DroneDJ

If you already own a DJI Osmo Mobile gimbal, you might be sitting on one of its most underrated features. With the DJI Mimo app, your Apple Watch can act as a live view monitor and remote controller, letting you start recording, adjust framing, and even activate subject tracking without touching your phone. For solo creators, travelers, or anyone tired of running back to hit record, this setup feels surprisingly liberating. Here’s how to use it properly, and what to expect…

DJI’s latest Fly app update moves the future of drone flying a little closer to your wrist. Version 1.19.4 brings Apple Watch support to three of DJI’s most portable, controller-free drones: DJI Neo 2, DJI Flip, and DJI Neo. That means you can view live video, check battery levels, and issue basic voice flight commands from your Apple Watch (Series 8 and newer), while your phone stays in your pocket.

DJI has made flying a drone feel a whole lot more futuristic. With a brand-new firmware update, the DJI Neo 2 now supports Apple Watch remote control, letting you steer, track, record, and manage your drone right from your wrist. And here’s the kicker: the original DJI Neo is getting the same Apple Watch compatibility soon, making this upgrade a big win for every buyer in the Neo lineup. If you’re an Apple user who’s been flirting with the idea of buying a drone, this is the moment DJI clearly wants you to jump in.

DJI has released exciting new updates for the Osmo Mobile 6 and Osmo Mobile SE, making the intelligent smartphone stabilizers compatible with various Apple Watch models for remote control.

Supernal, the advanced air mobility (AAM) unit of South Korean automotive giant Hyundai, has struck a partnership Microsoft to create cloud-based tools for use in craft design and flight simulation, and eventually in the manufacturing and maintenance of planes.  

Ohio-based logistics company Drone Express is readying to manufacture a new version of its DE-2020 delivery drone, which would use Microsoft AI for in-flight navigation systems. “While our competitors are focusing on how to carry more weight, we are focusing on building a more intelligent aircraft,” quips Beth Flippo, CEO of Drone Express.

It’s still unknown whether Apple will one day expand its range of high performing and incomparably cool products to the not-exactly-chopped-liver world of drones, but a patent granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office takes that tantalizing prospect one step closer to imaginable.

Apple just released its newest iPhones, the 14 and 14 Pro and, boy oh boy, is it tempting to throw in the $1,099 for the latest and greatest from the company. But will it be the best phone to use for flying drones?

Microsoft is offering a preview of its new AI-powered simulator for drones, flying taxis, and other advanced aerial mobility (AAM) vehicles. Project AirSim can be used to build, train, and test autonomous drones through hyper-realistic simulations of real-world scenarios. The goal is to help drone makers encode autonomy without the need for deep expertise in AI.

The diversity and depth of Apple products at times suggests there’s no limit to what kind of tech the company can produce, or what new activities it might decide to get involved with. Now, a new patent filing raises the question of whether Apple is contemplating a launch into the drone sector – albeit a defined and contained part of it.

First Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak brought the world Macs. Now he’s flying drones through K-12 classroom curricula. How cool did school just get?

You already know it: The iPhone 12 would come with cool new features. But did it ever cross your mind that Apple might suggest it could be mounted on a drone? It didn’t cross our minds either. But today, at its iPhone launch event, Apple did precisely that: It showed an iPhone 12… on a drone.

HAPS Mobile and Alphabet’s Loon has delivered the world’s first LTE connectivity from a fixed-wing autonomous glider during a recent test flight. The team even had a video call from the LTE connection to make sure it was working correctly.

In the market for the best new consumer drone and have some Apple Store credit to spend? The newly launched DJI Mavic Air 2 and Fly More Combo bundle are both available to order from Apple.com starting today at a slight premium over DJI’s prices.

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Within three weeks of Apple buying artificial intelligence (AI) company Xnor.ai, the tech giant quickly ended the pre-existing military drone Pentagon contract to make sure that its tech would not be used in the controversial “Project Maven” military drone operation.

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When the 10 sites for the US Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Integration Pilot Program (IPP) were first announced, it always struck me as odd that DJI (and Amazon!) were not mentioned as partners in any of the test setups, even though their drones were widely used by others in the program. Finally, about one year into the UAS Integration Pilot Program, DJI officially joins it as one of the partners at Memphis International Airport.

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More and more police departments around the country are using drones and starting drone programs. The Chula Vista Police Department reported on Wednesday that they flew more than 1,000 drone missions in the first year since launching their Drone as a First Responder (DFR) program, which is part of the UAS Integration Pilot Program. The drone program assisted in 130 arrests.

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As part of the UAS Integration Pilot Program, the University of Alaska completed the first-ever ‘Beyond-Visual-Line-of-Sight’ drone flight without a visual observer to inspect a four-mile stretch of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline. The BVLOS drone flight was made possible with Iris Automation’s onboard detect and avoid system – called Casia.

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Drones aren’t new, but delivery drones are, like the one created by Google’s Wing Aviation. Wing Aviation is taking drone deliveries head-on in Australia, Finland, and the US and is delivering goods right now by drone. As Wing Aviation and similar companies continue to invest in drones, drone delivery will become the next big thing for the commercial drone world.

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Today, Zipline the San Francisco based drone manufacturer and the logistical services company, launched a program in Ghana to deliver medical supplies by drone. In partnership with the government of the West African country, Zipline will fly 30 drones from four distribution centers to deliver medical supplies, such as vaccines, blood, and medication to 2,000 healthcare facilities across the country on a daily basis. Zipline also confirmed that it is looking to expand their services to other countries and to take their delivery service by drone from testing-phase to live-deliveries in the U.S., sometime this summer.

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UPS and Matternet are operating the first FAA-sanctioned commercial drone service to deliver medical samples in North Carolina. The Matternet M2 drone makes up to 10 routine delivery flights per day at WakeMed’s flagship hospital and campus in the Raleigh, N.C. The project, that is part of the UAS Integration Pilot Program will be overseen by both the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the North Carolina Department of Transportation.

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Google parent Alphabet Inc’s Wing will launch drone deliveries in Finland in the Spring of 2019, according to a statement. The company announced that it will start to deliver goods and packages up to 3.3 pounds in a range of 6.2 miles in Helsinki. Last July, Wing recently became an independent company as it was spun out of Alphabet’s X research division. The company is led by James Ryan Burgess and has been actively testing with drone deliveries in Australia, delivering burritos among other things.

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