#dronesforgood - ARPAS UK

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New OFCOM Consultation

ARPAS-UK is pleased to see this Consultation by OFCOM taking place. It advances the argument for the use of 5G and gives the User choice that they might not have had. OFCOM are to be applauded and we encourage Members to read and answer the Consultation.

OFCOM are proposing to introduce a new spectrum licence for drone operators, especially those looking to fly beyond visual line of sight using mobile or satellite technologies. The proposed Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Operator Radio licence would authorise the licensed operator to use a range of technologies on their UAS/drone fleet that are not currently permitted today, including:
1) mobile and satellite terminals for control and transmission of data and video; and
2) safety equipment to enable the UAS to avoid collisions and integrate safely into the UK’s airspace.

The proposed licence would cover a range of equipment that an operator may choose to use or be required to carry by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). If a licensee wishes to use a mobile technology that connects to a public mobile network they will need, before doing so, to obtain permission from the operator of the network they wish to use. We are proposing that the licence would be subject to an annual fee of £75.

The proposed licence would not replace the current licence exemption regime for low power 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz equipment which most drones on the market currently fall under today.

Commercial drones have the potential to bring a whole host of benefits, such as delivering vital supplies or assisting search and rescue operations in remote locations. We want to ensure that businesses pioneering these projects can access the spectrum they need to harness the full potential of the latest drone technology.
Helen Hearn, Ofcom’s Spectrum Interim Group Director

Notes

The consultation on the proposals is open until 5 September 2022. OFCOM plan to publish the decision by November.
The proposals only cover the radio spectrum that can be authorised for use and do not supersede any aviation safety rules or requirements. Therefore, a drone spectrum licence does not necessarily indicate that the CAA has permitted the equipment to be carried.
Although the proposed licence provides the framework for authorisation of the use of mobile terminals on a commercial drone, the licensee would need to have obtained a written agreement from the mobile network operator prior to use. It would be up to each mobile operator to decide whether they wish to permit this use, as they may not be in a position to allow such use on their networks.

Take part in the Consultation.

Read more from OFCOM.

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Protected: Funding Options for your Business

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CPD: Aerial data capture including deployment of LiDAR

by ARPAS-UK, in conjunction with Connected Places Catapult

Learn about the practicalities of drone operations and how sensor-based drones can provide benefits to your project

Surveyors, engineers and built environment professionals are faced with a growing portfolio of advanced technology, including drone-enabled sensors. In this online CPD learning session, Michael May, Operation Director at Flythru, will provide an overview of current legislation and what is required in order to bring drones to a project. Michael will also discuss how working practices can be adapted to make it easier to use drones on site, what the challenges and opportunities are for drone-use.

Key Learnings

Learn what a drone can and cannot do
Understand how data requirements match platform and operator

About the Speaker

An experienced entrepreneur and qualified pilot, Michael May is a director of Flythru, a company offering 3D mapping, thermal imagery and lidar; providing aerial data in a cost effective and safe fashion.

Professional development series brought to industry by ARPAS-UK, the drone industry trade association and Connected Places Catapult, who provide impartial ‘innovation as a service’ for public bodies, businesses, and infrastructure providers.

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Skyborne graduates start new drone pilot career with Flyby Technology

By Press 3 December 2021

Gloucestershire, UK – 2 December, 2021: Skyborne Airline Academy is celebrating the achievements of two graduates who have successfully secured commercial drone pilot jobs with Flyby Technology and are currently supporting operations for an NHS trial.

In July 2020, Skyborne announced a unique partnership with Flyby Technology, the leader in UK drone training and operations, to offer its trainees the opportunity to build a career flying unmanned aircraft. James Kirk and Adam Prince joined Flyby Technology after completing their UK CAA Integrated ATPL (Airline Transport Pilot License) programme with Skyborne. They are both currently employed as a Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) drone pilot.

Carl Haslem, Centre Director, Skyborne, says: “We’re very proud of James and Adam for not only completing their Integrated ATPL course with us, but for using their studies to embark on an exciting new career.

