and electromagnetic communication used for remote control will be jammed. Drones typically have an unsophisticated approach to dealing with jamming, outages or failure. Flare Bright has developed the technology to develop a truly autonomous drone that doesn’t rely on any of these methods and uses un-jammable internal means of flight control and navigation.
Flare Bright’s existing autonomous gliding drone has proven this and has now been selected by the US Army Expeditionary Warrior Experiment and has been promoted on the UK Government’s website as a Case Study.
Flare Bright aims to extend its proven autonomous flight system’s persistence to perform a mission for 5-10 minutes without GPS or any other communications in a fixed-wing powered drone.
Any military would like to develop a truly autonomous drone that doesn’t rely on GPS or remote control and just uses unjammable internal means of flight control and navigation. As DASA itself states, “The UK Defence and Security sector has demanding requirements for accurate and resilient Position, Navigation and Timing (PNT). When Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) are either absent, denied, degraded or unreliable, a platform’s Inertial Navigation System (INS) will drift; PNT uncertainty will grow, and mission success may be compromised. As the future operational environment becomes increasingly congested, cluttered, connected and constrained, advances in current navigation technologies will be required to avoid mission failure.” This project will achieve the next level of practical development in this area.
John Binns, the recently retired Deputy Director of Strategy for the MOD Test and Evaluation team stated, “From my engagement with FlareBright, following a TechUK Defence Test and Evaluation conference, I have been increasingly impressed by their innovative methods by which they use machine learning and AI coupled with synthetic environments to rapidly test and prototype their autonomous SnapShot system validated by short duration live trial data.
I believe the innovation shown by FlareBright in their testing and prototyping has the potential to provide Defence with the ability to accelerate the development of unmanned and autonomous systems and have supported your efforts by providing opportunities to present their innovative technique to FLC’s at the Test & Evaluation Futures Programme Board.”
Former Paratrooper and Flare Bright’s Chief Commercial Officer, Chris Daniels said, “Every soldier knows that instant, tactical aerial surveillance is vital on any operation. To provide this to front line soldiers in a super lightweight form, with no training needed, and that can work in any challenging environment has to be good news for soldier survivability. We’re delighted we’re helping out.”
More info on Flare Bright
Flare Bright is a rapidly growing aerospace company pushing the boundaries of embedded AI technology to develop autonomous drones. Flare Bright is developing a number of drones with different characteristics, but all based on a core autonomous, miniature, inertial navigation system built on cutting edge machine learning enabled digital twin technology, which facilitates image-capture, wind measurement and sensing for a wide range of civil and defence customers. It has successfully won project-funding from the MOD’s Defence and Security Accelerator and is part of 2 UKRI Future Flight projects.
Professors Tom Cherrett and Jim Scanlan at the University of Southampton are leading an Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) funded project (E-Drone, e-drone.org), which is looking at how drones can be best integrated into existing logistics systems, particularly focussing on health care supply chains.
A key issue with operating drones, particularly beyond visual line of sight, is approving and setting up temporary danger areas (TDAs), which effectively reserve areas of airspace for drone operations at the expense of other air users. TDAs are a blunt instrument for managing airspace, can take considerable time to get approved, and only last for a specific time period.
As part of this research, we would like to invite you to our online workshop for drone operators, and other associated organisations from within the drone industry sector, to discuss how drones can be better integrated into shared airspace alongside crewed aviation longer term. On the 26th March 2021, we held a similar workshop to discuss this issue with members of the General Aviation community and a summary of the key findings can be found here.
Further details about the workshop can be found via the event registration link provided . Please feel free to forward this invitation to any other people who might be interested in attending. There is no charge to attend this event.
SAM IS ....
Emergency Responders Drone Conference
17-18 November 2021
Topics areas that are to be covered:
Case Studies & End User Experience
Legislation & Regulation
Drone Technology
Application
Drone Program Project Management
Training
Operational Logistics
Disaster Response
*Speakers and Topic Areas Subject To Change*
The Emergency Responders Drone Conference 2021 is Live for 2 days when you can interact with live video meetings, chat, network in the lounge and then On Demand for a further 30 Days, with continued access to all booths, documents & videos and Subject Matter Expert Presentations without having to leave the office.
During the 2 live days, visitors can meet and chat with each other online in the dedicated Conference Chat rooms and also directly over video with fellow visitors and equipment and technology suppliers who are exhibiting & collate all product information electronically and communicate it directly via email with colleagues without having to leave their desk or laptop or tablet or phone.
Join COPTRZ and Aerial Uptake in a real LIVE debate around the public perception of drones on June 10th at 18:00.
