Sign Up for the Newsletter
The most up-to-date news and insights into the latest emerging technologies ... delivered right to your inbox!
Most Read: Drone Manufacturer Gets FAA Approval for Operations Over Humans, Moving Vehicles; White House Says Drones Over New Jersey Were Cleared by FAAMost Read: Drone Manufacturer Gets FAA Approval for Operations Over Humans, Moving Vehicles; White House Says Drones Over New Jersey Were Cleared by FAA
Also inside, Kodiak delivers first self-driving semi truck to customer, Alice & Bob Raises $104M for fault-tolerant quantum computing and more
4 Min Read
Draganfly
Here are the most-read stories on IoT World Today this week.
Drone Manufacturer Gets FAA Approval for Operations Over Humans, Moving Vehicles
Drone manufacturer Draganfly has received the go-ahead from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to conduct operations over humans and moving vehicles for a route over Boston.
The FAA waiver marks a significant milestone for the company, allowing it to conduct flights of its small, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) beyond standard operational restrictions.
Under the waiver, Draganfly can fly its drones over individuals who are not directly part of the UAV operation and can conduct operations over moving traffic, which Draganfly said is critical for urban deployments.
“Securing this FAA waiver underscores the trust and confidence we have built with regulatory authorities and reflects the safety and strength of our UAV platforms,” said Cameron Chell, Draganfly CEO. “This achievement allows us to deploy drones for critical applications in urban environments, including public safety, infrastructure inspection and specialized mission support.”
Drones Over New Jersey Were Cleared by FAA: White House
Most of the countless drone sightings over New Jersey last month were authorized by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), according to the White House.
In her first White House briefing, press secretary Karoline Leavitt read a statement from President Trump stating that the drones were “not the enemy.”
“After research and study, the drones that were flying over New Jersey in large numbers were authorized to be flown by the FAA for research and various other reasons,” Leavitt said, reading the White House statement.
No details about the “research or various other reasons” were provided.
“Many of these drones were also hobbyists, recreational and private individuals that enjoy flying drones,” read the statement. “In time, it got worse due to curiosity. This was not the enemy.”
Kodiak Delivers First Self-Driving Semi Truck to Customer
Self-driving company Kodiak Robotics is claiming a world first by delivering a driverless semi-truck to a customer.
The customer is Atlas Energy Solutions, with whom Kodiak has been performing driverless operations since last July.
However, the news that Atlas now owns two RoboTrucks marks a significant step forward, in that it defines the model which Kodiak is keen to deploy in future – selling its Kodiak Driver self-driving tech to companies who can use it on their own vehicles and run their own operations.
This is in contrast to how the driverless service launched last summer, where Kodiak-owned driverless trucks were delivering frac sand (or proppant) for Atlas along a 21-mile off-road route in West Texas’s Permian Basin.
Watch the Kodiak RoboTruck in action
Alice & Bob Raises $104M for Fault-Tolerant Quantum Computing
Alice & Bob, a French quantum computing company, has secured $104 million in a series B financing round to support its aims of developing a practical quantum computer by 2030.
The funding round was led by Future French Champions, AXA Venture Partners and Bpifrance. Future French Champions is a partnership between QIA, the state of Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, and Bpifrance.
Alice & Bob hardware uses cat qubits, a type of superconducting qubit developed by the company’s founders and later adopted by Amazon. A recent demonstration by the company suggested its architecture could reduce the hardware requirements for building a useful large-scale quantum computer by up to 200 times compared to competing approaches.
Cat qubits inherently suppress bit-flip errors, one of the two types of errors that plague quantum computers. This property makes them a candidate for enabling more efficient architecture that could lead to fault-tolerant quantum computers (FTQCs) for real-world applications.
Flying Taxi Maker Expands into Denmark
Spanish eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) vehicle maker Crisalion Mobility has signed a deal with a Danish helicopter company to develop advanced air mobility (AAM) services in Denmark.
Crisalion and Copenhagen Helicopter agreed to develop plans for passenger and cargo transportation on electric aerial vehicles (EAV).
A main focus of the deal is to explore the feasibility of eVTOL vehicles traveling between the Danish island of Funen and the south-eastern islands of the region.
“At Crisalion Mobility, we are motivated to join forces with companies like Copenhagen Helicopter, which enrich our journey towards the transformation of advanced air mobility,” said Manuel Heredia, CEO of Crisalion Mobility. “This agreement allows us to explore different scenarios on which to improve our operations and anticipate future demands related to the way people move between local communities.”
About the Author
You May Also Like
