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.
Late last year the first reports surfaced of drones unexpectedly falling out of the sky in the UK. Affected drones were from the Matrice and Inspire series. DJI issued an official statement and started an investigation into the issue. The Chinese drone maker subsequently released two different firmware updates to tackle the issue and now concludes the TB55 battery investigation, saying that the most recent firmware update resolved the problem. See below for DJI’s official statement.
China’s largest drone maker, DJI faces a $150 million dollar loss after a large number of employees committed fraud in a series of corruption cases. The company is currently investigating inflated product prices in their supply chain. So far, 16 people have been reported to the authorities.
We have reached out to DJI for their official response to this story. The Chinese drone maker told us that they will be sending out an official statement as soon as possible. Update – DJI issued an official response. See below for details.
It didn’t really come as a surprise, but it is very unfortunate nonetheless. As a result of the government shutdown the FAA UAS Symposium that was supposed to take place at the Baltimore Convention Center from February 12-14, 2019 has now been officially postponed. In an email from AUVSI, we were informed that the convention has officially been postponed due to the government shutdown and that ” new conference dates will be announced after furloughed FAA employees return to work.” Expand Expanding Close
FLIR Systems was awarded a $89 million contract from French armed forces to deliver Black Hornet Personal Reconnaissance System. FLIR Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: FLIR) announced today it has been awarded a contract from the French Defense Procurement Agency (DGA) in support of the French Operational Pocket Drone (DrOP) program. The contract has a ceiling value of $89 million to provide the FLIR Black Hornet® 3 nano-unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and Personal Reconnaissance System (PRS) to support French Armed Forces operations.
What is DJI Care Refresh and why would you need it? Well, that is a good question. Have you seen any of these (here and here.) recent videos of drones crashing in the water or being damaged by water? If that was your drone and you had DJI Care Refresh, you could request a replacement. Once you buy DJI Care Refresh, you can request up to two replacements within the 12 months that your plan is valid. Doing so will require you to pay another fee at the time of request but it is still a heck of a lot cheaper than buying a new drone. For instance, when you buy a DJI Mavic 2, you can purchase DJI Care Refresh for an additional $139. If you happen to damage (see terms) your drone, you can request a replacement. For the Mavic 2, the first replacement would cost you $119 and the second $139. It provides you peace of mind when you’re flying and as you can imagine, DJI Care Refresh has been very popular.
Currently, DJI is running a promotion and they have reduced the price of their DJI Care Refresh program by 10%. See below for details.
On top of that we’re giving away five DJI Care Refresh plans for free to the first five people who buy a Spark, Mavic Air, Mavic Pro, Mavic 2 or even Phantom drone through our affiliate links. Just email us your order number and we will send you the coupon code. We only have five coupons to give out so whoever gets there first, gets their free DJI Care Refresh plan. Fyi – when you buy through our links you do not pay anything extra for your drone. We just get a small commission from DJI.
In this short but beautiful YouTube video, legendary surfer Derek Ho is almost hit by a Phantom drone as he surfs the Bonzai Pipeline. Unfortunately, the video doesn’t provide us with a lot of background information other than that it was shot with a Phantom drone as well on January 13, 2019.
British racecourses want to ban drones during horse races, but not out of fear for the safety of the horses and their riders. No, the tracks want to ban drones because they might be used by in-running punters, who would use the real-time photos or video to get an advantage over fellow gamblers. One of the leading racecourse operators in the country said drone operators selling the images to gamblers would be regarded as theft. What was not said is that these drones are a threat to the lucrative business performed by the racetracks that rent out spots along the track for a hefty price to gamblers to get an edge. Expand Expanding Close
Can you imagine, your mail delivered by drone over 60 miles? This is what happened the last month in Switzerland when a Swiss-built fixed-wing twin-engine drone delivered mail from Centovalli to Wolfenschiessen over a distance of about 60.8 miles in 1 hour and 15 minutes. This story comes with a breathtaking video that shows you how the drone used its anti-collision systems (FLARM, a Swiss anti-collision system) and GPS tracking to navigate its way over the mountain passes, reaching a maximum altitude of 10,656 feet. After flying for more than one hour at an average speed of 48 mph the fixed-wing drone had about 45% battery left. Visual line of sight was maintained with the use of a spotter airplane that followed the drone for the entire journey.
Call for entries opened for 2019 AUVSI XCELLENCE Awards. Apart from the Humanitarian Awards, AUVSI is calling for nominations in a number of categories, including six new ones. You can find all the details below. The submissions need to be in by February 6, 2019.
Last year, AUVSI and DJI held the inaugural XCELLENCE Humanitarian Awards during the AUVSI XPONENTIAL 2018 in Denver, CO. Five organizations that use drones for critical life-saving missions shared the award. This year DJI and AUVSI have teamed up again to kick off the second annual XCELLENCE Humanitarian Awards. The submission period is now open. See below for details.
