Bruce Crumley

When Norway was struck in the wee hours of December 30, 2020, by the biggest landslide disaster in its history, responders scrambled to launch what wound up becoming a record-setting rescue operation. As they did, powerful surveillance applications of DJI Matrice 300 RTK drones deployed above the area allowed those workers to more effectively locate and save survivors – and at far reduced risk of becoming victims themselves in the process.

Sometimes it’s the modest, seemingly mundane ways that drones affect how people live and work that best illustrate the integral roles they now assume in daily life. Take, for example, how they’ve helped a budget-strapped organization cut the time and costs of repairing three Edwardian-era bridges in the east of England.

Despite all the excitement ignited by Sunday’s 60 Minutes report on UFOs, people in the Washington DC area shouldn’t speed dial Fox Mulder if they spot something strange in the skies this month. That’ll just be the US Secret Service putting their drones through the moves.

Licensed wireless data network specialist Ondas Holdings announced it has acquired enterprise drone maker American Robotics in a deal valued at $70.6 million. Ondas’s software-based wireless broadband capacities are intended to strengthen performance of American Robotics’ fully automated unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV).

Last week’s post of the spectacular one-shot fly-through of Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium was for the video fans (and soccer fanatics) out there. This one’s for you hardcore, acrobatic piloting types.

It’s no match for a Freddy Kruger flick – much less Jaws – in the gallons of gore per minute ranking. But drone footage captured off Scotland’s northeast coast last week does offer a rare view of orcas on a seal hunt. 

Drone pilots dreaming of longer, cleaner flights powered by hydrogen cells, take heart. This week opens with news indicating development and use of the technology is really taking wing.

Recurring debate over police use of drones has resumed after authorities in upstate New York flew an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) as part of their search of a suspected gun offender’s home. That was preceded by a hubbub sparked by police in New York City using a robotic dog in certain interventions.

For most non-Brits who’ve heard of it, the West Midlands city Coventry is known as the birthplace of legendary ska band The Specials. Now, however, Coventry is gunning for a more up-to-date distinction: Home of the world’s first flying taxi and delivery drone airport.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is preparing to test technologies designed to ensure safe cohabitation of airplanes and drones in the nation’s skies. In its most recent step, the FAA named the five US airports where drone detection and mitigation air traffic systems will be evaluated.

Sick of struggling through phone calls in noisy places (often made that way by people shouting into their mobiles above the ambient din)? Well, squads of noise-cancelling Sony drones may soon be sparing your ears.

Atlanta-based Hextronix and its Silicon Valley partner FlyBase are holding a live virtual rollout of their souped-up drone nest Friday that the company says combines power and durability with flexibility of use. Registration for the 11 a.m. CST (12 p.m. EST), May 14 event is open here.

Getting yourself formally schooled in unmanned vehicle aerial systems (UAS) is getting easier – and cheaper – all the time. This week, a college in Dayton, Ohio, awarded its first Bachelor of Applied Science degrees to drone-educated graduates.

You don’t have to be a fan of newly crowned English Premier League champion Manchester City (and we aren’t. Go you Gooners!) to be wowed by the dazzling single-take drone fly-through video of the club’s Etihad Stadium. In fact, you don’t even have to like soccer. But try not to be gob-smacked by the world-class piloting in features.

Google’s drone delivery cousin, Wing Aviation, says it will soon begin flying quieter drones on some of its routes in Australia. The step was presumably inspired by continuing grumbling among residents around Canberra about the high-pitched whirring of passing craft.

Public officials around the globe are discovering the effectiveness of drones in battling a scourge that every country – and indeed the entire planet – needs to turn back: the relentlessly rising tide of litter.

A flurry of announcements this week suggests the promise of hydrogen cells extending drone flight time to two hours or more may come within reach to individual as well as enterprise users before too long.

The advent of COVID turbo-charged last-mile drone delivery activity had already been expanding before the pandemic’s arrival. Now, new research shows that expansion is poised to surge even more in coming years.

Drones are terrific at a great many things, but recording audio isn’t one of them (unless you’re into giant, hyper-mosquito impersonations). New Zealand’s Dotterel wants to change that.

As the capabilities and popularity of drones grow among consumers and businesses users alike, unmanned aerial system (UAS) manufacturers can find it tough to keep pace with demand. As a result, many are now turning to faster 3D printing of key components.

Scrambling to turn back the surge of COVID-19 infections and deaths sweeping the nation, India has broadened testing of drones in delivering vaccines and other medicines to Beyond the Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) destinations.