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Thread: Back to the Future: Company Looks to Sell Hoverboards to Military

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    Back to the Future: Company Looks to Sell Hoverboards to Military

    Back to the Future: Company Looks to Sell Hoverboards to Military

    Jen Judson, Defense News 2:14 p.m. EDT August 4, 2016


    (Photo: Zapata Industries)

    WASHINGTON — A US company currently in the explosives-trace-detection business is in the process of acquiring a French hoverboard company that it hopes will excite the defense, security and commercial markets.
    When Marty McFly hopped on a hoverboard in the movie Back to the Future, it was supposed to be the year 2015. But while not everyone is using hoverboards to get around now like the movie imagined, Zapata Industries SAS of Marseilles, France, reached a proof-of-concept milestone this year by producing a personal flight system it's calling Flyboard Air, bringing the long-fantasized concept of an intuitive hoverboard into reality.
    And Implant Sciences Corporation, of Wilmington, Mass., which makes Explosives Trace Detection (ETD) solutions for the Department of Homeland Security, wants to get in on the action.
    Implant Sciences signed a letter of intent at the end of July to acquire Zapata Industries because it was looking at new ways to grow its business in the homeland security and defense space, Bob Liscouski, the president of Implant Sciences told Defense News.
    “We are in constant review of technologies,” Liscouski said. “We came across what we think is a non-existent market for something, which is a brand new technology that can really shape a brand new market.”
    The company sees the Flyboard Air as “a real, scalable solution that could really provide what people candidly had only seen in movies and looked at from a science-fiction perspective,” Liscouski said. “It’s a real technology.”


    Liscouski acknowledged that not every technology turns out to be a good business idea. “I’m not going to try to overplay or overblow expectations here, we are taking a very rational and business-like approach toward this,” he said. “But you can’t help get excited when you see it. You want one. I want one.”
    The company has taken the proof-of-concept Flyboard to various interested communities “particularly with the [Defense Department] and the special operators' community” to find out if they believe there is a practical application for it. “The feedback that we are getting is ‘Yes',” he said. “So that further validated our thinking going down this path.”
    The hope is, Liscouski said, to bring the technology into the company and build the company around it. “We think there is a variety of military and other civilian applications, and we think there is a whole, wide-open commercial application to it.”
    The hoverboard invented by Zapata Industries' owner Franky Zapata is powered by four jet engines. The controlling mechanism “is sort of where the secret sauce is,” Liscouski said. “Zapata has created their own algorithms to ensure they’ve got the right balance control and redundancies to safeguard an engine failure.”
    Zapata, a world champion jet-ski racer, came up with the Flyboard in 2012, which jump-started a $200 million hydroflight sports and recreation industry, but in 2016 he took the invention to a new level with Zapata Air, which is lighter, faster, safer and less expensive.
    Zapata is “very methodical in his approach so there are redundant systems in there, so you could have one engine fail and you are not going to lose control,” Liscouski said.
    Zapata himself has flown the Flyboard, in a demonstration for the French navy, off of a moving patrol boat, flying around in 40 mph wind and landing back on the same platform.
    The hoverboard can fly at about 60 mph and flights have covered the distance of a couple of miles, Liscouski said. While Zapata has only flown the hoverboard a couple hundred feet high, there’s no reason it could not go much higher, but if the idea is to fly it at 10,000 feet, supplemental oxygen would need to be added, he said.
    Only about 20 hours of training is required to teach someone to fly on the hoverboard.
    Liscouski envisions immediate military applications such as classic troop movement — infiltration and exfiltration — but the platform could be scaled beyond just a platform that can accommodate a person standing on it.
    “We are looking to scale the platform for supply — logistical supply — and medical evacuation,” Liscouski said. He pointed to Amazon looking to deliver packages using drones and said, “We are producing enough thrust to carry close to 200 kilograms,” which equates to about 440 lbs.
    Medical evacuation is a particularly interesting application, Liscouski argued. “You can imagine creating a litter, a medevac litter, that is autonomously controlled” which can then fly to a hospital or another location for treatment.
    “We are looking at those and we can scale them. We don’t think it’s a technical challenge at this point, it’s an application and design challenge,” Liscouski noted.
    “All that being said, we are very committed to providing very state-of-the-art, great solutions for the homeland-security, defense space. That is kind of our DNA and that is where we are today.”
    Email: jjudson@defensenews.com

  2. #2

    160 Commercial Drone Companies to Showcase Latest UAV Technology at InterDrone

    160 Commercial Drone Companies to Showcase Latest UAV Technology at InterDrone
    by Staff Writers
    Melville NY (SPX) Aug 04, 2016

    BZ Media LLC today unveiled the exhibition component of the industry's largest dedicated commercial UAV show, InterDrone. More than 130 exhibitors have already signed up and another 30 are expected before the show opens its doors September 7-9 at the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas. The exhibition will be paired with more than 120 sessions on all aspects of UAV design, piloting, regulations, and business management.