“At the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, Skyborne began implementing a number of initiatives to help its trainees improve their prospects of securing a job. Our partnership with Flyby Technology allows graduates to use their ATPL experience while enhancing their pilot skills and expanding their knowledge to operate commercial drones.”

Both graduates are currently working on a project with Apian for the Isle of Wight NHS Trust, researching the role of drone technology to increase speed of delivery and access to chemotherapy drugs between Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight.

James Kirk, Skyborne ATPL graduate and BVLOS drone pilot at Flyby Technology, says: “Although being a drone pilot and airline pilot seem vastly different, the training I received at Skyborne has been extremely beneficial to me. In our MCC course, we learned to operate in a multi-crew cockpit which at Flyby has helped me to prepare for the pilot monitoring role and develop effective communication within the team.

“The work we’re doing with the Isle of Wight NHS Trust is really interesting and rewarding. I’m glad to be a part of this team making impressive steps in automation for the medical industry.”

Adam Prince, Skyborne ATPL graduate and BVLOS drone pilot at Flyby Technology, adds: I’m really enjoying my time at Flyby Technology. A big part of my day is learning skills from incredibly experienced ex-Royal Navy and Royal Air Force pilots, which goes hand in hand with my ATPL training.

“This opportunity created by Skyborne opens up another avenue for airline pilots who are out of work or even looking for a career change. It’s a really interesting industry to become a part of and I encourage more pilots to look into this line of work.”

Jon Parker, Founder of Flyby Technology, says: “Offering full time employment to Skyborne graduates is one of the easiest decisions we’ve had to make at Flyby Technology. James and Adam excelled throughout their training, rapidly adapting their commercial pilot knowledge to drone operations. Enthusiastic and hardworking, their contributions are helping shape the future of the unmanned aircraft industry.

“Our partnership with Skyborne has been a huge success so far and we look forward to seeing these two individuals thrive in their new career.”

For more information on Skyborne’s partnership with Flyby Technology please contact fly@skyborne.com.

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Snowdonia Aerospace Secures First Commercial / Privately Controlled Permanent Danger Area in the UK

Following a formal 24 month Airspace Change Proposal process ARPAS-UK Member Snowdonia Aerospace Centre (SAC) is pleased to announce that Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) approval has been granted for the establishment of the UKs first commercial and privately controlled Danger Area in support of the research and development of novel aerospace systems.

The new Danger Area provides an area of segregated airspace immediately around Llanbedr Airfield for testing of future air vehicles, including Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) Drones and Electric Air Mobility Vehicles, together with an air corridor to link the Airfield to the existing adjacent MOD Danger Area D201 in Cardigan Bay to enable further extended range, altitude and endurance testing including potentially a number of near space operations.

The new Danger Area extends to 420km² with the option of then using the adjacent MOD Danger Area which extends to a further 7000+km²

SAC began the process in July 2019 with an initial Statement of Need being issued to the CAA to support their Proposal. Prior to this SAC had operated under a number of Temporary Danger Areas (TDA) when customers were looking to test their experimental air vehicles at the Airfield. With an increasing customer base and demand for the facilities it was becoming no longer commercially viable for SAC to continue to operate under this basis. A more permanent solution was required. The new Danger Area became live from the 09 September 2021, some 2 years post the process starting, and will be activated by NOTAM as and when required.

The Welsh Government provided financial support to SAC to assist with a proportion of the costs of the 2 year project.

Economy Minister Vaughan Gething said: “The Welsh Government is committed to supporting the continued growth of the aerospace and space sectors in Wales and I am delighted we have been able to assist in bringing this exciting and ambitious project to reality. As a UK first this scheme further enhances the unique physical and business environment Wales offers companies in the industry. The testing and evaluation capabilities available will make Llanbedr Airfield even more attractive to companies in the field. It also confirms its status as the Centre of Excellence for pioneering and innovative aerospace research and development in the UK.”

As part of the CAA’s formal CAP1616 process Snowdonia Aerospace had to follow and pass a number of set Stages including developing acceptable Design Principles, Design Options, Environmental and Noise assessments and a full public consultation from which 140 responses were received. The CAA were satisfied that the efficient use of airspace will not be compromised and the proposal would limit any impact to other aircraft users. The CAA were also satisfied that the new designated Airspace would have no discernible adverse environmental impact and all relevant environmental factors have been considered in line with government policy.

