Mary-Louise Hoffman
Unmanned aerial system builders have been developing smaller drones for non-military fields such as emergency response, agriculture and energy sector inspection, Military Aerospace & Electronics reported Monday.
John Keller reports in a video blog from an Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International event last week that there is a growing trend toward smaller UAV technology for civil applications.
The trade show featured an iRobot-built throwable and miniature vehicle that contains a speaker and camera to help warfighters identify threats on the battlefield, according to Keller.
Keller says a larger iRobot rugged vehicle is used for field inspections and ordnance disposal operations.
He also interviewed David Kelly, president and CEO at Bluefin Robotics, at the AUVSI event regarding the company’s underwater drone that has been deployed in the Indian Ocean to help search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.
