A bill that would make it illegal for drones to film and photograph a person or their private property was debated for nearly two hours in the House on Tuesday.
House Bill 1619 sponsored by Rep. Dean Van Schoiack, R-Savannah, would expand private property rights by forbidding people from using drones to “photograph, film, videotape, create an image, or livestream another person or personal property of another person.”
“People can’t just walk over your fence, and they can’t just willy-nilly walk across your backyard for no good reason,” Van Schoiack said. “So the drone bill came up as an idea of mine to further the property rights for the people.”
People could be charged with misdemeanors for taking images with drones and felonies for distributing them.
The bill was met with pushback from other lawmakers. Rep. Michael Burton, D-Lakeshire, argued against the bill on the floor because he said it was unenforceable due to federal law.
“Congress has provided the FAA with exclusive authority to regulate aviation safety, the efficiency of the navigable airspace, and air traffic control, among other things,” Burton quoted from a Federal Aviation Administration statement. “State and local governments are not permitted to regulate any type of aircraft operations.”
Federal airspace law establishes that individuals cannot privately own airspace, according to a guide from the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies. All airspace above the ground is regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration.
In general, civil drone pilots typically fly drones from the surface level to a maximum of 400 feet. According to the FAA, this fits into public airspace. Any unmanned aircraft higher than that altitude must follow the laws and regulations of air traffic control depending on the location of where the remote pilots are flying their unmanned aircraft.
Continue reading: https://www.columbiamissourian.com/news/state_news/house-debates-bill-that-would-ban-drones-from-filming-personal-property/article_e559b208-99a1-11ec-ba09-cbeea5bcbcaf.html

SkyeBrowse, a reality capture platform that can convert your DJI or Autel drone video into a 3D model at the speed of coffee, was launched only in 2020, but it has already saved law enforcement departments in the US over 50,000 hours of manpower and $5 million in accident reconstruction. As the startup celebrates its recent $2.3 million seed round with a spate of hirings, let’s retrace its backstory to see how “the fastest and easiest drone reality capture platform in the world” came into being.
The year was 2016 and Bobby Ouyang was a junior at Rutgers University in New Jersey. He had just begun research on what he called “The Drone Project” with Dr. Peter Jin, a tenured professor at the Rutgers Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation.
That project stopped being a side gig when Bobby found himself in a motorcycle accident a few months later. Hours after the accident, he saw first responders were still performing accident reconstruction, which also caused additional traffic on the scene. At that point, Bobby realized the inefficiencies of traditional accident reconstruction and decided to build SkyeBrowse full-time as cofounder and CEO.
The platform, whose customers today include LA Port Police, Utah State Fire Marshal’s Office, Houston Forensics Science Center, and New Zealand Police Department, uses a patented process called videogrammetry. This technology layers thousands of high-resolution video frames to create a clearer, more accurate reconstruction of the scene than traditional photogrammetry which uses only still images.
Since SkyeBrowse’s innovative video capture technique doesn’t force a drone to slow down (as it would while taking photos), the data capture time is reduced dramatically – think 50 acres in just 5 minutes! In addition, SkyeBrowse models take only 10 minutes to process, compared to hours of processing via traditional photogrammetry. These 3D models are accurate to the centimeter and essentially reduce the time spent on paperwork by over 99%.
Continue reading: https://dronedj.com/2022/03/01/skyebrowse-drone-3d-modeling-funding/

The drone can fly up to 150 feet to take video and livestream it to the STOC/regional TMC (© Kantver | Dreamstime.com)
Two North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDoT) departments have combined to deploy tethered drones from select patrol vehicles to assist with overall traffic management during incidents.  The combination of the statewide Incident Management Assistance Patrol (IMAP) programme and the Division of Aviation's Unmanned Aircraft System programme is expected to provide situational awareness to the NCDoT Statewide Transportation Operations Center (STOC) and Traffic Management centres (TMCs). State traffic operations engineer Dominic Ciaramitaro says: “Along our interstates, where our IMAP patrols operate, there are gaps in camera coverage, so we don't have perfect situational awareness. Our tethered drones will help us fill those gaps."  The NCDoT says traffic operations staff traditionally view video feeds at the STOC/TMC through traffic cameras or they receive reports from responders in the field. According to the department, tethered drones safely offer another method to provide more information in real time, with higher quality video, and for long periods of time.  The tethered drones will serve as a resource in the toolkit of IMAP trucks, which are equipped with specialised tools to assist stranded motorists or scene management with first responders. The drone can fly up to 150 feet to take video and livestream it to the STOC/regional TMC as well as to emergency management personnel at the incident.  This information can provide a safer environment for those on scene or approaching an incident and allow the centres to better manage traffic and share more accurate traveller information to the public, the NCDoT adds. 
Continue reading: https://www.itsinternational.com/its4/its5/its8/news/ncdot-uses-drones-manage-traffic

With so many airlines chasing net-zero emissions targets, one of the easiest ways to achieve this is to fly less. However, that runs counter to the way most airlines do business, which is to encourage people to fly more to grow the business and revenues. But that is not a very environmentally friendly way of doing business. Artificial intelligence (AI) could potentially be a circuit breaker, encouraging people to fly less but spend more when they do fly.
"COVID-19 has presented the opportunity to reorganize how airlines do business so that it has a positive impact on the environment," says Mike Slone, Travel Retail Vice President at AI software firm PROs. "There's an opportunity for airlines to use AI-driven insights to keep up with the trend of taking fewer, longer trips, to advise customers and make their booking experience feel more personal and responsible."
 
