As COVID-19 rise in what’s being called the second wave in Australia, police are turning to drones to help. One thousand extra police will be deployed alongside the drones to stop the spread of the virus.
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New South Wales (NSW) is planning on spending $5.5 million on shark-spotting drones and other equipment to protect beachgoers from sharks and other animals. The Australian state plans to have a fleet of drones patrolling the coastline.
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Australian Marines are set to receive RQ-21 Blackjack drones in support of the annual Marine Corps rotation in Darwin, Australia, according to rotational force commander Colonel David Banning in an interview on Thursday.
QinetiQ Australia has been given the contract to design and build an unmanned aerial systems (UAS) flight test range in Queensland, Australia on behalf of the Queensland Government. The flight test range will be located at the Cloncurry Aerodrome in North West Queensland.
A drone was used to help researchers from the Raine Island Recovery Project track and count the number of turtles migrating through the Great Barrier Reef off the Northeast coast of Australia. Previously the researchers would count the turtles from a boat by painting a white stripe on their shell.
The Australian state of Victoria is probing how the government has responded to COVID-19. During the inquiry, Public Accounts and Estimates Committee member David Limbrick had a few questions to ask concerning the Victorian Police‘s use of drone technology .
Drone laws are confusing, especially if you are a first-time flyer or are visiting a country. These are made even more confusing by the lack of information provided if you aren’t sure where to look. Australia doesn’t require any paperwork for a recreational pilot to start flying, but there are a few rules you need to follow.
Drones are coming in to help fight the effects from the wildfires that destroyed a large amount of land in Australia earlier this year. XAG has joined forces with the country’s Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELPW) and Heytesbury District Landcare Network (HDLN) to create the first post-fire drone seeding operation in Victoria, Australia.
Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) has once again stated that its mandatory drone registration and pilot accreditation will open later on this year, on September 30. It was originally set to open last month, but was deferred due to COVID-19.
Australian drone delivery company Swoop Aero is looking to transport COVID-19 test kits around Australia to reduce the need for human interaction during this time. Swoop Aero is working with the federal government and the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) to get the drones off the ground.
The World of Drones and Robotics Congress (WoDaRC) was supposed to be held in mid-September this year in Brisbane, Australia. Due to the coronavirus, the event has been moved to a later date to ensure the safety of the event’s participants.
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Sphere Drones will be holding a free webinar later this week to talk to Surf Life Saving NSW’s chief pilot Paul Hardy about the use of drones for life saving along with the ins and outs of its operations. You’ll also be able to ask questions directly!
In a previous article, we outlined the new drone registration and accreditation plan coming to Australian drone pilots in the future. Today we were made aware of new requirements that will force all pilots flying commercially to keep flight logs for up to seven years.
Drones could soon be used in Australia to disinfect the streets, shopping malls, and playgrounds in a new plan to take on coronavirus and squish as soon as possible. The drone best known for watching over beaches, Westpac Little Ripper, is working with authorities to see how drones can assist in disinfecting the streets.
Police in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, used a drone to show the full extent of an outdoor cannabis cultivation in central-west New South Wales. The police were able to uncover a 20,000-acre property being used to grow cannabis, with more than $3.5 million being seized.
A man in Melbourne, Australia has used his drone to deliver drinks to his neighbors amid the latest social distancing laws currently in place around Australia. Joe Mignone flew his drone to his neighbors’ house to deliver two glasses of Johnnie Walker whisky for his neighbors to share a drink with him.
Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) has announced that drone registration and accreditation will soon become a requirement to fly a drone unless you are in a CASA-verified model airfield and your drone weighs less than 250 grams.
Western Australia‘s (WA) police force is going to begin using drones to deliver public service announcements. The drones will be at various popular locations, including beaches and parks where groups aren’t following the new laws in response to the coronavirus outbreak.
Researchers at the University of South Australia are working on coronavirus detection drones capable of detecting temperature, heart, and respiratory rates, as well as detecting people sneezing and coughing in crowds. The “pandemic drone” is being created in partnership with Draganfly Inc, one of the largest enterprise drone companies to date.
The Queensland University of Technology (QUT) is using DJI drones equipped with infrared cameras to detect surviving koala populations in affected areas. The drones can automatically detect the heat signal from koalas, thanks to an algorithm built by QUT researchers.
In Australia, the Westpac Life Saver Rescue Drone program has commissioned a number of dye-dropping DJI Mavic 2 drones, that can drop sea marker dye into the ocean that allows lifesavers on the beach to more easily spot riptides and help stop drownings.
Drones are being used in a new move by the Queensland Department of Environment and Science in Australia to bait and catch crocodiles causing problems. The drones are allowing wildlife officers to catch crocodiles in as little as 15 minutes effectively and humanely.
Drones are being used on Kangaroo Island, Australia by the Humane Society International (HSI) to help with the search and rescue efforts taking place for the wildlife injured in the recent bushfires that swept the country. The drones are equipped with infrared cameras, zoom lenses, and spotlights for finding the animals, no matter what the condition.