Haye Kesteloo is the Editor in Chief and Main Writer at DroneDJ, where he covers all drone-related news and writes product reviews. He also contributes to the other sites in the 9to5Mac group such as; 9to5Mac, 9to5Google, 9to5Toys, and Electrek.
Haye can be reached at haye@dronedj.com or @hayekesteloo
DJI released a new firmware update for their DJI Smart Controller. We have heard from quite of our readers that they were experiencing issues with the new controller with built-in 5.5″ display. Hopefully this latest firmware update will address all if not most of the issues people have had with the DJI Smart Controller. Let us know in the comments below what your experience has been after you updated the controller.
A drone tried to capture footage of Bill Cosby in prison. This incident happened last week but only made the news today. As Bill Cosby was escorted around the prison yard a drone flew over the State Correctional Institute Phoenix in Collegeville, Pa. to try and capture photos or video footage. In the past, we have seen multiple cases of drones flying over prisons, but mostly that was done to deliver contraband. Not to take photos or video of infamous inmates
After the drone incidents at Gatwick, Heathrow, and Newark, all eyes are now on the Super Bowl game between the Los Angeles Rams and the New England Patriots in Atlanta, Georgia this upcoming weekend. To prevent a possible Super Bowl drone drama, a new experimental 3D radar system is planned to be tested. The 3D radar system, better known as a compact solid-state beam-steering MESA radar, is from a start-up, funded by Bill Gates, that goes by the name Echodyne.
Drug gang used drones to spy on Spanish police. The gang allegedly used the drones to spot possible police presence before bringing in shipments of hashish. Police arrested the 12 suspected gang members in the town of La Linea de la Concepcion, Spain.
In a research report titled ‘Drones Reporting For Work‘, Goldman Sachs forecasts the global drone industry to reach $100 billion by 2020. The investment bank calls it an opportunity “too large to ignore”. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the biggest part of the global drone business is taken up by the military. The Defense drone market will be good for $70B. The consumer drone market comes in at a second place, with a market size of $17B by 2020.
This report was published some time ago, but it makes sense to share it here in light of the recent developments in drone regulation.
The DJI Phantom 4 Pro V2.0 has been out of stock on the DJI online store since mid-November 2018. The rumors had been that the drone was out of stock temporarily because of an issue or shortage in (overpriced?) components from one or more suppliers. Another theory, of course, is that DJI is working hard to get ready for the launch of the DJI Phantom 5 and that the DJI Phantom 4 Pro V2.0 simply sold out prematurely. Either way, the Phantom 4 Pro V2.0 has been out of stock for two and a half months now. We have heard through various sources that DJI is phasing out the P4P V2.0 and has stopped shipping them until further notice. So with that in mind, we thought this is a good time to update you on what the latest DJI Phantom 5 rumors are.
Was there really a drone at Newark Liberty International Airport? As of yet no hard evidence has been provided to support the sightings of two drones. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is working with local law enforcement but they haven’t been able to confirm the drone sightings independently. Meanwhile, drone enthusiasts and industry insiders have been pushing back and say that the pilots might have seen something else instead.
FLIR Systems was awarded a $39.6M contract for Black Hornet Personal Reconnaissance Systems for US Army Soldier Borne Sensor Program. The contract follows a contract for $89M that was closed with the French Armed Forces a week ago.
DJI is not done for today, after releasing an update for the DJI Go 4 app, the Chines drone maker also released a new firmware update for the Mavic 2 series. The Mavic 2 Pro/Zoom firmware update is labeled v01.00.03.00 and is required for the new waypoints feature offered in the DJI Go 4 app. The firmware update also provides other improvements such as enabling Lateral Vision Systems for Timelapse, increased altitude accuracy of waypoints and others. We are curious to hear your experiences with the new waypoints feature, so let us know in the comments below!
Finally, DJI just added a new version of waypoints for the Mavic 2 drones in a DJI Go 4 app update. So far the update is only available for iOS, but I would expect an update for Android users to follow soon. The vastly improved waypoints feature is the main improvement in this update but not the only one. Other improvements are optimizations of the software and the stability of the editor. Here is a detailed video of the new waypoints feature.
EasyJet says that the drone chaos at Gatwick was a “wake-up call” for airports. Right before the Christmas holidays, alleged drone sightings caused the airport to shut down and as a result, many flights were either canceled or diverted leaving many travelers stranded. EasyJet claims that the Gatwick fiasco has cost them £15m ($19.6M) in passenger compensation and lost revenues, and hit 82,000 customers.
In the wake of the Gatwick, Heathrow, and now Newark (alleged) drone sightings, the Economist published an article today that is worth reading. It covers a number of different counter drone technology options that are currently available or being developed.
Australia has been at the forefront of using drones to keep swimmers and surfers safe and warn them of any nearby sharks. Jason Iggleden, a builder from Sydney, said that the idea for a shark-spotting app was so obvious to him that he filed for a patent and sold everything he owned to develop and launch his new app, called Drone Shark.