Changes afoot in the way people travel
COVID-19 put the brakes on passenger demand worldwide. Particular markets and market segments are bouncing back faster than others. Compared to February 2019, seat availability was down just 11.3% in North America last month but down 48.6% in the Southwest Pacific.
Travel restrictions and border rules have a lot to do with those numbers. But the human factor is also at play - many people are making a conscious decision to fly less. Health rather than economic reasons drive that. But that reluctance to fly is likely to erode over time. Airline trade group IATA expects airline passenger numbers to eclipse pre-pandemic levels by 2024.
Continue reading: https://simpleflying.com/artificial-intelligence-airline-industry-environment/

In spring 2021, the FAA gave American Robotics (NASDAQ: ONDS), a Massachusetts-based company, permission to fly its industrial commercial “Scout” drone autonomously, requiring no human pilot interface or line of sight observation from the ground. 
This was the first such approval from the FAA and forms one indication of how the future of industrial work might look without pilots. The operation would foreseeably allow railroad, pipeline, farming, and mining companies to monitor their assets remotely, with no compromise to human operator safety. 
Sold as a Robot-as-a-Service platform as a monthly subscription, the Scout’s autonomous system would allow a user to monitor a single drone, or multiple drones, at distances up to 1,000 miles.
It’s beginning to happen.
Chevron Signs On
In late January, Chevron (NYSE: CVX) became the second Fortune 100 customer in the oil and gas space to partner with American Robotics. In a statement, Reese Mozer, CEO and co-founder of American Robotics, called his efforts “game-changing” and explained how the new drone platform would empower customers.

“…drone use is about collecting and analyzing data continuously, so full autonomy is required to unlock the full potential.” Reese Mozer, CEO and co-founder, American Robotics

Click to expand...

“Before our FAA approvals, asset managers that used drones to monitor their oil and gas fields needed to employ pilots and visual observers to fly the systems manually, and then manually convert the data into actionable insights,” Mozer explained. 
“With Scout System, we are providing the oil and gas industry with a dramatically more efficient and effective way to manage, monitor, and inspect their assets. Analytics that were previously unattainable due to high costs of operation are now available through the Scout System, allowing users to make informed decisions in real-time that will drive their business forward.”
Everything is automated, from landing to charging to data processing. Once installed, Scout systems will run missions autonomously, collecting, processing, and analyzing data. The drone lives in a weatherproof charging and data processing station called ScoutBase, and once it is installed at a location, customers can interact with the system via an app. 
Continue reading: https://www.flyingmag.com/autonomous-drones-could-change-aviation-landscape/

AI isn’t just becoming a disruptive force in the oil/gas and energy industries. It is a disruptive force. And its role in the industrial sector will only continue to evolve in 2022 and beyond.
My company, AspenTech, recently commissioned an independent survey that highlights the extent to which AI embedded in fit-for-purpose industrial applications, or "industrial AI," has already begun to (re)shape operations at manufacturing sites like refineries, power plants and steam crackers. In that survey, 83% of industrial IT and operations decision makers remarked how industrial AI has already played a major or significant role in their organization’s digital transformation strategy, with 79% adding that they already have an industrial AI project deployed. The results of a survey from Deloitte show that 93% of manufacturing companies likewise believe AI is pivotal to driving growth and innovation in the industrial sector.
The problem isn’t convincing decision makers to integrate industrial AI into their technology stacks or overall business strategy. The real issue — and what will determine how influential industrial AI remains in the coming months and years — is how to deploy it in a way that maximizes its value and ROI.
Identifying The Roadblocks And The Solutions To Overcome Them
Industrial AI isn’t a switch that suddenly opens a spigot of improved production processes, reduced energy waste or more value-added business outcomes. And it’s tempting to want to bolt industrial AI onto your existing operations and believe that’s all it takes. But getting the most out of industrial AI and capitalizing on its potential to truly transform the oil/gas and energy industries means we need to identify the biggest structural challenges that are inhibiting its value — and what it will take to overcome those roadblocks.
Continue reading: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2022/03/03/three-ways-to-overcome-industrial-ai-roadblocks/?sh=47362edc1466

From better forecasting to dynamic risk analysis, artificial intelligence (AI) now plays a key role in modern enterprise sales.
As it turns out, science fiction vastly miscalculated the role AI would play in everyday life. Instead of creating an army of lifelike robots who are one bad day away from a Terminator-style uprising, AI has proven its value in many real-world applications that are transforming industries, and enterprise sales operations are no exception.
AI eliminates much of the guesswork and manual data analysis that historically went hand-in-hand with enterprise sales while preventing revenue leakage at scale. Teams that incorporate AI into their day-to-day operations will find themselves at a significant advantage.
Here are just a few ways AI is changing the game.
1. Actionable Guided Selling
Guided selling is a critical part of the modern sales process. In a nutshell, guided selling helps consumers find the products or services that best suit their needs, increasing sales and conversions for the business. Brands often implement software on their websites and apps that can make intelligent recommendations and lead buyers through the process from start to finish.
These days, there's a lot of technology involved in guided selling. AI helps by automating the process based on behavioral trends and uncovering effective next steps while providing full-funnel visibility for managers and other members of the revenue operations organization. The most effective guided selling tools constantly measure past performance and iterate based on hard data to provide the optimal path to success. The more accurate the data, the more effective sales reps can be.
Continue reading: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2022/03/03/five-ways-artificial-intelligence-is-reshaping-enterprise-sales-operations/?sh=6cc5750f6c06

