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
Earlier today we received this DJI email with an offer from the Chinese drone maker to extend our DJI Care program with an additional 12 months. The extended program is called DJI Care Refresh + and is available for the Mavic Air, Mavic Pro Platinum, Mavic Pro, Spark, Phantom 4 Pro, Phantom 4 Advanced, Phantom 3 SE, Inspire 2, Zenmuse X7, Zenmuse X5S, and Zenmuse X4S.
Last winter an FBI hostage rescue team had set up an elevated observation post to monitor an unfolding situation in a large U.S. city. Right after they had set up they heard the sound of small aerial vehicles flying around them. Joe Mazel, head of agency’s operational technology law unit told attendees of the AUVSI Xponential conference that the small drones made a series of high-speed low pass at the agents in the observation post to flush them.” The criminal gang was successful in their attempt and Mazel continues to say that “We were then blind. Without the situational awareness, “it definitely presented some challenges.”
Good morning, this week was a little hectic as I was at the AUVSI Xponential conference in Denver, CO. I have spent lots of time walking the show floor, attending various break-out sessions and talking with people about the latest developments in the drone industry. The result was not much time to sleep and also not a lot of time to write. However, I do have a lot of news, photos, and videos that will come out over the next couple of days. So hopefully that will make up for it! Anyways, grab your coffee, jump in and see what you may have missed over the last few days. Btw – be sure to check out the short interview with Michael Perry and Brendan Schulman from DJI.
DJI just released a new firmware update for the Mavic Air – V01.00.0400. It is strongly recommended by the Chinese drone manufacturer to update your drone. However, keep in mind that once you do so, you will not be able to revert to the old version. This new firmware update does not include the waypoints we have all been asking for. However, there is another solution to fix that problem.
In an article in the NY Times, photographer Josh Haner explains how drones have now become part of his regular outfit. Josh is particularly interested in using drones to gather factual data, such as exactly how many houses burned down due to a wildfire.
May 3, 2018 – Five organizations that flew drones on critical, life-saving missions are winners of the inaugural XCELLENCE Humanitarian Award by the Association for Unmanned Vehicles Systems International (AUVSI). The award, which is sponsored by DJI, the market leader in civilian drones and aerial imaging technology, was presented today at the AUVSI XPONENTIAL 2018 conference at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver.
New firmware released for the DJI / Ryze Tello toy-drone. Version: V01.03.33.01
Chinese Ehang, a name you may recognize from their flying taxi, just broke the Guinness World Record record for largest drone display with a fleet of 1,374 drones at a Labour Day show in Xi’an, breaking Intel’s previous record of 1,218 drones flown during the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. During the first rehearsal flight, all went well and Ehang was able to secure the record, however, during the live performance on May 1st signal interference from the audience may have caused some drones to break formation and some even fell out of the sky.
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DJI’s VP of Policy and Legal Affairs, Brendan Schulman talks about the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Congress and how new upcoming regulations may impact hobbyist drone pilots. Brendan has been part of the Aviation Rule Making Committee (ARC) to create a report with recommendations for the FAA. This report addresses among other things, remote identification. Brendan is also working with other stakeholders from the manned aviation world, the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) and DJI customers on a proposal for Congress to create an online test or tutorial for recreational drone pilots and to prevent section 336 from being repealed.
Yesterday, we had the chance to talk to DJI’s Managing Director of North America, Michael Perry at the AUVSI Xponential 2018 in Denver, Colorado. Michael spoke to us about the new Zenmuse XT2 dual-sensor thermal camera as well as the payload SDK and DJI’s push into the commercial drone market. We also spoke about how drones can help save people lives around the world and of course we asked him about what else consumers can expect from DJI this year.
Today at AUVSI Xponential, Intel announced hardware and software updates to the commercial drone ecosystem. New flight planning. software, additional payloads, as well as obstacle avoidance will provide more tools to capture, process and analyze data For commercial drone applications. Some of the highlights from today’s announcement include Intel Mission Control software, three new payloads, obstacle avoidance, Intel Insight Platform and the world’s first UL 3030 certification for Intel’s Falcon 8+ drone. Read Intel’s press release below for all the details.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had already announced it early in March, but yesterday marked the official start of the expansion of the Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability (LAANC). The system will be deployed at nearly 300 air traffic facilities covering approximately 500 airports and is expected to be finished in September.