AERIAL UPTAKE brings together regional public authorities and key players of the drone industry to exchange and transfer knowledge. The project’s aim is to increase the social acceptance of UAV technology by enhancing and articulating positive social impacts.
In this debate you’ll hear how Royal Mail are utilising drones for the UK’s first mail delivery, how Northants SAR are assisting police with vulnerable missing persons missions and how Sellafield site has transformed their operations since incorporating drones!
But this isn’t all about Drones for Good, COPTRZ and UCLAN will be proposing a series questions to generate an honest and open discussion. This is your chance to put across your questions live to our panel of experts and learn about the drone industry as it is today.
This is not one to be missed, save your seat now so you don’t miss out!
Home Office, Police and CAA join together to act on drone crime
Operation Foreverwing will raise awareness of enforcement work taking place around drones
More than 330 drone-related incidents recorded during the last five months
LONDON, 22 March 2021: The Home Office, Police and UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) today announce a new campaign aimed at clamping down on drone-related crimes, after 336 drone-related incidents were recorded during the last five months in the UK.
The new campaign, Operation Foreverwing, will see the three organisations work together to show the work the Police is doing around tackling drone crime, in a bid to deter drone owners from breaking the rules.
The Police has dedicated drone teams located across the country, tasked with enforcing the law by handing out fines and confiscating drones if people fail to stick to the rules. With the CAA setting the rules for drone flying, the campaign will raise awareness of the rules while reminding those tempted to break them of the consequences.
National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for counter Drones, Chief Constable Lucy D’Orsi, said:
“The use of drones has increased dramatically in recent years and as a result of that we are seeing instances of dangerous and irresponsible flying.
“If you are a drone owner it is your responsibility to make sure you are following the rules for your own safety and that of others around you.
“These rules can be found in the Drone Code on the CAA website.”
UK law now dictates that CAA registration is mandatory for operators of drones over 250 grams and all drones other than toys that are fitted with a camera. Failure to register leaves drone users at risk of penalties up to £1,000.
The campaign will see more cooperation between the bodies and joint education targeting drone users.
Jonathan Nicholson, Assistant Director of Communications, CAA, said:
“With close to 200,000 registered drone owners across the UK, the skies are becoming increasingly busy. Our objective is not to stop people having fun or using their drone for business, it’s to make sure that everyone can share the air safely and that means sticking to the rules outlined in the Drone Code.
“Drones can cost thousands of pounds, and with fines for breaking the rules, the costs can quickly add up for those failing to comply.”
For more information on UK drone regulations, registration and the Drone Code please visit www.caa.co.uk/drones
22 March 2021
SAM IS ....
Meet the Women in Drones
What can be achieved with drones is evolving on a daily basis. From performing inspections, surveys, photography, videography and saving the environment. Despite the constant technological developments, the industry itself looks a little outdated.
While the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) doesn’t keep track of the gender of those applying for permission to carry out drone operations, a quick look at the industry as a whole tells you all you need to know. In March 2020, only 3% of airline pilots worldwide were women, in the UK the figure was just 6%. You can speak to anyone within the drone sector and they’ll tell you, when it comes to drone piloting, there is little evidence to suggest such gender-based disparities aren’t apparent.
It is estimated that the percentage of women drone pilots in the UK is just 4%.
While the numbers are still low, there are opportunities for women in drones. However, in order to achieve real equality in the workforce, the industry will need to start earlier – supporting STEM education and drone training for girls who may someday fill leadership positions.
The world of drones might still feel futuristic to many, but technology is developing rapidly. It won’t be long until applications of drones are found in many aspects of our lives.
With International Women’s Day coming up on Monday 8th of March, here at Coptrz we have been doing our bit to raise awareness for the role that women play in this industry.
Don’t forget to join us on Clubhousein our ‘Women in Drones’ room. Every month we will be discussing the latest industry news with some very interesting women in the industry. Side note, men you are welcome too!
Meet the women impacting the drone industry
Caroline Earnshaw-Florczyk: “I tend to shy away from the thinking of ‘I’m a woman in a man’s world’ because I might end up sounding as bad as ‘I’m in a man’s world and women don’t belong in it’”
“I’m in an industry that’s classed as male-dominated full stop, and that’s been my experience for the last 6.5 years. I’m very much an equality-based person, I don’t like to be gender-specific and I believe everyone is capable regardless of gender. I tend to shy away from the thinking of ‘I’m a woman in a man’s world’ because I might end up sounding as bad as ‘I’m in a man’s world and women don’t belong in it’.