In early 2021, Teledyne acquired FLIR to complement its wide array of products that covered the electromagnetic spectrum but not its infrared portion, becoming Teledyne FLIR. Together, both companies are developing new products to address all the measurement, imaging, and data gathering across the whole electromagnetic spectrum, whether under the sea, on the land, in the air, or even in space.
Later that year, the company hosted the "4 Reasons Why UAS Drone Pilots Need Clear Radiometric Thermal Zoom" webinar. Presented by Kelly Brodbeck, Product Manager for Teledyne FLIR's Commercial UAS Division, the webinar introduced a new sensor, the TZ20-R, and aimed to explain how the combination of superior optical thermal zoom and radiometry enables more efficient search and surveillance, safer inspection, and better reporting for drone pilots.
Today, at one level or another, we're all photographers. Be it with a professional or a smartphone camera, we understand the concept of zooming in and out while taking a picture and how important that feature is in certain situations. Getting closer to your subject is always a good thing as it allows more flexibility with your compositions. Zoom becomes an essential feature for a drone where you often cannot get very close to your subject due to terrain difficulties or regulations.
Also, most people understand the value that thermal cameras on drones can provide since they've been out there for quite a while now. For example, during a fire like the one in the image below, smoke can obscure the hottest parts, making it harder for First Responders to act. With a thermal camera mounted on a drone, First Responders have more information and can take action quicker, resulting in a more efficient and safer job.

Another essential feature is radiometry, which is the process of taking the information that's at every pixel in a thermal image and associating it with something that the human brain can understand - like a temperature.
"There are lots of things you can do with radiometry," Brodbeck said during the webinar. "In the picture below of a substation, you can see several white areas that I don't have highlighted red. They're glowing and warm, but are they areas of concern? Hard to say. You're not getting the full story if you don't have radiometry in a thermal picture. By enabling radiometry, I've turned on what we call an isotherm to shade anything in the color red that's above a certain threshold. In this case, 75 degrees Celsius and above because anything below isn't much of a concern. With radiometry, you get a lot more information out of a thermal picture."
Continue reading: https://www.commercialuavnews.com/surveying/4-reasons-why-uas-drone-pilots-need-clear-radiometric-thermal-zoom

Image Credit: 2022 IoT Technology Trends MOOR INSIGHTS & STRATEGY
Every year, after the CES dust settles, I take a step back and rank the most disruptive IoT-related technology trends. This year’s list signals the approach of a significant inflection point in the IoT growth curve.
These three developments accelerate IoT’s ongoing transformation from a hodge-podge of custom solutions into a growth industry built on platforms that plug-and-play within a software continuum extending from cloud services to edge devices. Plug-and-play platforms defragmented PCs and smartphones in the 2000s. The same thing is happening with IoT platforms, but the process is slower and more complicated because of the extreme diversity of devices.
Let’s look at each trend from a business perspective to see how smarter devices, standard device platforms, and open networks remove growth barriers and make the IoT more investable across all market segments.
Edge intelligence
Typical IoT devices have surprisingly little processing power because they act as “peripherals” to services running in the cloud or on-premises. These services ingest and analyze sensor data, trigger appropriate actions, send commands back down to devices, and interface with other services. A new generation of smarter edge platforms capable of autonomously running complex application software is now disrupting the peripheral model, which has been the norm for over 20 years.
Autonomous on-device analysis decreases response times while improving reliability and privacy for applications such as anomaly detection, predictive maintenance, wake-word recognition, image classification, and gesture control. Smarter devices also simplify development, shorten TTM, and reduce operating costs by enabling mainstream software development methods that do not require specialized embedded programming techniques. This year, four disruptive technologies combine to accelerate the edge intelligence trend.

2022 "Intelligent Edge" Technologies. MOOR INSIGHTS & STRATEGY
Here’s how IoT solution developers leverage these technologies to build increasingly intelligent edge applications.
Larger processors enable on-device applications to analyze and act on sensor data locally instead of sending it to the cloud for processing. Bigger chips also reduce device development costs and TTM by supporting advanced programming methods and tools such as cloud-native development and containerized software. Development productivity also increases as we move away from low-level embedded techniques and embrace modern, cloud-native software engineering methods.
Neural processors and accelerators (NPUs) enable edge devices to run surprisingly large ML inference applications. Until recently, math-heavy AI algorithms were practical only on large processors. New ML-accelerated chips enable small IoT devices, including battery-powered ones, to run ML inference applications locally without depending on cloud services. Welcome to the brave new world with AI integrated into the things all around us.
ML development on small devices has always been challenging because mainstream cloud-native machine learning code, models, and tools are not optimized for small platforms. In 2019, the tinyML Foundation started a new way of thinking about on-device ML by sharing ideas and experiences for ML applications on low-power devices. ML developers found ways to target small (down to 100kB and below), low-power (milliwatt) devices using familiar languages, tools, libraries, and workflows. Leveraging these concepts, Edge Impulse and other startups provide cloud-based development environments and run-time libraries that directly support many small IoT platforms, with or without NPUs. Cloud-native ML development brings AI functionality to low-power, always-on devices at the edge of the network.
Continue reading: https://www.forbes.com/sites/moorinsights/2022/03/03/2022-iot-technology-trends-the-era-of-iot-plug-and-play-begins/?sh=7abfede011ac

