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The new Vue Pro R from FLIR gives both drone operators and certified thermographers the power to gather accurate, non-contact temperature measurements from an aerial perspective. Every still image the Vue Pro R saves contains accurate, calibrated temperature data embedded in every pixel, adding even more value to your sUAS operations and services than ever. Keeping the same industry-leading thermal imaging quality, interfaces, and capability as the best-selling Vue Pro, the Vue Pro R adds fully radiometric data-gathering to sUAS applications as diverse as building and roof inspections, power grid inspections, infrastructure analysis, precision agriculture, and public safety. Radiometry The Vue Pro R is more than a thermal imager – it captures accurate, non-contact temperature measurements from an aerial perspective and saves images with calibrated temperature data embedded in every pixel. Get FLIR Tools On-Board Recording Vue Pro R captures regular JPEGs and fully radiometric R-JPEGs that can be fully analyzed in FLIR Tools thermography analysis and reporting software. It also records 8-bit digital video in MJPEG or H.264 formats, and 14-bit TIFFs right on the camera so you won’t lose any of your data to transmission loss. Imagery is saved to the micro-SD card and can be retrieved either directly from the card or by plugging the camera into a USB cable, where your computer will see it as a storage device. MAVLink Integration & Camera Control Like Vue Pro, Vue Pro R’s Accessory Port connection gives you access to MAVLink commands camera controls over PWM commands, so you can select color palettes, start and stop recording, or trigger the camera’s e-zoom in-flight from your radio controller. If MAVLink is enabled, two camera controls are available; without MAVLink you can control up to four camera controls. Easy to Configure Vue Pro R comes with a built-in, low-power Bluetooth module, so you can easily configure your camera with our custom iOS or Android apps before you take off. Change color palettes, set your image optimization features, configure your PWM inputs, and start recording all without lugging a computer to the field. With the same powerful thermal imaging core used in the most popular cameras in the world, FLIR Vue Pro R brings affordable, calibrated radiometry to drone operators, making it perfect for myriad applications like: Roof inspections Power line inspections Substation inspections Cell tower inspections Search and rescue Precision agriculture Security Surveying

The FLIR VUE PRO will be shipping out in just another week or so and OEMCameras.com was one of the first to receive the FLIR VUE PRO for review. Here’s a look at some of the great features of the VUE PRO. Designed for professional use, FLIR Vue Pro is more than a thermal camera, it is a thermal measurement instrument and data recorder that adds tremendous value to your sUAS operations and services. FLIR Vue Pro gives you in-flight control of two camera functions through direct PWM connections, and it’s MAVLink compatibility makes it ready for the easy image stitching required for mapping, survey, and precision agriculture applications. Plus, it’s compatible with Pix4Dmapper right out of the box. The convenient mobile app makes pre-flight camera set-up and configuration quick and easy so you won’t have to drag a computer out to your flying site just in case you need to change a camera setting.

If you own and/or operate a sUAS in the United States, the rules are about to change. Over the next month, the government will announce a new program to register drones in the United States. The Department of Transportation is taking the first steps, by announcing the formation of a task force to create a registration process. Registration could begin as soon as the holiday season, DOT officials said Monday at a Washington news conference. Currently, all airplanes, helicopters and other large aircraft are required to register with the FAA. This initiative essentially would extend that requirement to drones. The DOT stated, “The task force will be made up of 25 to 30 diverse representatives from the drone manufacturers and manned aviation industries, the federal government, and other stakeholders”. Unmanned aircraft systems are restricted to fly within five miles of an airport without notifying the airport operator and control tower and are restricted to 400 feet max. The FAA is currently writing new rules for small drone operators, to be implemented in 2016. In the meantime, the FAA has issued more than 1,000 temporary exemptions to individual drone operators. Aviation groups are urging officials to complete these rules, as the FAA did not meet its deadline last month. More information can be found at:

Beta test now underway On August 28, 2015, the FAA released B4UFLY to approximately 1,000 beta testers, including members of industry, government, and the public. This limited beta test is expected to run for several months, after which the FAA plans to make a final version of B4UFLY available for the general public. The beta version of the app is for iOS devices only, but the FAA intends to release a future version for both iOS and Android devices. Key features of the B4UFLY app include: A clear “status” indicator that immediately informs the operator about their current or planned location. For example, it shows flying in the Special Flight Rules Area around Washington, DC is prohibited Information on the parameters that drive the status indicator A “Planner Mode” for future flights in different locations Informative, interactive maps with filtering options Links to other FAA UAS resources and regulatory information For more information, view the B4UFLY Q&A(PDF). Source: FAA.Gov

Regulations will facilitate integration of small UAS into U.S. aviation system WASHINGTON – The Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration today proposed a framework of regulations that would allow routine use of certain small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) in today’s aviation system, while maintaining flexibility to accommodate future technological innovations. The FAA proposal offers safety rules for small UAS (under 55 pounds) conducting non-recreational operations. The rule would limit flights to daylight and visual-line-of-sight operations. It also addresses height restrictions, operator certification, optional use of a visual observer, aircraft registration and marking, and operational limits. In addition to this proposal, earlier today, the White House issued a Presidential Memorandum concerning transparency, accountability, and privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties protections for the Federal Government’s use of UAS in the national airspace system which directs the initiation of a multi-stakeholder engagement process to develop a framework for privacy, accountability, and transparency issues concerning commercial and private UAS use. The current unmanned aircraft rules remain in place until the FAA implements a final new rule. The FAA encourages new operators to visit: http://www.knowbeforeyoufly.org You can view the FAA’s Small UAS Notice of Proposed Rulemaking later today at: http://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/rulemaking/recently_published/ For more information on the FAA and UAS, visit: http://www.faa.gov/uas/

The following script is from “Drones Over America” which aired on March 16, 2014 , and was rebroadcast on June 22, 2014. Morley Safer is the correspondent. David Browning, producer. They’re everywhere – we’re talking about drones – not the impersonal killing machines that patrol the badlands overseas, but drones used by the FBI, by university researchers, by amateur photographers, even by your nosy neighbors. As we reported in March, domestic drones are poised to become a multi-billion dollar industry, revolutionizing everything from crop management down on the farm to possibly – package delivery to your front door. The federal aviation administration is trying to figure out the rules of the road for drones, but for the moment, they’re barely regulated.

Join the Roswell Flight Test Crew as they conduct a side-by-side comparison of different resolution FLIR thermal imaging cameras, testing their detection range for a human-sized target, as well as judging their effectiveness for FPV flying. The cameras tested include: the Tau2 640, the Tau2 320 and the Tau2 160. The purpose of these tests is to help first responders interested in deploying FLIR-equipped drones to compare the performance of different cameras, in order to select one that will meet their needs. Contact us for more information on our line of FLIR Tau2 cameras for your own applications. Visit OEMCameras.com for more products. Video by Roswell Flight Test Crew: http://http://roswellflighttestcrew.typepad.com/ See more of their videos at: https://www.youtube.com/user/RoswellFlightTest

In an interview with CBS’s “60 Minutes” on Sunday evening, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos unveiled Amazon Prime Air, a service that delivers packages via autonomous drones. With the service, Bezos said he hopes that the company will be able to deliver packages into customers hands within 30 minutes of the time they place an order. This seems like something from the Jetsons, the concept of an octocopter equipped with eight blades, built-in GPS, and a shoebox-size bin landing product right on your doorstep in less than half an hour with a push of a button! Well, the future is coming sooner than you think, as Amazon Prime Air could well be a reality by late 2015. Move over Santa, Amazon Prime Air will have us covered for the next holiday season. Tell us what you think of Amazon Prime Air? What would you order?