Jeremy Howitt, Future Flight lead at Snowdonia Aerospace said “The positive decision by the CAA illustrates their commitment to support the development of innovation across the aerospace sector in line with the UK Airspace Modernisation Strategy. The Llanbedr Danger Area provides an unrivalled operational test environment for customers looking to accelerate the development of their drones, urban air mobility vehicles and other novel aerospace systems and will also be a key element in Snowdonia Aerospace’s own flight testing under the UK Research & Innovation Future Flight Challenge as we seek to develop BVLOS drone services to support communities across Wales.”

SAC have been appointed the designated Danger Area Authority (DAA) and they are the first and currently only commercial DAA in the UK as all other existing Danger Areas around the UK have the MOD as the DAA. Within all MOD controlled Danger Areas MOD operations must take priority of use over any commercial activity. The new permanent Danger Area at Llanbedr Airfield has been developed to serve the needs of commercial operators who remain frustrated by the lack of suitable and viable testing facilities in the UK and is designed to encourage the commercial exploitation and growth of the future of aviation.

As part of the approval the CAA also created a first and new descriptive activity of operations permitted within the Danger Area. The new permanent Restricted Airspace at Llanbedr will not only allow the testing and operation in segregated airspace of unmanned air systems (drones) and balloons (including airships) but will also now allow the new activity of Test & Evaluation (T & E) operations to take place. T & E has been defined as single or multiple aircraft conducting manoeuvres that may not be able to comply with the Rules of the Air and has been developed to cater for the development and testing of amongst others, electric air vehicles.

Lee Paul, Partner and CEO of SAC stated “ We are delighted after over 2 years work and significant further investment that we have secured a UK first. The development of the new permanent Airspace will significantly enhance the UK RD & TE capability in environmentally friendly aircraft and electric technologies and will enable UK businesses to retain future flight test programmes in the UK rather than the operating abroad thereby retaining economic activity and jobs in the UK economy.

Lee Paul further added “The award of the new Danger Area will now enable us to continue with the ongoing planned further investment at the Airfield and reinforce the Airfield as the UK’s Centre of Excellence for novel aerospace research and development. We are shortly to be announcing new employment and training opportunities for Operations Assistants and Flight Information Officers which we are aiming to recruit from the local area.

We are receiving an increasing number of enquiries from companies looking to take advantage of the new “testing environment” and our first customer is planned for later this month. This is also a significant step in the development of Spaceport Snowdonia and we believe we are the first proposed Spaceport in the UK which has now secured its required Airspace need to support future spaceport operations.”

John Whalley CEO of Aerospace Wales and co-chair of the Space Wales Leadership Group said “This is a huge step forward for Snowdonia Aerospace Centre/Spaceport Snowdonia, underpinning its role as a key UK asset for the development of disruptive flight technology, spaceflight and new applications to support the community and key sectors of the economy. Congratulations to the whole team.”

Further details and booking of the new Airspace can be made by contacting operations@snowdoniaaerospace.com

28 September 2021

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DroneX Tradeshow & Conference – Safely Returning to “Normality”

As the world is slowly but surely returning to “normality” as we once knew it, we are delighted to be launching the DroneX Tradeshow & Conference this year on the 5th & 6th October at the ExCeL London. Whilst we are excited to finally be opening doors again in person, we appreciate that there are some reservations surrounding attending such busy events and mixing with other people after being in our own bubbles for so long. We wouldn’t be going ahead with this event if we didn’t feel it was safe, and we want to make sure that you feel safe attending DroneX and have the best experience possible.