In a few years, we may be largely living “on the edge.” As the amount of data grows exponentially, there is a greater need for edge computing solutions to aid in real-time decision-making. Gartner predicts that by 2025, 75% of enterprise-generated data will be created and processed at the edge, outside of traditional centralized data centers or the cloud.
But with data centers and cloud computing traditionally supporting data flow, where does edge fit in? As a form of distributed computing, edge computing enables processing to happen where data is being generated. The convergence of 5G networks with edge computing means data is not only traveling faster, but can be quickly translated via media, inferencing and analytics into insights and action, enabling new, ultra-low latency applications to come to life. An autonomous vehicle that senses a pedestrian moving into the road may have less than a second to stop or swerve to avoid hitting them, and removing the latency caused by the data traveling to the cloud and back could literally be life-saving. Other benefits of analyzing data at the edge include stronger security protection of data, lower transportation costs, enhanced data quality and increased reliability, particularly in rural or remote places.
The opportunities and challenges of edge adoption
The ability to make fully autonomous vehicles a reality is just one example. Together, 5G and the intelligent edge will enable a new era of distributed intelligence that will transform all types of industries, from smart cities to health care. According to IDC, 77% of U.S. organizations regard edge as a strategic business investment. The need for edge solutions has also been accelerated by the pandemic due to trends like distributed workforces, the growth of remote environments and companies’ digital transformations.
At the same time, while realization of the value of the intelligent edge is growing, companies are struggling to find the right resources to move adoption forward. An IDG survey found that top challenges include identifying clear use cases, security, a lack of internal skills and cost. If the age of distributed intelligence is to reach its full potential, solution providers will need to rely on proven hardware and software platforms, supported by trusted partners with industry-specific experience.
The intelligent edge, practically applied
On the factory floor, the convergence of technologies like edge, 5G, AI and automation is setting the stage for sectorwide Industry 4.0 transformation. Specifically, edge computing is enabling manufacturers access to real-time insights about operations, which allows them to automate control and monitoring processes, optimize logistics and anticipate and correct anomalies before they impact production. Modernizing the factory can be a complicated process due to the time and cost associated with replacing legacy systems with new technology and ensuring everything seamlessly integrates. However, edge computing with 5G can also provide greater flexibility to connect the factory in stages over time, since compute is localized. Intel is currently working with partners to build an end-to-end smart factory to demonstrate how with a modular application environment, digitalization can happen at any scale.
In health care, edge computing could have a similarly transformative effect on patient care. In the near-term future, edge devices may help with sharing real-time data about patients’ vital signs as soon as they enter an ambulance. Instead of having to run an assessment and additional tests once the patient arrives at the hospital, doctors and clinicians would be able to utilize the data already gathered to begin care immediately, continuing to assess, analyze and adjust treatment through the operative and the post-operative phases and beyond to ensure care is always personalized and based on the most up-to-date information. This is a single example; already, edge devices are being used in many other areas of health care to aid with advanced remote patient monitoring, image-based diagnostics, medical equipment management and robotic surgery.
What’s next for intelligent edge adoption
As companies’ edge innovations scale and mature, moving from POC to full-scale deployment, collaboration will play a large role in the success of projects. Solution providers are beginning to realize the value of partnering with technology providers with deep, purpose-built portfolios and industry experience to develop customized edge solutions that drive efficiencies and outcomes. Security will remain a key concern, with connected, intelligent devices making attractive targets for attackers interested in stealing data or disrupting the flow of operations. For that reason, providers should also seek platforms infused with silicon-level telemetry to improve the detection of advanced threats at every level.
Continue reading: https://www.protocol.com/sponsored-content/enabling-the-era-of-intelligent-edge

Wading through crop fields searching for insects, diseases, weeds, nutrient deficiencies, uneven emergence, and other maladies consumes time and effort.
“Even when the corn is just knee high, you can only see a couple hundred yards in each direction,” points out J.D. Bethel, an agronomist with Integrated Ag Services (IAS), Milford Center, Ohio.
This makes it almost impossible to see emerging weeds like giant ragweed that quickly become, well, giant. IAS aims to nix this scenario and others by pairing artificial intelligence developed by Taranis with flights of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) during the growing season.
Taranis officials say its AI2 SmartScout captures 0.3 millimeter per pixel resolution from UAVs at a speed of 100 acres in six minutes. In comparison, the best satellite resolution is about 1.2 meters per pixel, says Mike DiPaola, Taranis general manager of North America and vice president of global sales.
“It can easily identify a bean leaf beetle or a Japanese beetle on a soybean leaf,” says Bethel. “We have even been able to count the hairs on a soybean leaf or the colors of the flowers on soybeans. That’s the sort of resolution it can achieve.”
Confirmation still is required, of course. “You still want to go out and check if it is indeed a waterhemp plant that the program has identified,” says Bethel.
Even when making a field visit, this technology boosts scouting efficiency, according to IAS and Taranis officials. Taranis software also contains a feature that farmers and agronomists can use to prioritize field visits.
“There may be only 15% of fields that they [agronomists and consultants] need to immediately visit,” says Evan Delk, IAS vice president of sales and marketing. “If they’re instead trying to get across every single acre, their time is not being utilized as it should be. Our consultants need to be in front of the grower, helping them make better decisions.”
Continue reading: https://www.agriculture.com/technology/uavs-team-with-artificial-intelligence-to-boost-crop-scouting-efficiency
 

Farming is at the heart of human survival, yet it’s astounding that two decades into the 21st century agriculture remains hugely dependent on manual labor. 5G in agriculture is changing that by supporting the automation of repetitive and labor-intensive tasks, potentially beginning a new era in the history of modern farming.
Sustainability has never been more critical than now, and smart farming may play a key role in food crop production. Leveraging a combination of 5G, edge computing and artificial intelligence (AI) that allows for connectivity at a higher speed with lower latency, smart farming could become a game changer as we face a crossroads in resources and production.
A whole new approach to leveraging the field
There are several key factors driving the problems in 21st-century food production. Farming in 2019 cost an estimated $350 billion in the United States, up 1.1% from 2018, and is expected to climb. Demand is rising while natural resources diminish. Food security is a growing challenge in the face of climate change. Crops are extremely vulnerable to greenhouse gas emissions, which raise global temperature, increase pest and weed infestation, and alter precipitation patterns. All of these challenges can lead to reduced crop yields.
Moreover, as climate change affects the land and weather, the global population is expected to increase to over 9 billion people by mid-century. Despite this growing need to adequately feed people, food waste is a significant problem, with only 14% of food produced reaching consumers. How best to implement practices to reduce food waste is up in the air, and there are obstacles at every level of the supply chain from the farmer to the consumer. Considerations include preserving and packaging food, transportation, grocery store shelf life, consumer demand and even consumer meal planning.
More than two years into the pandemic, we are seeing rising prices at the grocery store due to inflation, high consumer demand and disruptions in supply chains. The U.S. Department of Agriculture forecasts that in 2022, supermarket items will increase between 1.5–2.5%; processed fruits and vegetable prices alone are expected to jump between 2–3% this year. Dining out will cost more, too, as restaurants and hotels recalibrate demand as COVID-19 continues to interrupt services.
Continue reading: https://www.verizon.com/about/news/5g-in-agriculture-smart-farming-transforming-industry

