Bruce Crumley

Leading global autonomous aerial vehicle (AAV) company EHang has inched closer to eventual certification in China, after the country’s civil aviation authority specified the criteria the firm’s EH216-S air taxis will have to fulfill to obtain compliancy.

Specialized Atlanta-based UAV consulting firm Skyfire is itself launching into aerial action with the release of its SF2 drone, which is designed and manufactured specifically for public safety and critical sector operators.

Next-generation aircraft and air taxi manufacturer Wisk Aero is teaming up with Long Beach to map out and prepare advanced air mobility (AAM) services in the city and region in coming years.

In another attempt to battle the spreading problem of drones transporting contraband to prison inmates around the globe, France is soliciting bids from companies to install anti-UAV defense systems in many of the nation’s penitentiaries.

Movie fans have been wowed by images of the Green Goblin cruising the skies on a drone-esque hoverboard. But engineer, inventor, and fearless flight enthusiast Hunter Kowald has made that Marvel-ous ability a reality with his SkySurfer craft, thanks to a never-say-can’t determination to reach his goal that Insta360 features in a new video.

Drone operation and management software specialist SkyGrid has announced the extension of its popular Flight Control app from US distribution to worldwide release under a new iOS format. The free smartphone and tablet utility provides users a range of services built into the same, easy-to-use application.

To some readers, the punishment may seem as bewildering as the offense it addressed. On Tuesday, a Virginia judge sentenced a pilot who repeatedly dive-bombed Salem firefighters with his unregistered drone to two years of probation – radically milder treatment than the maximum three-year prison stint and $250,000 fine that laws allow.

Australia has announced it will be spending millions on drones and automated robotic vehicles for exploration and research on Antarctica, as well as to provide surveillance of what observers say is increased Chinese activity around the continent.

Drones from manufacturer DJI are valued by consumers and business users alike across a variety of applications, and now the craft are also being embraced by firefighters for their effectiveness in battling chemical blazes – among the most dangerous they face.

As its embrace of exceedingly questionable rule alterations in recent seasons reflects, Major League Baseball is no longer the change-averse organization it once was. Now the MLB has shown it’s ready to innovate with TV coverage of the game, too, by featuring video feeds from a DJI drone during a college tournament this weekend.

The county of Angus in eastern Scotland is teaming up with drone startup DTLX to begin testing drone transport of medical supplies between regional hospitals and labs – another example of the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) turning to UAV for faster options to ground vehicles.

Zipline, a world leader in instant logistics, is launching operations in another African nation with on-demand drone deliveries of medical supplies in Kenya’s Kisumu County.

Popular drone manufacturer Autel has announced the release of new firmware upgrades for its EVO Nano and Lite series drones that enhance, fix, or add numerous features, including new video options.

Shanghai-based air taxi company AutoFlight has released a video of its Prosperity I electric takeoff and landing (eVTOL) craft completing its first proof of concept test flight involving the all-critical vertical-to-horizontal transitioning phase.

International aircraft leasing company Avolon has announced an accord with the AirAsia Aviation Group involving 100 VX4 eVTOL aircraft made by UK company Vertical Aerospace.

Joby Aviation, the maker of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) air taxi craft, has announced a partnership with All Nippon Airways (ANA) to prepare for aerial ridesharing services in Japan.

While the development of all kinds of next-generation aviation and UAV activity merits the attention it attracts, the reality is a lot of what’s afoot is still in early-phase operation or testing. That work-in-progress status makes seeing quantified metrics in advanced applications like those released today by drone delivery specialist Flytrex particularly useful in measuring rates of progress.

Canadian robotics, drone, and UAV solutions company InDro Robotics is introducing its new FLYY online instruction portal, offering full flight training for aspiring pilots seeking compliance with Transport Canada (TC) requirements.

Los Angeles-area developer of hybrid-electric vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft Odys Aviation has launched a $12.4 million seed funding round to accelerate work on its innovative longer-haul advanced air mobility (AAM) aircraft and its anticipated type certification in 2026.

Leading manufacturer of urban air mobility (UAM) vehicles, Volocopter, is relying heavily on Singapore as a base for the air taxi services it plans to launch around the world in coming years, and is now promising those flights will generate an additional $1.3 billion in economic activity for the city-state by 2030.

The good news from leading drone and tech company DJI is that it’s finally shipping its ground-breaking Ronin 4D cinematic camera on February 16, though the accompanying bad news is the unprecedented internal Apple ProRes RAW recording capability will not be included as originally announced.