    Exhibitors and sponsors include a cross section of the entire commercial drone industry including AeroVironment, DJI, Precision Hawk, Yuneec, Intel, SenseFly, Insitu, DroneDeploy, NovaTel, 3D Robotics, eHang, Autel, AUVSI, Hubsan, C-Astral, Brother, Walkera, SlantRange, Kodak, Flir, Parrot, AEGis Technologies, Sentera, and pavilions from Iowa, North Dakota and Nevada.

    Michael P. Huerta, administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, will give the Grand Opening Keynote address on September 7 at 10:30 am. He will be joined at InterDrone by a high-level lineup of commercial drone thought leaders who will frame the state of the industry for the more than 4,000 attendees expected at the conference, including Tian Yu, and Chris Anderson, founders of Yuneec and 3D Robotics respectively.

    Recently, DroneLife.com wrote about InterDrone; "We partner with many great conference and event providers in the drone market. But one has jumped out of the proverbial gate faster than all others: InterDrone. Only in its second year, InterDrone has become the CES (or Comdex for you old guys) of the new drone economy. This year's event provides a vast tapestry of drone topics and knowledge sharing..." - DroneLife.com July 27, 2016

    "Attendance is running well ahead of last year at this time and more than 245 media and association partners on six continents are helping to drive awareness of InterDrone and building it into the premier 'Big Tent' commercial drone event in the world," said Ted Bahr, InterDrone Chairman.

    BZ Media has also partnered with the CTIA-The Wireless Association to allow attendees going to CTIA Super Mobility 2016 to also attend InterDrone. CTIA Super Mobility 2016 badge holders gain free "expo badge and keynote" attendance for InterDrone, while

    InterDrone badge holders gain free "expo badge" access to CTIA Super Mobility 2016, with express shuttle bus service between the event sites running during show hours. Registration for InterDrone is open at www.InterDrone.com. For information on exhibiting or event sponsorships, please contact Ted Bahr at ted@bzmedia.com or +1 631-421-4158 x101.

    Receive a $150 discount off the prevailing rate of the 3 day pass by inserting the code FLYIT for a $25 discount off any expo pass with code EXPO when prompted at www.interdrone.com

  3. #3

    Donuts in flight in first US-approved drone delivery

    Donuts in flight in first US-approved drone delivery
    by Staff Writers
    Washington (AFP) July 22, 2016


    With a chicken sandwich, hot coffee and donuts, aviation history was made Friday.

    These were among the items in the first drone delivery on US soil approved by aviation officials, made by convenience retailer 7-Eleven and the drone startup Flirtey.

    The delivery took place in Reno, Nevada, with the items loaded into a special box for hot and cold food and flown to a local family.

    "We're absolutely thrilled to have 7-Eleven, the largest convenience chain in the world, embracing new technologies and working with us at Flirtey to make drone delivery a reality for customers all over the world," said Flirtey chief executive Matt Sweeny.

    "This is just the first step in our collaboration with 7-Eleven. Flirtey's historic drone deliveries to date have been stepping stones to store-to-home drone delivery, and today is a giant leap toward a not-too-distant future where we are delivering you convenience on demand."

    Others include US online giant Amazon are also working on drone deliver, but this was the first in what could become a broader trend.

    Flirtey is also working with drones to deliver relief supplies as part of humanitarian missions around the world.

    But it also hopes to expand its partnership with 7-Eleven for convenience deliveries. Friday's delivery also included store candy and its Slurpee iced drinks.

    "Drone delivery is the ultimate convenience for our customers and these efforts create enormous opportunities to redefine convenience," said Jesus Delgado-Jenkins, the retailer's chief marketing officer.

    "This delivery marks the first time a retailer has worked with a drone delivery company to transport immediate consumables from store to home. In the future, we plan to make the entire assortment in our stores available for delivery to customers in minutes."

    The Federal Aviation Administration this year updated rules allowing for some commercial drone operations in US airspace.

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    Re: Back to the Future: Company Looks to Sell Hoverboards to Military




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    Re: Back to the Future: Company Looks to Sell Hoverboards to Military




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