In recent years contractors have seen the advantages of employing light detection and ranging (LiDAR) technology with unmanned aerial systems (UAS), also known as drones. State transportation departments are now using these systems and integrating them into their procedures.
“This is another tool in the toolbox,” says Derek Pfeifer, program manager with North Dakota Dept. of Transportation’s (NDDOT) Design Division. “We have found the technology is very good at examining small areas such as intersections and in areas that have significant ground cover the LiDAR can see through.” Over the past year, NDDOT has built a UAS program in cooperation with the FAA. Integrating LiDAR technology has been a component of that initiative. NDDOT has found uses for UAS LiDAR with bridge inspections, intersection surveys and excavation estimates.
LiDAR-equipped UAS are effective in surveying areas with uneven terrain difficult to survey traditionally, and the technology can “see” through dense vegetation for more accurate ground surveys. 
Another advantage UAS LiDAR offers over more traditional surveying methods is safety, as personnel don’t have to be directly in the roadway. “Before, when we were measuring that, we would have to get out in the field either using a tape measure, a distance wheel or some other kind of device and be physically in the road,” says Evan Wright, state planning engineer with the Mississippi Dept. of Transportation. The agency has been using UAS LiDAR for several years and now has a fleet of UAS with the technology employed across the state.
For these agencies, LiDAR can also improve efficiency in operations. The exhaustive amount of data that can be collected translates into fewer trips to the field. The data can be also be assessed more rapidly, so surveys that previously took weeks can now take just days. An unmanned aerial system offers LiDAR mobility and range that a ground-based crew cannot match. In the past, the size and weight of LiDAR sensors made it difficult to integrate them into UAS. But both LiDAR and UAS have seen significant improvements in recent years, with improving capabilities and lower costs. “UAS are actually undergoing a revolution from a technology standpoint,” explains Cesar Quiroga, senior research engineer at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute. 
 
Read more: https://www.enr.com/articles/53704-drone-mounted-lidar-brings-fresh-data-to-state-dots

Share your story for a chance to win a DJI Mavic 3! March 8 is International Women’s Day, and we are looking forward to celebrating the fearless women who #ChooseToFly toward the Future of Possible. The FAA’s count of women registered as drone pilots has grown from 793 in 2016 to over 19,000 in 2021, with almost 50% of them registered as commercial drone pilots. These women are catalysts of change as they lead the adoption of drones in their communities and organizations. We want to celebrate and share their stories with the world. From February 24 to March 4, DJI Enterprise is hosting the #ChooseToFly campaign. We invite you to share your stories of the women who are using drones to drive change. Nominate inspirational women or share your own story for a chance to win a Mavic 3! How to participate? Submit a 1- to 3-minute video telling your story as a hobbyist or a professional drone pilot. Upload and submit your video by clicking on the link below. You can choose any of the following topics or develop on any other topic to share your story:

• How did you get interested in flying drones and/or incorporating drones into your work?
• Is there a particular moment you felt the proudest of the work you have accomplished with your drone?
• Tell us in detail how you have been using drones as a tool of empowerment in your work?
• Have you experienced a “wow” moment while flying / working with drones?
• Has there been a particularly challenging experience you had with drones that ultimately helped you grow in your use of the technology?

Feel free to share anything else that helps bring your incredible drone journey to life!
Campaign rules

• Nominate incredible women or share your own story by submitting a video between 1 to 3-minute telling your story as a female drone pilot.
• Videos that only contain aerial footage DO NOT QUALIFY-we want to know your story 🙂
• The submission deadline is March 4, 2022 at 11:59 PM (US EST)

Read more and apply: https://www.expouav.com/exhibitor-news/women-who-fly-a-womens-day-celebration/?mkt_tok=NzU2LUZXSi0wNjEAAAGC8CR5Jge4k7fOv0N3jNVaVVqutMIV2x4-iUzS_nYH11eCTmSoVN4Bqcf_ukyfhFJz-OF53N4l0zPg7m2UbisWG36i2Ti38sYqo28Sat_Uj3RkJh0

In late September, a new type of boat drone capable of traveling into the center of a hurricane emerged from an especially powerful storm with rarely-captured video of towering waves plowing through the Atlantic Ocean.
The Saildrone, designed to record video and data that help scientists better understand the storms, steered into the path of Hurricane Sam and shot footage of 50-foot waves rolling in and out of frame while wind and rain whipped by.
Now, after capturing a sight that few had ever seen, the company behind the ocean drone is expanding its reach.
Saildrone, Inc. is opening a new facility for its unmanned boats in St. Petersburg, Florida in order to map the ocean floor and track illegal fishing — all with the help of the robots. With more boats in the region, the company said it also hopes to send the drones into more storms during the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season.
 