On Tuesday, Boeing’s autonomous air taxi completed its first flight in Manassas, Va. The aircraft takes off and lands vertically (VTOL) but transitions into a horizontal flight path once airborne. A number of other companies, such as Bell, Volocopter, and eHang are developing similar air taxis.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), all inbound and outbound flights to Newark Liberty International Airport were halted when two drones were seen flying close-by on Tuesday evening. The drones were seen flying at an altitude of 3,500 feet (!) over Teterboro Airport, which is about 15 miles north of Newark Airport. These drone sightings follow only weeks after both Gatwick and Heathrow Airport in the UK were temporarily closed because of alleged drone sightings.
DJI is serious about growing their enterprise business. Just watch the DJI Airworks keynote, if you were in any doubt. This is made clear again today as they announce an upgraded support program for business customers who buy a new Mavic 2 Enterprise Zoom, Mavic 2 Enterprise Dual or Phantom 4 RTK drone. The plan adds basic repair and replacement coverage for one year after the initial purchase, including up to two product replacements for any single drone at a small, standard fee. The new plan is similar to DJI’s for-consumers-only, Care Refresh plan, but now free of charge for business customers. As such a customer, you only pay a small fee when you actually need a replacement for your drone.
DJI’s Enterprise Shield will remain available and can also be used by customers who had already bought an enterprise-type drone from DJI and are looking for extra peace of mind. The difference between Enterprise Shield and the new, upgraded support program is that under the first you are entitled to unlimited free replacements, which is not the case with this new support program. And Enterprise Shield also covers other commercial grade drones such as the DJI Matrice series. See below for all the details.
What does the new firmware update for the DJI Phantom 4 RTK mean for drone mapping experts and other commercial drone pilots who use this drone for their day to day business? We checked in with Paul Aitken, a drone mapping expert, and from DroneU to get his take on the latest firmware update for the DJI Phantom 4 RTK.
This morning, DJI released a firmware update for the DJI Phantom 4 RTK. This is the drone, we said would change everything for the drone mapping market. The new firmware (version 01.07.0116) promises to resolve a number of minor issues but the focus clearly is on making the DJI Phantom 4 RTK a better drone for mapping operations. To do so, DJI added a number of improvements, such as the ability to use the remote controller without a built-in display for use with Mobile SDK apps, a Timed Shooting mode in Photogrammetry and Linear Flight operations, the ability to set the margin of the operation area automatically when planning a Photogrammetry operation and a lot more. Read all the details below and be sure to share your experience after you updated your DJI Phantom 4 RTK with us in the comments.
The DJI Smart Controller is sold out. Yes, almost exactly 24 hours ago, I wrote that the DJI Smart Controller was available to US customers and now it is out of stock again on the DJI online store. It seems that the new controller with the 5.5″ built-in display has sold out within the first 24 hours of hitting the market in the US. Clearly, many drone pilots appreciate the brighter, built-in display, better range and other features that the DJI Smart Controller offers.
A few months ago we saw the first photos of the DJI Multilink in Amsterdam. Now the Chinese drone maker issued a statement, officially announcing the DJI Multilink for the Inspire 2 Cendence controllers. The DJI Multilink retails for $99 and there is a combo of three DJI Multilinks that sells for $282. It is available starting right now. See below for more details.
Xiaomi, the Chinese smartphone, and drone maker repurchased 9.85 million of its own shares for around HK$100 million ($12.7M) last Friday. The company announced the share buyback on Monday. This is the second stock buyback the company has made. Thirst one happened on Thursday when it bought shares for around $7M.
When you buy the Mavic 2 from DJI’s online store, you have the option to include the DJI Goggles Racing Edition Combo for an additional $449. In the top right corner, there’s a blue link that says “What’s the difference?” Well, the difference seems to be that customers who opt for the DJI Goggles RE Combo are a lot less satisfied with their purchase then the ones who didn’t include the goggles to their purchase.
Last Friday, I wrote about the DJI Smart Controller and when it might be shipping to customers in the US. Sometime that same day, the FCC re-activated the equipment authorization system and the filing for the DJI Smart Controller appeared. Since then the product listing on DJI’s online store has been updated as well and the product is now available for purchase.
DJI Smart Controller looks great, especially in a case like this with a DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise, but when will this new device ship to customers in the US? DJI introduced the well-received, but slightly expensive, DJI Smart Controller during CES 2019. However, ever since the introduction this new device has been listed as out of stock on the US version of the DJI online store. One of our readers in Germany was able to buy the new controller online and received it yesterday. The photos in this article were taken in Asia (Taiwan) where the Smart Controller apparently has been shipping as well. The US customers though seem to have been left in the cold. What is going on here? When will DJI be able to ship their new Smart Controller to their US customers?
Update 1/21/19: it is in stock now!