Bruce Crumley

Aerospace giant Honeywell is teaming up with anti-jamming expert InfiniDome to develop a new drone sensor capable of enhancing GPS resiliency when signals are weak or experiencing blockages. The new tech, which is being designed for defense and commercial users alike, is expected to hit markets during the first semester of next year.

Fans of drone videos know Ellis van Jason as a master of the art, and a veritable wizard of cinematic first person view (FPV) flights. For any readers who missed it, DroneDJ is now shouting about an absolute cracker he has uploaded featuring a dizzying plunge down the world’s tallest waterfall.

To anyone who has ever loved and temporarily lost a pet, this tale will qualify for vaunted “drones for good” status. Nine excruciating days after a newlywed couple’s puppy disappeared along the coast of Cornwall in the UK, a group of helpful, hopeful drone pilots flying a volunteer search mission found the lost dog, just as their last battery was about to give out.

Several lifetimes of change have occurred in life and business since the explosion of dotcom stock flotations (and, for many, subsequent busts) of the late 1990s. Among those differences is how futuristic advanced air mobility (AAM) drone sector companies that inspire so much market excitement today are raising finances faster and easier on Wall Street than their Silicon Valley elders – and in ways tech vets may regard with a mix of envy and wariness.

The enduring pandemic hasn’t managed to undermine France’s passion for going on vacation whenever the opportunity arises, though it has forced most travelers to choose domestic destinations over foreign options. That has translated into a recent surge in visits to France’s nature reserves and national parks, and a corresponding increase in the number of drones overhead that now constitute a real problem.

Professional baseball has gone to some extreme, and some argue self-destructive, lengths to cut the duration of both major and minor league games. One thing it hasn’t been able to rule-change into submission is rain stoppages. And now it looks like baseball may also have trouble with drone delays.

The 1930s-40 radio show The Shadow famously began each episode with the reminder/warning that its crime-fighting hero “knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men,” and relied on that knowledge to bring criminals to justice. A UK police drone has gone one better by using the heat lurking in the bodies of three bank robbers to help nearby officers bust them (while taking a nifty video of the cuffing to boot).

Counter-drone specialist Citadel Defense has scored another in a growing list of business successes by landing a $6 million contract through the US Department of Defense (DOD). The coup comes less than a month after the San Diego-based company signed a $4 million deal for a similar anti-drone system.

Indicative of its status as one of Europe’s most popular vacation destinations, Spain is currently dealing with a surge from the 91.2 million cars expected across the nation’s roads this summer. As part of their effort to ensure that travel glut circulates well (or as smoothly as inevitable traffic snarls allow), Spanish police are flying drones to keep watch for breakdowns, accidents, and ­– not least of all ­– driving offenses.

California companies Marine Advanced Robotics and Planck Aerosystems have announced their strategic alliance to produce a platform composed of a marine uncrewed surface vessel (USV) with an onboard aerial drone. The combined asset is designed to allow users to conduct advanced operations in the sea and sky in the same, integrated mission.

As DroneDJ has sadly had occasion to note, the incidence of misguided pilots flying uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAV) too close to wildlife has increased considerably around the globe in recent months. In an effort to turn that curve around on their watch, Canadian authorities are issuing stern reminders that laws prohibit disturbance or marine animal harassment by drones – and carry heavy fines for pilots who do.

Visitors to Easter Island have described an almost magical vibe emanating amid the mysterious, ocean-facing maoi statues erected by its original inhabitants. But located as it is about 2,000 miles from either Tahiti or Chile, it’s also a land of hardship – especially during recurring droughts. Now drones are seeking to alleviate that aridity by searching for fresh water sources.

Sale and consumption of pot is, of course, legal in California ­– so long as producers, retailers, and consumers do their business according to regulations. But because not all actors in the sector are following those rules, drones are being brought in to help authorities crack down on illegal marijuana growers.

Use of uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAV) on missions requiring both accuracy and rapidity are growing throughout business applications – and are the main focus of first responder work. Maximizing that combination of speed and precision of drones – while avoiding crashing – was also at the heart of recent promising research.

The US Air Force considers its microwave-shooting weapon against large swarms of enemy drones so successful that it’s now doubling down to enhance it further. So in addition to its so-called THOR anti-drone system, the Air Force is out to develop an electronic, craft-smashing hammer to complete the thematic program.

French football club Paris Saint-Germain just took a big step closer to achieving its dream: flat-out buying its first European title through another huge-salaried player to its star-bloated roster. And to celebrate the budget-busting arrival of Argentine soccer legend Lionel Messi, the club could think of no better manner than recreating a blah version of a rival club’s spectacular single-shot video drone flight through its stadium.

Despite the anti-China winds blowing across US politics and related bans of Chinese technology by government administrations, DJI drones continue to dominate the fleets of American first responder services – just as they do commercial craft sales.

Drones can often be faster and more efficient in search operations of lost or immobilized people in forests than helicopter or plane fly-overs, or rescue parties scouring terrain on foot. Still, their efficacity is limited by the inability of onboard tech to visually penetrate dense tree canopies. That may soon change.

There’s a reason authorities in many countries are issuing new, stern warnings about not operating drones or other equipment around sea birds or animals. Cases of human harassment of wildlife are escalating, often with dramatic effects – as footage taken by a drone of a bull shark attack in Australia seems to demonstrate.

The US State Department is dispatching a fleet of drones to Costa Rica as part of a program it hopes will allow local authorities to crack down on international drug trafficking in the country.

Officials in a Russian seaside resort city say a drone was deployed over the weekend to rescue a drowning swimmer ­– the first use of their new automated system for emergency response.