Read more: https://www.masslive.com/news/2022/03/after-videoing-50-foot-hurricane-waves-ocean-drone-company-using-unmanned-boats-to-stop-illegal-fishing-map-ocean-floor.html

Drones in America host Grant Guillot spoke with guest Ben Brooks, Policy Development Lead for Wing, a sister company of Alphabet that focuses on improving the safety, security, and viability of drone delivery.
Brooks remarked on Wing’s improvements and adjustments through the years and how the scalability and ROI of the company has vastly improved, “It was really significant,” and hitting 100,000 deliveries “in a real-world commercial setting shows the public that it can be done safely.”
Interestingly, post-covid acceptance of drones and drone delivery appears to be on the rise and the need for more robust regulations for the present and future use of drones in the airspace is vital moving forward. Brooks highlighted the need to account for the huge diversity in drone use today and in the future and finding regulations that promote safety as well as open air-space.
Though existing BVLOS operations are extremely safe, Brooks stated that the regulator needs to set a level playing field and ensure that the airspace is accessible to everyone for a range of uses. As a company, Wing aims to promote cooperative airspace in this field.
As the need to increase the efficiency of the movement of goods expands, commercial drone delivery is poised to fill in the gap – and be more cost effective than ground-based delivery.
Continue reading & watch the video: https://marketscale.com/industries/software-and-technology/preparing-drone-delivery-to-operate-in-one-of-the-busiest-airspaces-in-the-country/

Ahead of International Women’s Day, here are three ways women in tech can stay ahead in 2022, report by Kathy Chen, Vice President – Channel Asia Pacific and Japan, Citrix.
International Women’s Day is an opportunity to celebrate all women across fields, irrespective of race, creed, or circumstance. It‘s an opportunity to reflect on everything we’ve achieved as well as pave the way to uplift and encourage each other to unlock our full potential.
Over the last few years, we’ve witnessed cultural shifts and dedicated efforts to empower women in the workplace. However, the reality is that there is still much work to be done in the technology industry to elevate women as leaders. In keeping with the theme of International Women’s Day 2022, it’s imperative, now more than ever, to #breakthebias and create a world driven by equality.
Time and again, we’ve witnessed women breaking stereotypes and pushing the boundaries, especially in male dominated industries like technology. However, the pandemic’s shadow looms as one of the biggest setbacks for gender equality we’ve seen in years. Today, we need to create a culture, economy, and work environment that supports and empowers women to achieve their goals. It’s time to normalize the fact that women can do anything they set their minds to.
But change, like always, begins with YOU!
I’ve put together some approaches and best practices to help guide women as we work to maximize career opportunities.
Continue reading: https://womenlovetech.com/3-ways-women-in-tech-can-stay-ahead/

The tech industry is asking how to get more women included in their ranks. But if women can’t visualize a world that includes more than just white and male employees, the narrative will stay the same.
There are only about 19% of women in entry or mid-level positions in the tech industry, with as few as 10% of women holding executive positions, according to tech company Entelo. The National Center for Women & Information Technology found that while women make up 25% of the tech workforce, Asian women account for 5% of that 25%, Black women account for 3% and Hispanic women account for 1%.
Nancy Wang, general manager at Amazon Web Services and founder and CEO of Advancing Women in Tech, a global non-profit dedicated to helping underrepresented groups accelerate their tech careers, believes it will take a village to change these numbers.
“In part, women have these roadblocks because of how society pictures women, which is why it’s so important for the tech leadership community to continue to change the face of representation,” says Wang, “It shouldn’t matter if someone is female, male or non-binary, but we have quite a ways to before we get to that reality.”
And that’s where mentorship and sponsorship can potentially make a difference to today’s tech industry — if done correctly, explains Wang. Employee Benefit News spoke with Wang further to gain insight into the challenges faced by women in tech, and how genuine connections can help promote equity in an infamously inequitable field.
Continue reading: https://www.benefitnews.com/news/general-manager-at-amazon-web-services-on-women-in-tech

Gender biases and inequality in the tech industry has been a hot topic of conversation for a long time. In recent years however, several studies have shown that gender representation has improved at every level in the corporate pipeline. While a decade ago, women were 23-24% of the employees in the Indian IT sector; now it’s 34% of the 4.5 million employee base. That’s a phenomenal jump, as Sangeeta Gupta, VP & chief strategy officer at Nasscom, says, the current figure is much higher than in most countries’ tech industries, including the US, thanks to more girls (and their families) prioritizing science stream and also the tech industry’s effort to raise the number of girls in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math).  The problem however is, many women drop out mid-career, for a variety of family reasons, and do not return, making the percentage of women in senior management in tech reasonably low, as is evident from studies that women still occupy less than a quarter of current C-suite positions.
Women in tech, still not well represented
Navneet Gupta, Founder & CEO of YPay believes, “Women are still not very well represented in tech leadership, despite making up 42% of STEM degree holders in India. Evidence shows many women opt-out of pursuing careers in tech due to a couple of major factors, primarily as technology being a male-dominated field lead to not many women role models and the dual burden of work and domestic life on women.”
Dattatri Radhakrishna, VP of Engineering, Whatfix agrees that women are likely to face ‘dual role’ syndrome, wherein professional decisions are largely affected by their domestic responsibilities. She says, “This paucity is not merely due to skill inadequacy, but also is a result of assigned stereotypical gender roles.”
According to Global Gender Gap Report 2021, by World Economic Forum, the effects of COVID-19 have delayed their career progression due to family or home pressures. The social and economic impacts of gender inequality in tech are so far-reaching and there are a few implicit biases of the people who push women behind. As Hwa Choo Lim, VP-HR APAC, Equinix believes, one of the causes is the lack of hygienic amenities especially in schools and colleges in remote areas. This becomes a deterrent for adolescent girls who then fall out of education system in Asian countries, including India. Continue reading: https://www.cxotoday.com/news-analysis/women-in-tech-creating-a-path-to-a-better-future/