Never mind the partial shut down of the U.S. Government. Today in a speech in Washington, the Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao said that the U.S. Department of Transportation would for the first time allow routine flights over people and flights at night without waivers as long as the drone operators take the appropriate safety precautions. This is a groundbreaking announcement that opens up the possibility of deliveries by drone and a range of other commercial drone applications.
Last weekend, drone pilot Pablo Chacon posted this video to YouTube in which he claims to have made the longest drone flight ever. Pablo flew his unmodified DJI Mavic 2 Pro for more than 22 miles over a busy road in Florida. Is this, as he claims, indeed the longest, continuous flight ever with a standard DJI Mavic 2 Pro? Maybe, but one thing is for sure, it is not the safest flight ever. Not by a long shot.
Around the world, and especially in Australia, lifeguards are using drones to spot for sharks and to deliver lifevests or personal flotation devices (PFD’s) to swimmers and surfers in need. In most of these cases larger and more expensive commercial drones are used. Not in this case, however, where creative lifeguards decided to use a regular DJI Mavic Pro. The drone is equipped with a bait release system, commonly used by fishermen, that releases the PFD when the drone reaches the swimmer or surfer in need. Basic, inexpensive and it gets the job done. Bravo!
Drone identification (or remote ID) is the elephant in the room and needs to be resolved before large scale commercial drone operations will become possible. Alphabet’s Wing is currently testing a new identification system for airborne drones together with two other companies, AirMap Inc. and Kittyhawk. Contrary to DJI’s Aeroscope, this drone identification system uses different software application linked to a common web-based system.
We met up with Andrew St Pierre from Autel Robotics to take a look at the new LiveDeck and MultiCharger that they brought to CES 2019. Both devices would be very helpful, especially for first responders. However, both products are currently still in development and no official pricing or release date has been made public as of yet. Check out the video below for more information on the Autel Robotics LiveDeck and MultiCharger.
As we have recently seen at Gatwick and Heathrow Airport, people are quick to point to drones as the culprits when often times other items may have been seen and misidentified as unmanned aerial systems. This morning DJI has sent out an official statement urging people to be cautious in evaluating reports of drone incidents and also say that the recent sightings at multiple airports may have been influenced by publicity.
In the aftermath of the Gatwick Fiasco, the UK government outlined new drone rules in a document titled: “Taking Flight: The Future of Drones in the UK” to reduce the likelihood of another supposedly drone-caused fiasco at one of the major airports in England. Here’s DJI’s official response as they welcome new UK drone regulation.
The newly introduced but out of stock DJI Smart Controller gets its first firmware update. Earlier this week, during CES 2019, DJI released the new DJI Smart Controller for the DJI Mavic 2 Pro, Zoom, and Enterprise drones. Interestingly enough the controller is still listed as out of stock on DJI’s website. And as of yet, we have not even seen this new product filed with the FCC, although the partial government shutdown might have something to do with that. On top of that, there are persistent rumors that the Chinese drone maker is working around the clock to assemble all the necessary components for this new controller. Leaving us wondering when we may be able to actually buy this exciting new device. However, none of this stopped DJI from releasing the first firmware upgrade for the DJI Smart Controller.
DJI, the world’s leader in civilian drones and aerial imaging technology, welcomes today’s publication of modernized Canadian drone regulations as a measured approach ensuring that Canada remains open to safe and responsible use of drones.
New rules for Canadians flying ‘larger’ drones. When you fly a drone of a certain size (250 grams to 55 Lbs) you will have to pass an online exam and get a pilot’s certificate. These new drone rules were announced today by federal Transport Minister Marc Garneau. The new rules will come into effect on June 1 and will apply to all drone operators, regardless if they fly for fun or for work.
Police and fire departments from Brownsville had joined forces Monday night to locate and rescue an 88-year-old man who was reported missing. According to Brownsville Police Department Spokeswoman Melissa Gonzalez said Luis Reyna Zuniga’s family had informed the police that the elderly man went missing around 5:30 pm. In the end, it was with the help of a thermal drone that the man was found. The drone possibly saved Zuniga’s life, according to police. Over the last few years, many people’s lives have been saved with the help of drones.
The DJI Osmo Pocket is a very nifty little camera that features a 3-axis gimbal that allows you to take great photos and 4K video. However, the super small form factor of the DJI Osmo Pocket means that certain features are missing and have to be added in the form of accessories. For instance, you can mount an external microphone to get better quality sound, but that requires a special accessory. Same for taking underwater photos, you need a special casing for that. While most of the ‘crucial’ accessories are still not available. DJI has started to offer some accessories in their online store.
