Haye Kesteloo

This week will be all about the DJI Airworks 2018 event in Dallas, TX. The event officially starts tomorrow, but DJI had invited DroneDJ to be present during today’s launch of their DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise drone. As DroneDJ readers will know, this drone was widely anticipated with several photos that were leaked in recent months. DJI’s Mavic 2 Enterprise edition is based on the DJI Mavic 2 Zoom, but with some significant improvements and add-ons.

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Good morning, today’s video is from one of DJI’s partners, Ural Motorcycles. They have developed a limited edition motorbike, the Ural Air, that includes a DJI Spark drone. If you’re into retro motorbikes and like to fly drones this may be the bike for you. If you’re not into motorbikes, well you may still like this video for its ingenuity. Check it out!

As far as the headlines go, we have news for you on the Hubsan Zino drone and the Xiaomi FIMI A3 drones. Both promise to compete with the DJI Spark. We’re trying to get our hands on both these models to put them through the test so stay tuned! Furthermore, we have an article about the Uniform Law Commission and how their proposed legislation may hinder our hobby or work. And lastly, news about the Phantom 4 drone pilot who got fined and grounded after repeatedly ignoring warnings from the Canadian Mounties. Grab your coffee and jump right in!

Last, but maybe the most important news for today is that DroneDJ is present at DJI’s AirWorks 2018 event for commercial drone operators and enterprise customers in Dallas, TX. And, today DJI has a special event in the ‘works’ so stay tuned and we will bring you their latest news shortly!

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There’s a small but very influential group of attorneys from across the country, called the Uniform Law Commission, a non-profit, American unincorporated association. Their members are appointed by state and their goal is to “to bring clarity and stability to critical areas of statutory law across jurisdictions.” One of their committees is currently working to draft “a uniform act or model law addressing tort liability and defenses associated with the unique use of aerial drones,” the so-called “Tort Law Relating to Drones.” This model legislation could potentially have far-reaching consequences for the drone industry as it aims to protect the privacy of landowners.

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The man who flew his Phantom 4 illegally in restricted airspace close to Yellowknife Airport, has been fined $3,000 CAD and is grounded for three years. The drone pilot had pleaded ignorance of the drone rules four times. This led to the judge saying that she had difficulty accepting the plea bargain that was proposed by both the prosecution and the defense, as we reported earlier.

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Good morning, today’s video was captured with a DJI Phantom 4 Pro Obsidian and shows San Francisco from dawn to dusk in glorious 4K. Amazing views of the city, so be sure to check it out.

For news headlines that you may have missed, we have a Yuneec Breeze 4K drone giveaway, that you probably want to sign up for. There has been an update to the Parrot Anafi with new flight modes and a new price. Then we have the FlyCroTugs wasp-inspired mini-drones that can pull their own weight 40 times. And lastly a discount on the latest two DJI Mavic 2 drones. So grab your coffee, sit down and jump right in!

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Good morning, today’s short film shows some of the best footage you could capture by drone from Baikal Lake. The lake is located in Russia and is the largest freshwater lake in the world measured by volume. As you will see in the video, Baikal Lake and the surrounding area provide ample opportunity to capture beautiful winter landscapes.

For the headlines, you may have missed, we have a firmware update for the Phantom 4 Pro V2.0. And, DJI just announced their latest version of their geofencing software, GEO 2.0. An article from the Economist about deliveries by drone in Iceland. And a deal on the DJI Mavic Pro Alpine White Edition. Enjoy!

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Brendan Schulman, DJI’s Vice President of Policy & Legal Affairs, had announced during the launch of Aeroscope last year, that the company was working on a more precise and more 3D-like geofencing solution to fence off areas around airports, specifically taking into account the runways. Today, in an official announcement from the world’s largest drone maker, DJI explains that this new Geospatial Environment Online (GEO) Version 2.0 will be rolled out starting next month, first in the US. As we reported earlier, DJI also launched a global authorization team to speed up the unlocking process of geo-fenced areas for authorized professional drone pilots (for instance first responders and law enforcement officials). The unlocking should now take place within 30 minutes. The introduction of GEO 2.0 is a big step forward to keep our skies safe.

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DJI just released their latest firmware update for the DJI Phantom 4 Pro V2.0 (v01.00.22.00). It seems to be a small update that optimizes the sensitivity of the remote controller’s right stick when adjusting camera parameters and another issue related to the restarting the remote controller and not resetting to the correct mode. Let us know if you run into any issues after this update.