Today’s woman in Tech: Sarah Boen, Director of Strategic Technology and ASICs at Tektronix
Sarah is a technologist with 20+ years of industry experience across semiconductors, communications, education, and defense markets. In her current role as the Director of Strategy Technology and ASICs, she is responsible for driving technology innovation for test and measurement solutions that accelerate the realization of essential technology. Her previous roles include GM Wired Communications, Marketing Manager, and Software Engineer. She has a Master of Business Administration and Bachelor of Science Computer Science from The University of Portland.
When did you become interested in technology? What first got you interested in tech?
I’ve always been interested in technology. When I was young, I remember when ATARI® came out and my mom gifted me a Commodore 64®. I just thought it was the coolest thing, so my mom supported that interest by ensuring we had a computer. I was also in Girls Scouts and vividly remember wanting to earn the Computer Badge for technology. It was always just a passion that I’ve been attracted to from a young age. Games like The Oregon Trail, Asteroids, and Lemonade Stand were titles that I also enjoyed playing when I was younger. When I was a junior in high school, I participated in classes like drafting and computer programming as elective courses. It was a very “boys-oriented” environment in the ‘90s, as we only had two girls, including myself, that were in these programming and technology courses. When it was time for me to decide on what I’d want to study in college, technology was just a natural fit for the interests that I had built. Computer Science to me was fun and I enjoyed it a lot.
Let’s talk about your background. How did you end up in your career path? What obstacles did you have to overcome?
I started working as a software engineer with internal software at Tektronix but wanted to get involved with functions that were more customer-facing. The customer service aspect was something that I really enjoyed. By talking to customers to understand their pain points and designing solutions, it allowed Tek to design solutions to allow them to do their jobs effectively. So, I made the decision to go back to school for my master’s degree in business. My amazing manager was very supportive when I made the decision to return to school. Once I graduated, I took a role on Tek’s marketing team which was heavily focused on electronics testing. The team was mainly comprised of electronic engineers who had physics backgrounds. This opportunity gave me the chance to really explore other areas in marketing for Tektronix and understand the breadth of our portfolios. After spending some time truly working with customers, I realized that I missed being involved with technology. I love to dream so I wanted to reconnect with what the future would look like and how technology could help enable innovations of those visions. Being able to be a part of efforts to think about what’s possible with technology trends is very intriguing to me, especially where these trends align through an economic and environmental lens. Taking a deep look at where these trends converge and how technology will prepare society for them is very exciting to me.
Continue reading: https://jaxenter.com/women-in-tech-boen-176666.html

The crypto job market is hot at the moment. According to LinkedIn data, job postings with titles containing terms like "bitcoin," "ethereum," "blockchain", and "cryptocurrency" grew 395% in the U.S. from 2020 to 2021, outpacing the broader tech industry — which saw a 98% increase in listings during the same period.
Whether looking to start your career in blockchain and crypto or looking to transition, below are my five top tips to help you on your journey, regardless of your experience:
1. Crypto & Blockchain Experience
The first thing that employers look at is whether you have prior experience in the crypto, blockchain, or digital asset space. If yes, the chances of being asked for a screening call with a recruiter significantly increase. Direct experience with a digital asset exchange (Coinbase, Gemini), a blockchain company (Algorand, r3) bank (BNY Mellon, BlackRock), tech company (Meta), or fintech (Revolut) is the most desirable but not the only source of relevant experience.
I recently met with someone who has successfully made the transition from Web2 to Web3 and they shared some great insights and advice. "While prior experience in the space gives you a leg up, it's not the most important thing. The ability to identify the role requirements and share examples of how you have navigated similar scenarios in the past (backed up with clear stories/examples) will really help you to breakthrough the talent pool. I personally had zero work experience in Web3 prior to starting my current role but my account management/partner management skills and experience has helped me set a foundation for crafting the necessary working models and mental models for how I can be successful and useful in this role".
"How do I get experience when I have no experience?" is what commonly comes up, and it's a fair question. The trick here is finding ways to gain experience, even part-time or on a voluntary basis.
Things to Consider
- Identify the companies you would like to work with and see if there are any ways to work on projects on a part-time or voluntary basis. 
- Are there any national or community blockchain and crypto groups you can join to get first-hand experience and build your network? As a data point, several people have joined Blockchain Ireland working groups (developer, start-up, legal and reg. education, and skills). This has resulted in people gaining skills and building their networks to get their foot in the door with a crypto or blockchain company. DLT Talents, Women in Blockchain Talks, and BlockW are also fantastic initiatives to consider.
- Don't forget to demonstrate your transferable skills, whether marketing, coding, project management, or community development.
2. Crypto & Blockchain Education
When interviewing people for crypto and blockchain roles, many folks say they are deep into crypto. It's great to see people passionate about blockchain and crypto, but you need to have evidence to back this up. There are many great courses for people to take from prestigious universities such as Wharton, UCLA, Oxford, Bocconi and Trinity College Dublin. More moderately priced courses are available from Udemy and LinkedIn. There are also excellent free online courses, such as Gary Gensler's MIT lectures through YouTube and Michael Saylor's saylor.org Academy 'Bitcoin for Everybody'. If you want a more tailored, hands-on experience, lots of start-ups and niche education players are popping up in this space like The DeFi Coach, Calyptus, 101blockchains, the Blockchain Academy and CrystlyCrypto.
Things to Consider
- Take the time time to complete a course or multiple courses. It does not have to be an expensive course.
- Add it to your CV/resume and LinkedIn profile
- Chances are you have transferable skills through previous employers and projects. Make sure these are easily visible in your cover letter, LinkedIn note, and CV/resume.
Continue reading: https://www.forbes.com/sites/lorykehoe/2022/03/02/5-top-tips-to-get-a-job-in-crypto/?sh=5a075eb341a1

