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
Artificial intelligence is becoming more prevalent in our everyday life. You find it in self-driving cars, smart speakers from companies like Google and Amazon, in the photo editing apps on your smartphone and of course in the Skydio R1 drone. Today we learn in a paper called Eye in the Sky, that researchers are trying to use AI together with drones to spot fighting people and other violence in crowds.
For the last 107 years, the apple orchard Beak & Skiff in Central New York has used bees to pollinate their apple trees. Each year, during spring when the orchards are in bloom there is only a short period that is the most optimal time to pollinate the apple trees. The success of the pollination is heavily dependent on the bee activity in the area. To take some of that uncertainty out of the equation, they tried something new this year. Fresh Fruit Operations at Beak & Skiff Orchards hired NY Genius finalist Dropcopter to pollinate their apple trees with a drone.
Yesterday, during the launch event of the new Parrot Anafi, we had the chance to talk with the Global Marketing Manager, Vincent Vantilcke about the company’s latest product. We asked him about some of the benefits the Anafi offers and who the company is targetting with their latest drone.
Good morning, Yesterday French drone maker Parrot announced their latest unmanned aircraft the Parrot Anafi. We were able to get our hands on one and will be posting more information in the coming days. Furthermore, DJI announced a partnership with Axon to sell drones directly to the police.
Today the French drone maker Parrot launched the all-new Anafi drone in New York. Parrot took inspiration from insects such as wasps and beetles to design this light-weight, foldable drone. The drone is very light-weight (320 grams) and folds up to a very small package, however, this does not mean it doesn’t pack a punch. The Anafi features a 21MP Sony sensor, shoots 4K video, HDR photos and a host of intelligent flight features. The drone is also very quiet, making it much less obtrusive to bystanders than most of the drones consumers are used to.
The new Parrot drone can be pre-ordered today for $699.99 and will be available at retailers as of July 1st. Shipping will start as of July 2nd.
Chinese drone maker, DJI is making a big push into the commercial drone market this year. Yesterday afternoon the company announced a partnership with Axon to sell drones directly to police officers through Axon’s Air program. Axon is the company that was formerly known as Taser. The partnership with Axon will allow police forces around the country to easily order DJI drones such as the Phantom of Matrice through Axon’s connected data network and Evidence.com services.
Good morning, today will be Parrot’s big day! We will be on our way to the city to see what the French drone maker will have in store for us. Exciting stuff!! Meanwhile, we also have news on the Jackery 240 and Jackery Solar Panel that we reviewed. Other than that we were out shooting our Skydio R1 and Tesla Model 3 video yesterday, hence the limited number of articles. Grab a coffee and jump in!
Last summer, my wife, kids and I were in a very fortunate situation to finally do the American Road Trip we had been dreaming about. The four of us visited 22 National Parks in about 6 weeks time. Expect for only a few nights we camped out every night. Apart from the beauty of the National Parks, one thing that struck me was how disconnected you are from day to day life once you are in a park like for instance Yellow Stone NP. The little campsite we stayed at had no power, no running water, and only a port-o-potty. No problem at all. We did not mind being disconnected. Live without internet, email, social media was very easy to get accustomed to. A blessing really. However, not being able to charge a flashlight, camera, drone, phone, or even a laptop, that got old really fast. Had we had something like the portable Jackery Explorer 240 battery charger and the Jackery 50W Explorer solar panel, that would have gone a long way in making our camping experience more convenient.
Back in April, we first reported on the French drone maker. Parrot being up to something. Well, tomorrow will be the day of the official announcement. In a tweet earlier today, Parrot is talking about ‘It’s coming’ and your life taking ‘a new flight’. They also refer to tomorrow’s event as ‘the big announcement.’ DroneDJ will be reporting live from the event that is scheduled to take place in New York at 10 am EST.
Good morning, here are the headlines you may have missed. We have new Apple Park drone videos, an interview with one of the makers of these videos, a DJI martial arts movie, ‘The Teacher’, drone footage from the terrible disaster in Guatemala and more.
This morning we showed you the latest two drone videos that captured the almost completed new headquarters of Apple, called Apple Park. Later today we were able to conduct a short interview with one of the video makers, Matthew Roberts, who has been documenting the construction since March 2016.