Following government guidelines and advice from the team at the ExCeL, these are the measures currently in place to ensure the safety of everyone at the event:

Anyone wishing to enter DroneX or Helitech will have to provide either proof of double vaccination or a negative lateral flow test within 48 hours of attending – please note that there will be a limited number of lateral flow tests available at the venue, however these will be distributed on a first come first served basis
Testing and tracing is supported at the event and all exhibitors, visitors, staff etc onsite will be recorded
Visitors have been asked to pre-register for tickets to limit unnecessary contact with staff
Masks are no longer mandatory as per government guidelines, however they are advised

The ExCeL have also taken extra steps to increase the safety of their venue, including:

Risk assessment carried out to determine what measures will need to be put in place
Hand sanitiser present throughout the venue
Track and trace for all visitors entering the ExCeL
The ExCeL cleaning team have been provided extra training as per new cleaning procedures in order to meet hygiene standards, and all touch points, seating and meeting areas will be regularly cleaned and maintained over the two days
Increased ventilation to improve the circulation in line with the latest Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers guidance

The safety of all our visitors, exhibitors, speakers, partners and staff attending the DroneX Tradeshow & Conference is our utmost priority and we know that the safer you feel at the event, the more enjoyable your experience will be. We have been doing everything we can to ensure this event can safely go ahead this year, and we are so excited to welcome you to DroneX, in person, on the 5th & 6th October.

Government guidelines are continuously being reviewed and we will update our website with the measures in place accordingly. For more information about the show, including COVID-19 safety measures, visit the website at dronexpo.co.uk

From DroneX Organisers

23 September 2021

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DroneX Announces ARPAS-UK as Headline Partner for 2021

ARPAS-UK, the not for profit Trade Association for the UK Drone Industry, has been announced as a headline partner for this year’s DroneX Tradeshow & Conference.

ARPAS-UK – dedicated to supporting members of the UK drone community – will be joining DroneX this year on the 5th & 6th October at the ExCeL London.

Being the only trade association for the UK drone community, ARPAS work on behalf of their members to support businesses and ensure safe operational best practice among drone users.

They have been recognised by the Counter Terror Awards for their efforts surrounding counter terror strategy in the UK and overseas, and sponsored one of the award categories in 2019 – the UAV Product Award. This award recognises the most innovative products developed for the purpose of protection against hostile drones. This is just one example of the ways in which ARPAS-UK support start-up businesses, larger established operations, and everything in between through promoting innovation and best practice.

The DroneX Tradeshow & Conference is delighted to have ARPAS-UK on board as a headline partner this year, promoting safe and regulatory use of drones which are transforming the processes of many sectors and improving safety.The possibilities of unmanned vertical flight are endless and ARPAS-UK play a huge role in the progression and growth of businesses within the UAV industry.

Adnan Hiroli, the Event Director of the DroneX Tradeshow & Conference, said “We are so excited to be bringing you this incredible new show this year with the support of our headline partners, ARPAS-UK and Drone Major. It is so important for members within the UAV industry to have the support and guidance they need which will allow them to grow their business and encourage best practice. Unmanned vertical flight is ever growing and developing, creating unparalleled opportunities for businesses. We can’t wait for you to see what we have in store for you at the show this year.”

DroneX will allow you to take a firsthand look into the latest technological advancements, with more and more companies incorporating drones for different purposes, this is an unmissable event.

Register for your free tickets now to see ARPAS-UK at the show on the 5th & 6th October, alongside 300 exhibitors, 100 seminars and an incredible schedule of keynote speakers. To find out more about the show and plan ahead in order to make the most of the two days, visit dronexpo.co.uk.

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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.

Notes to Editor:

About Moonrock Drone Insurance

Contact Details:

Ezara@moonrockinsurance.com

Tel: 0800 852 7757

Moonrock is an ARPAS-UK Member

17 September 2021

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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, Commaris^TM, and the brand’s first product, the SEEKER^TM, 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.

To learn more and get in touch, please visit www.commaris.com.

About Commaris

Commaris^TM, 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 SEEKER^TM, 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, Commaris^TM, which delivers unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for commercial inspections in power, gas, oil, construction, agriculture, security, and other industries.

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MEDIA CONTACT

Sarah Wersackas, Matter

Commaris@matternow.com

C: 603.724.9449

Terrafugia is an ARPAS-UK Member

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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.

Contact:

Chris Daniels, Chief Commercial Officer
Chris.daniels@flarebright.com
info@flarebright.com

Flare Bright is a member of ARPAS-UK