According to a survey conducted for CNBC and Acorns in 2021, women have relatively invested less as compared to men when it comes to both digital and traditional investments. The numbers tell it all. Men invest twice as much as women: in cryptocurrency (16% of men vs 7% of women), exchange-traded funds (14% of men vs 7% of women), individual stocks (40% of men vs 24% of women), in mutual funds (30% of men vs 20% of women), real estate (36% of men vs 30% of women) and bonds (14% of men vs 11% of women).
Angela Walch, a research associate at the UCL Centre for Blockchain Technologies in London, recently commented, “The crypto world seems to mirror the tech and finance worlds in terms of gender; there are women, but the space is heavily male-dominated”.
“As crypto becomes more mainstream, it is important to have diverse perspectives in creating and running the systems so that better decisions can be made,” she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
But the good news is that while the cryptocurrency and NFT space is male dominated, women too are making waves significantly in the emerging and lucrative virtual world.
Many female creators, collectors and technology innovators are breaking into these two blockchain technologies and making it accessible and inclusive for all.
Here are some trends that we have noticed in the new wave of digital currencies.
Embracing NFTs
NFTs or Non-Fungible Tokens are digital assets that can’t be duplicated. You can digitize any unique asset of yours, such as an art, a tweet, a trading collectible or even a concert ticket. Once you know how to create or mint digital art and put it up on the marketplace, collections can be bought and sold expensively. So, even a rise averse investor can get into the NFT market.
The NFT marketplace is attracting a niche audience. There has been a significant rise of celebrities, artists and investors even though the NFTs bought are relatively small.
Continue reading: https://www.prestigeonline.com/my/pursuits/tech/women-in-nfts-and-cryptocurrency/

Even though female investors are increasingly interested in cryptocurrency and blockchain technology, there is still a significant knowledge gap when it comes to these topics, a new study reveals.
BlockFi noted that a third-party survey panel conducted the study on Jan. 28, 2022, and included 1,031 female-identifying Americans between the ages of 18 and 65.
According to a recent study by BlockFi focused on the shifting attitudes toward cryptocurrency, 92% of the women surveyed have heard about crypto, with almost one in four (24%) already owning some. In contrast, 80% still find it difficult to understand and 72% believe investing is too risky.
Per the study, over one-third of women intend to purchase cryptocurrency in 2022, with 60% of respondents saying they would buy crypto in the next three months.
The study points out that while wider cryptocurrency adoption is still low, the majority of female crypto owners are purchasing and HODLing. In 2022, the crypto market has already seen a lot of volatility. Still, women's confidence in long-term crypto investment is unwavering, with most women purchasing Bitcoin (BTC) (71%), Dogecoin (DOGE) (42%), and Ether (ETH) (18%), the survey notes.
Continue reading: https://cointelegraph.com/news/women-s-interest-in-crypto-grows-but-education-gap-persists-study

Blockchain technology was unleashed on the world by way of an anonymously published white paper in 2008. The pseudonymous author, Satoshi Nakamoto, did not use the term blockchain in the paper on peer-to-peer electronic cash systems, but the clever code that enabled distributed ledger technology traces its roots to these humble beginnings.
Blockchain can most quickly be understood by contemplating this quote from Sally Davies of the Financial Times, “Blockchain is to Bitcoin what the internet is to email – a big electronic system on top of which you can build applications.” Cryptocurrencies are but one of many applications for blockchain technology. Almost any industry with B2B or B2C transactions that utilizes third- party entities as trusted intermediaries can be made more efficient with blockchain technology.
While cryptocurrency remains mired in what some commentators have dubbed the crypto-winter, distributed ledger technology, hereafter referred to as blockchain technology, is poised to disrupt a variety of industries.
Blockchain has myriad limitations and is by no means a panacea, but here are the top three most compelling use cases (other than cryptocurrency/fintech):
Continue reading: https://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/news/2022/03/01/3-industries-blockchain-will-revolutionize-in-2022.html

The blockchain industry seems unique, new and frantic, but the evolutionary pattern of new industries over time is eerily consistent. Consider the California gold rush, the global oil boom or the rise of the internet.
Each of these economic disruptions saw a similar pattern. The first is a shift from speculation to substance. Each industry that survived began with the promise of riches, with speculation in these new worlds accelerated by marketing, often highlighting the sizzle. All of it is designed to create true believers and drive adoption.
W. Sean Ford is chief operating officer of Algorand, a blockchain platform that powers the creator economy and a range of projects that converge traditional and decentralized finance.
The second element of economic disruptions is shifting demographics. Over time, the mix of people who are early adopters changes, and other types of individuals, institutions and companies start to move in. These new participants then put pressure on the field to introduce what is necessary to successfully build these new industries.
Third, the value that's created in these new sectors often comes after the initial dust settles. It's the second wave of participants that start steering things toward building real businesses, with fundamentals that become the foundation for sustained growth.
The blockchain industry is shifting to substance. The fundamental understanding of what is possible is far clearer. We've seen lots of use cases. The demographics have shifted. Institutional capital is entering the space. You know you're starting to get somewhere when there is the potential or actual use of blockchain by tens of millions of people who don't necessarily even know that they're using blockchain.
Continue reading: https://www.coindesk.com/layer2/2022/03/02/how-to-make-blockchain-a-new-kind-of-economic-engine/