DJI released a short film, called: The Teacher. The film is almost 15 minutes long and it seems as if no expenses were spared in the making of this Chinese martial arts ‘movie’. Presumingly, DJI products were used in the making of the video even though it is not specifically mentioned. It would make sense however that DJI products, such as a Ronin Gimbal, Inspire 2 drone, Zenmuse X7 camera and maybe even the DJI Master Wheels were used. There is a lot of action-packed martial arts fighting going on and if you have 15 minutes to spare the film is definitely worth watching.
Over the years we have seen many drone-saving attempts. Some were successful, some were not. Today we have received the latest in drone rescue attempts. Apparently, two guys are flying a drone over water when they lose the connection. In a last-minute effort, one of the men jumps in the water and swims toward the drone. Will he get there in time? Watch the video below to find out!
The Fuego eruption has reportedly been the most violent in more than a century in Guatemala, killing at least 25 people, and injuring many more. The eruption took place on Sunday and lasted for more than 16 hours. The pyroclastic flows, fast-moving clouds of very hot gas, mud, rocks and volcanic matter, rushed down the mountain and engulfed entire villages as you can see in the drone video below.
Recently, DJI uploaded this video to YouTube, showing how five organizations in different parts of the world use drones to help save people’s lives. Five finalists were presented the AUVSI XCELLENCE 2018 award during this year’s AUVSI Xponential conference in Denver, CO, sponsored by DJI. In the video DJI’s Managing Director of North America, Michael Perry explains how drone initiatives in five different continents have helped to reduce the time and risk in saving lives
Yesterday and today two new drone videos were posted on YouTube, that show the Apple’s head offices being cleaned and prepped ahead of this year’s WWDC 2018. The first video was shot by Duncan Sinfield with the DJI Inspire 2 and the Zenmuse X7 camera and the second video was shot by Matthew Roberts, who used a Phantom 4 Pro to capture the spaceship-like building. Surprisingly it is still possible to fly your drone over Apple’s office building, in Cupertino, California, after a DJI Phantom 4 crashed on top of the roof back in February.
Good morning, here are some of the headlines you may have missed. We have news on an umbrella-drone and a video from DJI in which they show how drones are being used to rescue and free whales that are entangled in fishing lines and other ocean debris.
In our previous post, we mentioned how people always find new ways to use drones. Well, what do you think about this latest example from the Japanese company, Asahi Power Services? They have invented an umbrella that can be held in place by a drone. It is called the Free Parasol.
In this latest video from DJI, we see how drones have become an invaluable tool in freeing whales from ocean debris such as lines and fishing nets. The people from Oceans Unmanned have teamed up with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary and have started to use drones to assess the whale and the way the lines are wrapped around its body. The unmanned aerial systems provide a clear picture of the situation, before they approach the whale, minimizing the risk to the people on board the boat.
Good morning, here are yesterday’s headlines. We have news from Hawaii where a drone helped rescue workers and a resident find their way back to safety. The new cover of Time magazine showing almost one thousand drones and the photo itself is also taken by a drone. Eli Tamanaha joins PrecisionHawk. And lastly, a garbage driver caught by a DJI Spark. For our video today we have a special one called: “welcome to hell.” Enjoy!
Last Sunday, a drone rescue mission from U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in Kīlauea volcano’s lower East Rift Zone, helped guide a resident who was trapped at his residence to a team of rescue workers, who were on their way to evacuate the civilian. The individual was instructed to follow the drone back to safety. The unmanned aerial system (UAS) team could keep track of the person visually as he was instructed to use his cell phone’s flashlight. Meanwhile, the team was also assisting the rescue workers in their effort to reach and evacuate the resident.
As if we, drone enthusiasts, didn’t know this already. We are living in the early days of the drone age. Super exciting stuff! TIME Magazine came to the same conclusion and dedicated a special report to unmanned aerial vehicles, called: “The Drone Age.” What makes the cover of this week’s publication so special is that the timeless TIME Magazine cover has been created with the help of Intel’s drones AND the photo itself was also taken by a drone. Pretty awesome stuff!
Co-founder and former chief technology officer of DroneBase, Eli Tamanaha, is joining PrecisionHawk as Vice President of Strategic Initiatives reporting directly to CEO Michael Chasen. An interesting move for sure and one that the company says “underscores PrecisionHawk’s position as the vanguard of aerial intelligence that drives operational insights and as a drone industry pioneer.”
Residents in the Del Mar (San Diego) community have found their trash cans toppled over and damaged week after week. As the repair and replacement costs started to add up, one of the homeowners took her DJI Spark drone and flew it around the neighborhood to find out who was trashing the trash cans in their Del Mar community.