“I have been supported massively, internally at Networx3 by Ian (owner), he has been the driving force in encouraging me to be as involved as possible which is fantastic.
“I hope the industry develops for women and people take inspiration from the fact that we can all do whatever we want to do. I sadly don’t think the outlook on gender difference will ever be fully equal, though that would be a nice aspiration, I don’t think it will ever fully happen based on my experience. If anything, if anyone wants to see me as a hindrance because I’m a woman that just gives me more fire in my belly to go and do even better.
“Networx3 is an exceptional company for equality and diversity, always has been and always will be. I would love to encourage other women to get involved, have some fun and go out there doing a great job with great devices.”
Yasmin Tajik: “Becoming a drone pilot has opened up so many doors for me, to tell stories in a new way, to capture photos from a new perspective and inspire the next generation of female drone pilots”
“I’ve been a professional photographer for 12 years. I was aware of drones when they first came onto the market, but most of who I saw using them were men who were capturing landscapes. Because I was neither, I thought they were fun, but didn’t see an immediate need to have one for myself.
“It wasn’t until about 3 years ago that I went on a photography trip with my friends to Iceland, that 2 of them brought drones and that was my first, up close and personal experience with drones. After seeing my friends operating their drones, the wheels started turning and I realised that a drone would be a great tool to add to my photography gear to use to tell stories in ways that they hadn’t before.
Yasmin Tajik
“It was then that I also found Women Who Drone, a global community of women drone pilots that I felt supported, encouraged and inspired, so much so that I joined them leadership team as their Brand Ambassador Director. I honestly feel becoming a drone pilot has opened up so many doors for me, to tell stories in a new and exciting way, to capture photos from a perspective not seen before, and to pay it forward and inspire the next generation of female drone pilots.”
Gemma Alcock: “As a woman in a male populated industry, you will often be instantly underestimated before you even start to speak”
“I am the founder and CEO of SkyBound Rescuer, which is a leading organisation of specialists in the use of drones for public safety, with an aim to optimise drone performance for Emergency Services through our research-driven approach to problem solving. SkyBound Rescuer works with Emergency Services to develop their drone capabilities by researching into best practice, and we work with the drone industry to create better products and services for public safety in the UK and abroad.
“I have always been drawn to male populated activities; I played football as a child, skydived for my University team, beach lifeguarded during my summers, and then entered the drone industry. All of those activities are filled with mostly men/boys. I have always been surrounded by boys and I have never minded. That meant that I wasn’t deterred like some women by the fact that there were very few other women, however, the downside to that was that I wasn’t fully prepared for the challenges of being one of very few women when in a professional setting.
“As a woman in a male populated industry, you will often be instantly underestimated before you even start to speak, especially when you start out in the industry, which I was not expecting. To be clear, this won’t happen with everyone and it won’t happen every time, but it does happen more than it should. My advice here would be that people’s underestimations of you cannot hold you back unless you start believing them.
“If you start underestimating yourself as a result of their bias, then their misconceptions start to seep into your own self-worth, your own confidence, your own ambitions. Your gender does not determine your capabilities, it is your passion, your drive, your work ethic that enables you to succeed. And if you have those things, then you can do it, so believe it and keep believing! Everyone else will eventually believe in you too, because passion and ambition are contagious.”
Emily Bratt: “Our small numbers in this industry have allowed us to form a strong support network; women really do go the extra mile to look out for each other”
“As a geography graduate, I have always said I don’t want to be constrained to my desk. I want to be out there proving what is possible – this is exactly what the UAV industry is all about! With this comes the excitement that no day is ever the same (the industry certainly isn’t normal!). An example of this is Windracers first flight from Solent to the Isle of Wight. Originally a 4-year project, a call up high meant we (DronePrep, Windracers, Consortiq and University of Southampton) had to deliver in less than 2 weeks and we did it! Not knowing what is around the corner keeps us on our toes – it’s exciting!
Emily Bratt
“My time at DronePrep to date has had some incredible milestones. One that shines the brightest is how we brought together a consortium of Royal Mail, Skyports, what3words (and of course DronePrep) to achieve Royal Mails first ever delivery by drone on the Isle of Mull. Not only did this bring together two ‘rival’ addressing systems but, it bought hope for the future in a time when people needed it most. To put it into perspective, within the first 24 hours that the story broke, there was 111 million clicks!
“I have been surrounded by incredible women in the industry, but I am still aware that the UAV world is dominated by males. Occasionally I have received criticism from men stating that I ‘should not be in the industry’ and that I ‘do not belong here’ which had the potential to knock my confidence. However, I note that these comments do not represent the majority. I have seen and experienced that 99% of those in the industry (both male and female) want you to succeed!
