Haye Kesteloo

Researchers from Edinburgh University have started to use drones to capture an aerial view of some of the highest glaciers in South America. Rosie Bisset is part of a project to map out the Andes glaciers that are shrinking because of global warming despite their high altitude.

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After AUVSI recently postponed the XPonential 2020 event because of the spreading Coronavirus, we now learn about another drone event that is being postponed. In a statement the Energy Drone + Robotics Coalition informs us that their EDR Summit that was supposed to take place at The Woodlands Waterway Marriott in Texas has now been postponed. See the official statement below for more information.

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In Australia, the Westpac Life Saver Rescue Drone program has commissioned a number of dye-dropping DJI Mavic 2 drones, that can drop sea marker dye into the ocean that allows lifesavers on the beach to more easily spot riptides and help stop drownings.

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We saw this happen a few weeks ago in China, but now the Spanish police are using drones to warn people not to break the quarantine and to stay inside to slow down the spread of the coronavirus.

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The Guardian News uploaded drone footage to YouTube that shows deserted Italian highways near Milan amid the Coronavirus lockdown.

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Two men from New Jersey have been charged by the United States Department of Justice for using drones to smuggle drugs, cell phones, and other contraband into a federal prison in Burlington county.
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We’re super excited to give away one FREE ticket to the Drone U Fly-In Challenge that will take place at a Netflix movie set right outside of Santa Fe, NM on April 4th and 5th. During these two days, you will be able to participate in both the Creative and the Technical Challenge. See below for more details.

Don’t forget to participate in the Drone U Fly-in Challenge Giveaway, if you haven’t done so already. The winner will be announced at 6 pm EST today.

And the winner is Zac Widmer from Washington state. Congratulations!! We will send you an email shortly!

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To start off the weekend right, we have a great giveaway for you today. DroneDJ teamed up with DJI for this promotion and we will give away one DJI Mavic Mini, our new favorite travel drone, and one Mavic Mini Care Refresh package. All you need to do to have a chance to win this amazing little folding drone is sign up using the form below. The winners will be announced on March 15th.

Don’t forget to participate in the DJI Mavic Mini Giveaway, if you haven’t done so already. Winners will be announced at 6 pm EST today.

The winner of the DJI Mavic Mini is Noah LaRoy from Michigan. And the Mavic. Mini Care Refresh package goes to John Meyendorff in Michigan as well. Congratulations to both! Be sure to check your email with instructions to claim your prize. 

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In our latest piece of news in which drones are used for good we go to the New Zealand wilderness. Here pests such as rats, stoats and possums are now hunted with poison-laden drones. The unmanned aircraft will be used to drop baits in the path of these pests.

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A $26,000 DJI Matrice 210 was lost to the ocean during a training exercise when the DJI drone ran out of battery power nearly a mile offshore in high winds.

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The Coronavirus or COVID-19 is making an impact on the drone industry in more ways than one. Just now we learn that AUVSI has decided to postpone the XPonential 2020 event in Boston. The new tentatively identified the dates are August 10-12 for the 2020 event. See below for more information.
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On Thursday morning, the Oxnard Police Department arrested a man for suspicion of prowling. Two residents in the Pleasant Valley Estates housing tracts saw the man suspiciously looking into the backyards of their neighbors’ homes. They kept following the suspect and contacted the police, who later deployed a drone to help in the arrest of the man.

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The new DJI Mavic, that we reported on first earlier this week, may be priced as low as $799. And this new foldable drone from DJI is likely to feature OcuSync 2.0, which would make it an very attractive offering and a very capable aircraft.
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An executive order is being prepared by the Trump administration that would effectively ban all federal departments and agencies from buying or using foreign-made drones. They claim the drones pose a risk to national security, according to TechCrunch.
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Today, I noticed this post on Facebook, in which Stephen Timewell explains that his(?) English Drone User Magazine (like many magazines) is going through tough times. Since reporting on drone news is limited already, I would hate to see this UK publication go away. Just now I opened an account and am waiting for their email, so that I can subscribe to their online version for £34.99. Which, btw, also gives me access to their entire back catalogue! Drone User Magazine comes out every month and features many great articles.

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Through the rumor mill we have been informed that the FCC filing for the DJI Matrice 300 or M300 have Already been submitted with a 60-day-secrecy cycle. Based on this news we are confident that the successor for the M200/210 will be introduced in the US before the end of April. Originally we had said before the end of February, but it seems that the Coronavirus outbreak may have delayed the launch.

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Yesterday, DJI released a new firmware update for the Phantom 4 RTK. This update includes many improvements of which you can read the details below. DJI also warns you that after installing this update you will not be able to downgrade to an older version firmware. Also, after updating the Phantom 4 RTK Remote Controller with this firmware version, the remote controller can only be used with the Phantom 4 RTK aircraft.

See below for all the details and let us know what you think of this latest firmware update.

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Now that we have seen the first images of what we believe to be the new DJI Mavic (and not the DJI Mavic Air 2), it’s time to talk about the specs. We believe that the new DJI Mavic will be DJI’s safest drone ever, as it will include ADS-B In and almost certainly 360-degree obstacle avoidance. Furthermore, we expect the following specs for this new foldable DJI drone.

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