Bruce Crumley

Drone giant DJI released a short film Saturday, just two days ahead of its March 21 product launch event, whose content seems to support speculation that the craft has been designed with first responders and public service operators in mind.

Utah-based security UAV specialist Teal Drones has been selected to develop a prototype craft in a final stage of the US Army’s Short Range Reconnaissance Tranche 2 (SRR T2) Program, which aims to create a powerful but portable small craft for surveillance and reconnaissance missions.

French startup Dronisos has won much applause for lighting up the skies with its choreography of hundreds of drones in light shows, but now it’s gaining attention from defense groups eager to put the company’s command of mass UAV navigation to work in drone swarms flying security missions.

Embraer’s urban air mobility (UAM) affiliate, Eve, has signed a pair of deals to prepare the rollout of electric takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft in Miami, including planned air taxi shuttles between the city’s airport and main convention center.

The Police Department in Oakland, California, is finally equipped with a trio of UAVs in its new drone unit, but public concerns, political opposition, earlier controversies, and an enduring budget crisis required 100% private funding before that program could get off the ground.

A pair of US drone companies is taking action to supply Ukraine forces with specialized UAVs to aid their defense against invading Russian troops, while the Biden administration has reportedly decided to provide Kyiv potent Switchblade aerial attack assets as part of an $800 million military assistance package.

Don’t expect a trifle like the crash of one of its two electric takeoff and landing (eVTOL) air taxi prototypes to slow Joby’s drive to obtain a Part 135 Air Carrier Certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). This week the company revealed it had begun the fourth of the five steps in that process, and expects to complete it by the end of the year.

Drone maker DJI’s update-o-rama continued Wednesday with the release of (yet another) firmware upgrade ­– this time for the Mini 2 – and a new version of its DJI Terra uber-mapping solution. Those two bring the company’s software revisions to five this week alone.

Much excitement has been generated in recent days by information suggesting that DJI is working towards the release of a Mini 3 UAV in coming weeks. Now the same leakers of photos and specs driving that rumor have provided images of what looks to be a foldable Matrice drone that – if produced – could either be a M400 RTK or M30.

Verizon Robotics, the automation and machine development unit of the global communications giant, has said it will expand its testing and proof-of-concept capabilities by basing those activities at Oregon’s drone and aerial tech trial facility, Pendleton Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) Range.

This month is proving a busy software time for the world’s top UAV maker DJI, which Tuesday issued another firmware update for its Air 2S drone – the second since January, and the third upgrade for different products this week alone.

Leading action camera maker Insta360 is set to release a new product later this month, and it’s letting the world know (a very little bit) about it with a teaser video that went public today.

Radar platform specialist Echodyne on Tuesday announced delivery of its metamaterial detection systems providing enhanced ground and aerial security and defense capabilities to the US Army as part of a multi-year program supply contract.

DJI has released a firmware update of its top-drawer M300 RTK enterprise drone, with alterations focusing on improved battery performance and life.

On Monday, DJI issued an announcement recommending customers using company products with Android phones running Android 12 update corresponding apps to ensure they don’t suffer annoying crashes.

A member of Wales’ national legislature has raised over $56,000 in donations for the purchase of specialized drones to be used by Ukrainian medics trying to locate and treat people injured amid the Russian invasion of the country.

Advanced autonomous aerial vehicle (AAV) manufacturer EHang has signed a contract with Malaysian company Aerotree to develop urban air mobility (UAM) services in the country, with the purchase of 60 passenger aircraft as a key part of the deal.

Less than two weeks after Ukraine officials called on drone-owning citizens to volunteer their craft for use defending the country from invading Russian forces, some of those non-military craft have now been reportedly weaponized to drop Molotov cocktails on targets below.

Network Rail, the owner and manager of most of the UK’s rail networks, has completed a full 3D model of the 176-year old Whalley viaduct, using drone imagery and lasers to come up with a clone that will reveal the places and kinds of repair needed to continue using the structure for passenger and freight transport.

Footage apparently shot by one of Ukraine’s Turkish-built Bayraktar TB2 drones shows the routing of an ambushed Russian convoy as it neared Kyiv this week, forcing the diminished column to beat a hasty retreat – and offering an example of the determined and often successful counterattacks defenders have inflicted on invading troops during the three-week conflict.

Future urban air mobility aircraft won’t simply be used for (relatively) affordable, carbon-free public transport like air taxis and other forms of aerial ride-sharing. Now next-generation craft developer Lilium is also looking to market its electric takeoff and landing (eVTOL) jet to the well-heeled elite as inner and inter-city supplements to their globe-spanning private planes.