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C APPARENTLY THE ENGINEERS AT LOCKHEED


MARTIN ARE NOT HAUNTED BY VISIONS OF SKYNET; AT LEAST NOT WHILE ON THE JOB. THIS IS BECAUSE LOCKHEED MARTIN RECENTLY PROVED JUST HOW POWERFUL A TEAM OF UAVS AND ‘OPTIONALLY MANNED’ HELICOPTERS CAN BE FOR FIGHTING FIRES AND RESCUING PEOPLE.


Specifically, the company staged a demonstration on November 8, 2016 which showed that a quartet of UAVs and optionally-manned, autonomously-controlled helicopters can perform effectively in the location and airborne attack of fires, followed by airlifting personnel from the fire scene – all without having an actual firefighter at the scene.


(For the record, an autonomously-controlled helicopter


combines the aircraft’s own suite of onboard sensors and flying control modes with human-directed flight plans, mission instructions and direct interventions; usually done from a remote location using the aircraft’s visual and other real-time sensor data to inform the human pilot.)


The Lockheed Martin demo was staged at Griffiss International Airport in Rome, New York, on a sunny but cool day.


62


Mar/Apr 2017


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