Bruce Crumley

A new series of trials is set to begin in the UK today using drones to transport patient samples, medicines, and other materials between healthcare facilities – a specialized form of UAV deployment that’s swiftly multiplying around the globe.

In yet another sign of the swiftly increasing use of UAVs around the globe, Spain’s national air traffic control company Enaire reports the number of drone flights it managed last year increased by a whopping 70% over 2021.

Leading US drone manufacturer Skydio says it will be entering India’s swiftly expanding UAV market through a partnership with local company Aeroarc – a solution that will facilitate the production and marketing of its products despite the country’s protectionist policies.

As the September 16 deadline nears for drones to be broadcasting required craft and flight data under Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) remote ID rules, UAV tech company Drone Defence says its AeroPing module has become the first UK-made transmitter to be approved for use by the US regulator.

Next generation advanced air mobility (AAM) company Joby announced it has completed the second of five stages in the Federal Aviation Administration’s certification process, placing the company on course to debut air taxi services planned for 2025.

A new bipartisan bill has been introduced in the US Senate with the principal objective of streamlining, speeding, and broadening the process under which the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) authorizes beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) drone flights by businesses and public agencies.

Drone navigation and awareness tech specialist Airspace Link is taking another step in its efforts to permit operators of all kinds to remain as fully informed on activity around their craft as possible with the launch of its AirHub Portal solution.

Drone-based data collection and renewable energy sector inspection specialist DroneBase says it has raised an additional $55 million in funding to fuel its continued business expansion, which it will now pursue under the new brand entity Zeitview.

Though DJI remains unusually quiet for a company rumored to be set to launch its first drone of 2023, an additional online photo leak this morning adds support to the theory a new Mini 2 SE model may be rolled out tomorrow ­– though where (and, of course, if) remains to be seen.

Wisconsin-based vertiport specialist Volatus Infrastructure has announced additional business that – while admittedly modest – reflects the company’s efforts to enlarge its foothold in the design and construction of advanced air mobility (AAM) infrastructure – an activity that, up until now, seems to be largely dominated by European and South American companies.

Australian drone delivery and logistics company Swoop Aero is preparing to initiate beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) services for New Zealand’s health care system, initially operating flights of lab samples between the South Island west coast towns of Westport and Greymouth.

That may have been the shortest span from an opening scene to the climax of the mystery apparently being solved in history. Just hours after the first leak of a purported DJI teaser for a February 9 unveiling of what looks to be a new Mini 2 SE drone, another sector sleuth turned up not just photos of the product but what’s thought to be a fairly complete spec sheet to boot.

It appears global drone giant DJI may be readying its first 2023 product launch earlier than expected, with leaked evidence suggesting a new UAV in the works could be a Mini 2 SE positioned toward the lower end of the company’s pricing scale, and currently being readied for a February 9 introduction.

Despite recurring announcements with significant fanfare at various stages of the service’s very long awaited rollout, it appears Amazon drones aren’t actually delivering much – or often ­­– in the two communities where they were finally put into operation last December.

Canada’s Indro Robotics, a leader in drone and ground UAV research and user training, says it is teaming up with next-generation vehicle trial center Area X.O to offer new test facilities for uncrewed tech, featuring a range of exacting courses particularly useful to police and other first-responder aerial units.

Japan’s electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOL) developer, SkyDrive, is looking beyond the planned debut of its SD-05 “flying car” at the 2025 World Expo in Osaka by establishing a base in South Carolina as its operational foothold for future business in the US.

Global shipping, ground transport, and logistics giant Maersk is tackling the problem of getting accurate, continually updated data from its warehouse inventories by swapping one of the weak links in that process – the easily distracted attention of humans – with the laser-focused, unperturbable eyes of automated drones.

Czech UAV tech company Dronetag is starting 2023 with the rollout of its new Direct Remote ID (DRI) product, designed as an ultra-small internal component for incorporation by drone manufacturers around the world.

UK telecoms company BT is testing a powerful new antenna technology that, once mounted on a high-altitude platform station (HAPS) drone, is expected to provide 4G and 5G services of up to 150 Mbps over areas as large as 15,000 square kilometers.

Proposed legislation in Arkansas that would legally ban certain registered sex offenders from owning or operating a drone took another step toward passage this week, when the Senate Committee on Judiciary approved the bill in a five to one vote.

Surging Canadian drone, software, systems, and artificial intelligence company Draganfly has announced a manufacturing and distribution partnership with Hyderabad-based geospatial technological company Remote Sensing Instruments (RSI), designed to provide it access to the expanding, but also protected UAV market in India.