The Commercial Drone Alliance is calling on the U.S. chief technology officer and the Federal Aviation Adinistration to “provide regulatory certainty” for operating large unmanned aerial systems. The industry group wrote to USCTO and 2019 Wash100 Award winner Michael Kratsios as well as FAA Administrator Stephen Dickinson and Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao seeking a “clear regulatory roadmap” for drones that weigh more than 55 pounds.

Current rules for factors such as type design and airworthiness as well as spectrum-related matters remain unclear, according to CDA. The group noted that if FAA “does not act expeditiously” on establishing clear rules for large UAS, the unmanned systems industry would stagnate. In addition, entities who are willing to support large UAS development and deployment would enlist the help of non-U.S. manufacturers who are bound by more flexible regulations.

“The FAA has long been a global leader in aviation safety and certification. However, to maintain that position, it must remain proactive, flexible, communicative and nimble in terms of large UAS operations,” CDA stated in the letters.

The U.S. Army’s Artificial Intelligence Task Force is working on new projects such as predictive maintenance capabilities for helicopters and an AI application that will assist officials in talent management. The Army said Tuesday that its AI Task Force was created last year as part of a collaboration between Carnegie Mellon University and the Army Futures Command.

Maj. Kevin Goulding, a data scientist for the AI TF, said he intends to develop an optimization algorithm for the AI-based talent management platform that will simplify base assignment functions for branch managers. Col. Doug Matty, AI TF deputy director, noted that the task force aims to “push algorithms forward to the tactical edge” through its collaborative efforts with the Department of Defense’s Joint AI Center.

The task force has been working with the AFC’s cross-functional teams and was “able to leverage existing relationships” with academic partners at CMU through the Army Research Lab, according to Matty. He added that AFC is currently open to working with small businesses, startups and mid-level companies.

The Department of Veterans Affairs has introduced a smartphone application that works to organize and streamline healthcare resources into a unified location for veterans and caregivers. The Launchpad for Veterans suite will enable users to access VA apps from five different categories namely mental health improvement, health care team communication, vital health information sharing and quality of life improvement, the agency said Monday.

Users do not need to enroll in any of VA’s healthcare services to utilize the suite’s personal improvement and mental health apps while the remaining tools will require accounts in DS Logon Level 2, ID .me and Premium My HealtheVet.

“VA has developed dozens of apps for Veterans to take charge of their health care,” said Robert Wilkie, secretary at the VA and 2019 Wash100 awardee. “VA Launchpad makes it easier to have these important tools available at your fingertips,” added Wilkie.

A council of officials from the General Services Administration, NASA and the Department of Defense published an interim rule that would prohibit federal agencies from buying telecommunications and video surveillance systems and services from Huawei and four other Chinese telecom companies, Nextgov reported Tuesday.

“This interim rule is being implemented as a national security measure to protect government information, and government information and communication technology systems,” the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council said in a Federal Register notice published Tuesday.

The proposed rule seeks to comply with the 2019 National Defense Administration Act and would direct contracting officers to include FAR provisions in solicitations issued after Aug. 13 and resulting contracts as well as request for proposals published before the said date provided that the contract award will occur after Aug. 13.

The policy would also require vendors to report whether their offerings include “covered” telecom services and equipment. The other four Chinese firms cited in the rule are ZTE, Hytera Communications, Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology and Dahua Technology. Stakeholders have until Oct. 15 to submit comments on the interim rule.

The Department of Labor has launched an online help desk designed to guide contractors and stakeholders in federal contract compliance. DOL said Friday that its Contractor Assistance Portal aims to support the department’s efforts to help employers comply with contract policy. 

“We are very excited to launch the Contractor Assistance Portal so the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs can provide more access to compliance assistance resources,” said Craig Leen, OFCCP director.

The department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs launched the help desk after forming a commitment from town hall sessions in 2017. OFCCP supports the implementation of laws to protect U.S. employees from multiple forms of discrimination such as those involving race, gender and other traits.