“Our small numbers in this industry have allowed us to form a strong support network; women really do go the extra mile to look out for each other. Whether this be through clubhouse and webinars or meeting up in person for a coffee- nobody is ever alone! Women in Drones is extremely empowering, and I am proud to be a part of it!”
Stacey Dix: “I love turning up on site and achieving a different perspective on a location, being able to obtain shots that only a few years ago were near impossible…unless you had a helicopter”
“I work in the Traffic Data Collection Field, and have done for 10 years. 3 years ago we initially started to utilise drone technology as a tool to assist us in our day to day to work. From there we soon realised using drones not only assisted us in obtaining data but gave the client a high value, cost effective product, that is of superior quality and content than that provided through traditional data collection methods.
“I also gained experience in using tethered drones in order to fly for longer periods of time. Kestrel Surveys was established last March where I combined the two disciplines to become a UK leader in drone and traffic surveys.
Stacey Dix
“On a personal level using drones as a tool not only enhanced my work, but utilising technologies made it fun and interesting and sometimes nerve wracking when you’re being dive bombed by seagulls! I love turning up on site and achieving a totally different perspective on a location and obtaining shots that only a few years ago were not possible…unless you had a helicopter.”
Lexie Janson: “99% of people are awesome and supportive. While 1% can ruin it for everyone. Most of the time I am meeting with professionals who don’t make a big fuss out of me being a woman. I am a professional – done. But sometimes you get to meet people who are shocked you are a woman”
“I am a professional FPV drone racing pilot as well as videographer and photographer. I use FPV drones and Camera drones to take shots not available with normal cameras. I travel the world racing, and sharing my adventures with my YouTube audience through Vlogs and educational content showing everyone (and most importantly – girls) that everything is possible with work. And that there’s nothing you “can’t do”.
“Working in a male dominated industry, I’d say it’s both empowering and annoying. 99% of people are awesome and supportive. While this 1% can ruin it for everyone. Most of the time I am meeting with professionals who don’t make a big fuss out of me being a woman. I am a professional – done. But sometimes you get to meet people who are shocked you are a woman, ask for your “male colleague” to do the work, or on drone racing events – ask you to go to the spectators area to see how my boyfriend flies” (true story).
Lexie Janson
“I think women in general get more judgement for the things that don’t matter at all. (Like looks or the way we present ourselves). I am getting many weird comments and messages on socials but at the end of the day – it’s up to me to react. It’s just 1% we need to deal with and it’s already getting much better. I think women have a lot to show and achieve in the drone industry and we can steer it all together in better ways. Both male and female pilots.”
Meg Kummerow: “I’ve worked in a male dominated industry my entire life, but the drone industry a whole other level. I’ve been really lucky to work with really supportive males and have been able to impart my Agricultural knowledge to them which has been amazing”
“I am the founder of Fly the Farm. Fly the Farm provides drones, software and support to those in agriculture as well as to those wishing to provide services to the agricultural industry. Our purpose is to make the process of farmers buying a drone easy. We use our experience within agriculture to understand the needs of our customers, helping them choose the right drone for their needs. We use our knowledge of both agriculture and the drone industry, including regulations, to ensure our customers are fully informed on drone use in their business.
“My proudest achievement so far has to be getting involved in getting one Australian state government to open up spray drone licencing to operators. This was achieved with the assistance of many industry organisations.
Meg Kummerow
“For me, I’ve worked in a male dominated industry my entire life (Agriculture). However, I’ve found the drone industry a whole other level. I’ve been really lucky to work with really supportive males and have been able to impart my Agricultural knowledge to them that has allowed them to progress in their roles.”
Advice Centre
If you are a woman who is looking to get into the drone industry, here are some top tips to help you get started:
Join communities of like-minded people. I can highly recommend you check out Women Who Drone on Facebook, their closed Facebook group allows for lots of networking with other women in the industry.
Book a course. What are you waiting for? Here at Coptrz we offer a wide range of training courses to get you started on your journey. You can find out more here.
Get inspired! Find your niche. Get following women in drones on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube to see what they are up to and the work they do in the industry.
The list of women in drones who are hugely contributing to the industry could go on and on, and someday your name might be on it, if you put aside your fear, do what you love and put all your heart into it!
If you have any questions about getting into the industry, get in touch today. We will help guide you to starting your journey in the drone industry.
Over and out – from the women in drones at Coptrz.
