Weekend Roundup: January 15, 2021

January 15, 2021 | AUVSI News

This week in the Unmanned Systems and Robotics World

In Tennessee, an emergency response team recently used drone technology to locate a missing woman. After the technology helped locate the woman, the drone pilots helped guide deputies to the woman’s location, where she was then taken to a medical center for an evaluation. (DroneDJ)

In Minnesota, the Bloomington Police Department now has a drone that can be used for a variety of missions. According to Police Chief Jeff Potts, the city’s police and fire departments have access to the technology, and state legislation outlines the requirements and limitations by which drones can be used. (Sun Current)

Self-driving truck company Kodiak Robotics is the first company in the self-driving trucking industry to be recognized as a CES Innovation Award Honoree, according to co-founder and CEO Don Burnette. The award comes after Kodiak completed two 400-mile roundtrip commercial shipments in December between Dallas and Houston that relied only on the truck’s autonomous driving system. (Dallas News)

The Self-Driving Coalition has added its first three autonomous truck companies: Embark, Kodiak, and TuSimple. Formed in 2016, the Self-Driving Coalition is designed to educate and evangelize the public, politicians, and regulators on the merits of self-driving vehicles. (FleetOwner)