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Good morning, today’s UAS video shows a freight train making its way up a mountain. No easy task! For news and headlines, you may have missed, we have the following. A drone video showing a Cessna flying by. A thermal video of the massive fife in Oakland yesterday. The Hubsan Zino drone, a Spark competitor? Cold weather battery test for the Mavic 2 Pro and Zoom and a review on drone filters. So, make it a large coffee this time and jump right in!

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Admittedly not as crazy dangerous as the video with the helicopter (or other drone incidents) that we showed recently but still, drone videos like these show why stricter drone rules, remote id, and better education for drone pilots are needed to keep the airspace safe for everybody. Somebody by the name of ‘GS Wing Nut’ uploaded two videos to Youtube that show a manned aircraft, a Cessna according to the uploader, fly-by closely at dusk. The first video is named DJI 0679 and shows the airplane flying into view, the second video, DJI 0680, clearly shows the manned aircraft flying by at some distance. Both videos were uploaded yesterday.

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Oakland firefighters have been battling a massive fire overnight at a construction site where townhomes are being built. The fire was reported at 2 a.m. this morning. About 90 firefighters were on the scene as the massive fire ripped through the townhouse construction site located at West Grant and Filbert Street in Oakland, Calif. The Alameda County sheriff’s deputies brought a DJI Inspire 1 in to get footage of the fire. The drone equipped with a thermal camera shows exactly where the hotspots are.

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DC Rainmaker posted this video a few days ago in which he tests the battery life of the DJI Mavic 2 Pro and Zoom models. The cold weather battery test took place in the Canadian mountains where it was about a negative 18 degrees Fahrenheit or about minus 8-9 degrees Celsius.

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Good morning, today’s video is a fall drone video. It was shot with a DJI Mavic Pro (and a Sony A7s) and shows the Cuyahoga Falls in Ohio. Here in NY, the leaves are turning as well and the colors should be at their best not too long from now. Some upstate NY areas are peaking right now. Fall is a great season to shoot drone videos and if you have some great looking footage, please send them our way and we will be sure to share them here on DroneDJ.

As far as news goes, there’s the DJI Enterprise announcement for their DJI Airworks event next week. It is no secret that we are expecting DJI to launch the Mavic 2 Enterprise. We will be at the event as well and will be bringing you the latest news on the event and probably the Phantom 4 RTK as well. Then we have news from Uber, the ride-share company that wants to deliver your burger by drone. The closest near-miss ever between a drone and a passenger jet over the UK. DJI’s 2019 RoboMaster Competition and part 2 of flying your drone in the mountains. Grab your coffee and jump in!

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DJI just opened up their international robotics competition, 2019 RoboMaster Competition. Students from universities around the world are invited to enter the competition and possibly win a Grand Price of $75,000. Last year almost 200 teams participated with around 10,000 young engineers from around the world. See below for DJI’s official announcement as well as the instructions to sign up for the competition.

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Flying your drone high in the mountains is no easy task. If you go really high up, like what was done by Bartek Bargiel in the rescue of Rick Allen, you may even have to de-restrict your drone through a hack. At high altitudes, the air has a lower density, which makes it more difficult for your drone to fly. Lower temperatures also diminish your battery’s performance. This French video (English subtitled) explains in great detail what’s involved when flying your drone in the mountains.

Updated on 10/22/2018 with the video Part 2.

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Next week DJI’s annual commercial drone event, DJI Airworks will take place in Dallas, TX. Many of us are expecting the Chinese drone maker to launch the DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise Edition, which was recently confirmed in these FCC filings, at the event. Earlier this summer we already saw some high-resolution images of the drone as well as a few leaked images with different devices mounted on top of the drone. Now DJI Enterprise tweeted this mysterious announcement “For the Frontiers” with an October 30th date. The announcement says “It’s time for our ‘biggest’ unveil of the year” and includes an image that shows the outline of what almost seems to be a pair of binoculars. It seems safe to say the DJI will be announcing the new Mavic 2 Enterprise later this month. The remaining question is, of course, what is that thing mounted on top? Let’s take a closer look.

Update 10/22/2018: DJi just sent out another tweet with a new photo. See below.

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Good morning, today’s drone video showcases the town of Matara in Sri Lanka. Unfortunately, we do not have a lot of information on the drone that was used to create the video other than that is was shot in 4K. Nonetheless, this 4k drone video is worth a watch, so grab a cup of coffee and check it out. As far as news goes, we have an official letter from DJI demanding that a video of a misleading drone collision test will be removed. Ongoing investigations of a near miss at Albury Airport in the UK. Boys flying a drone and disturbing endangered dotterels. A UFO spotted over New Jersey. An amphibious drone and more.

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