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“Seen & Heard” is a monthly feature of GPS World magazine, traveling the world to capture interesting and unusual news stories involving the GNSS/PNT industry.
UK begins UAV deliveries
Image: Screenshot of video by BBC
Royal Mail and UAV company Skyports have launched the Orkney I-Port operation to distribute letters and packages between the Orkney Islands, Scotland, reported the BBC. In partnership with the council’s harbor authority and Scottish airline Loganair, mail will be transported from Royal Mail’s Kirkwall delivery office to the city of Stromness in Orkney. UAVs will then carry items to the islands of Graemsay and Hoy, where postal staff will complete the delivery routes. The UAV service will initially operate for three months and may continue on a permanent basis under existing regulatory frameworks due to Orkney’s unique landscape and the proximity of the islands to one another. The UAV service aims to improve service levels and delivery times to Graemsay and Hoy, as weather and geography typically cause disruption to delivery services. The use of UAVs to deliver mail also may bring significant safety improvements by ensuring that postal workers can deliver between ports without risk.
GNSS is taking a hike, literally
Image: Aleksandar Georgiev/iStock/Getty Images Plus/Getty Images
In July, officials in Taichung City, Taiwan, launched a GNSS-based app to aid lost hikers and to mitigate risk associated with outdoor activities in the area’s mountainous region, reported Tapei Times. The app was developed by the Taichung Fire Bureau in response to a surge in outdoor activities after the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions were lifted and, subsequently, an increase in medical emergencies linked to mountain activities. Wi-Fi towers have been built at major trailheads such as Toukeshan, Anmashan, Fushoushan and Snow Mountain to supplement the app as well as to help facilitate UAV deployment to find lost hikers.
Lidar reveals Mayan city
Image: tobiasjo/iStock/Getty Images Plus/Getty Images
In a biological preserve in Mexico’s Campeche state, a team of archaeologists have documented pyramids, palaces, a ball court and other remains of an ancient city they call Ocomtún, reported The New York Times. Archeologists surveyed the site for six weeks in May and June, finding 50-foot-tall structures resembling pyramids, as well as pottery and Mayan engravings they believe date to between 600 AD and 900 AD. The team determined the city was likely abandoned more than 1,000 years ago. Surveying of the area has been revolutionized over the past decade by lidar — allowing researchers to survey densely forested areas that are difficult to explore on foot. Archeologists were able to use airborne lasers to pierce through dense vegetation and reveal the ancient structures and human-modified landscapes beneath.
Hundreds of UAVs down
Image: Chesky_W/iStock / Getty Images Plus/Getty Images
More than 350 UAVs were lost during a practice light display show in Melbourne, Australia, on July 14, ahead of a scheduled performance for the opening of the women’s World Cup. The UAVs appeared to stop mid-show and plummet into the Yarra River. Divers have since fished out hundreds of the UAVs. According to the Resilient Navigation and Timing Foundation, the likely cause of the mass-crash was interference with GPS signals.
