With the inclusion of the American Security Drone Act (ASDA) within the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), signed into law by President Biden in December, 2023. These new drone regulations prohibit the use of federal funds to purchase drones made in China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea, or drones that use certain components made in those countries.
From an article in Inside Unmanned Systems by Peter Gutierrez.
Emesent, the award-winning Australian company specializing in autonomous technologies for industrial drones, has responded to the new US regulation by announcing its agreement to provide high-performance Hovermap LiDAR mapping and autonomy technologies to the American-made Freefly Astro drone.
Hovermap is Emesent’s advanced simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM)-based LiDAR mapping and autonomy payload, designed for physically challenging and GPS-denied environments. The unit captures survey-grade data, quickly and safely, providing surveyors with a high-definition 3D scan of the environment.
Astro is Freefly’s latest commercial drone platform, equipped with RTK, a 61 megapixel Sony camera, LTE cloud connectivity and integrated mission computer. In a recent communication, Emesent co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer Dr Stefan Hraba said his company is keen to see how users are able to leverage the combination of Emesent Hovermap technology and the Astro drone’s capabilities.
Easier than ever LiDAR scanning
With the latest release of Emesent’s mission planning app Commander, and newly enhanced Hovermap Autonomy, pilots will enjoy from a simple and stress-free approach to 3D LiDAR mapping. Hovermap Autonomy Level 2 (AL2) is Emesent’s latest set of autonomy features, enabling pilots to fly an entire mission, from take-off to landing, using a tablet, under all kinds of environmental conditions. Data is processed on-board in real time, so by the time the drone touches down it has already produced a detailed 3D map of the covered area.
For the complete article on drone regulations CLICK HERE.
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