Good morning, this week is all about AUVSI Xponential 2018. We are here in Denver and will bring you all the latest news from the event. Yesterday was mostly about travel and attending two sessions, edge computing and remote ID for drones. Today the expo floor will open and the event will really get started. Follow us on Twitter and here on our site for updates throughout the day.
DJI just released a new report that shows that 65 people have been rescued by drones over the course of last year. Combined with data from a previous report, DJI claims that 124 people in total have been saved by unmanned aerial vehicles around the world. Many of the situations where drones came to the rescue have been covered here on DroneDJ, such as the case of the unconscious man who was found in a ditch, or the swimmers who were thrown a flotation device from a drone, or the 86-year old man who was found in a field. Since no register exists where drone rescue missions are tracked, the actual number of people saved by unmanned aircraft is likely to be higher.
Good morning, this week will be all about AUVSI Xponential 2018. I am currently on my way to Denver to check out what the latest is in the drone industry and report back to you here on DroneDJ. Furthermore, we have last weekends headlines for you with news about the FAA’s reauthorization bill, great white shark, drone lawsuit, Dutch startup Avular and more. Today’s video is a short film shot with the DJI Mavic Pro in Japan. Check it out!
In reaction to the five-year Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization bill that was approved in the House yesterday, the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) has issued a press release, stating their concern “about the inclusion of alternative language relating to Section 336 that, while perhaps well-intentioned, places an extreme burden on the FAA, an agency already underfunded and understaffed,” and “this alternative language creates further ambiguity for the recreational community.” Reads all the details in their press release below.
After Republicans gave up on a plan to privatize air traffic control yesterday, the House of Representatives approved a five-year Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization bill featuring among other things, support from both parties to expand commercial drone operations in the US.
A great white shark attacked a Trident beta unit submarine drone at Isla de Guadalupe, Mexico late last year. Dominik Fretz took a Trident beta unit out to for testing in the shark-infested waters. The underwater drone captured the scary-looking footage and lived to tell the tale.
A woman who was hit in the head with a drone at a 2015 frat party, settles the lawsuit with USC fraternity Pi Kappa Phi’s Delta Rho Chapter and event planner, Perfect Event Inc. according to documents filed with the Los Angeles Superior Court on April 12. According to her lawyers, the lawsuit was resolved. No terms were divulged.
Dutch drone startup, Avular, raised $1,8 million to grow their commercial drone business. The Eindhoven-based company develops industrial unmanned aerial devices as well as other robotics and positioning systems. Since their start in 2014, the company had been mostly focussed on the agricultural and inspection sectors, but now they are looking to expand their business with the new funding. At the heart of their company is the modular drone platform, the Aerial Curiosity, that allows their customers to quickly develop a drone for custom applications without having to build the unmanned aerial device from scratch.
Good morning, today we have new photos of a DJI Phantom with an interchangeable 50mm f/2.8 lens. We still not quite sure if we are looking at a Phantom 4 Pro V2.0 or a Phantom 5 here. Check it out and let us know what you think. Furthermore, we have something new coming our way from the French drone maker Parrot.
Earlier this evening two new photos were posted on Twitter that show two silver-colored DJI Phantom drones with interchangeable lenses. They seem to be the same two Phantoms we have seen before. One photo shows a 50mm f/2.8 DJI lens detached from the lens mount. We are still unsure at this point what kind of DJI Phantom this might be. But it is hard not to get excited about a new quadcopter with an interchangeable lens system that might not break the bank like the Inspire 2 and Zenmuse X7 lens combo does.
Next week is the AUVSI XPONENTIAL in Denver, Colorado. During the event, DJI will show off its new Zenmuse XT2 dual-sensor thermal camera, speak about how drones benefit our society, demonstrate the AeroScope Remote ID system and honor five winners of the inaugural AUVSI XCELLENCE Humanitarian Award. DJI will have various drones on display, such as the Mavic Air, the M210 RTK for precise heavy-duty jobs and the Agras MG-1S agricultural spraying drone. Visitors can try these drones in a flight simulator or get some real hands-on experience with the Mavic Air at the outdoor flying space on top of the convention center.
French drone maker, Parrot put a teaser on their website, announcing something is coming on Wednesday, June 6th at 11:00 am EST. As with many teasers, it is very hard to figure out what may be coming down the pike. The image seems to show (the top of a drone with) a battery that has green LED lights to indicate the level of charge, similar to what DJI does with their DJI Mavic Pro batteries for instance. The pulsating green light adds some sense of mystery to the teaser. What do you guys think this may be?