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
In our ongoing series of drone killers, called Drone Defense, we now learn that the US Airforce has funded research to study how peregrine falcons approach and target their prey. Many of the raptor’s attack skills may one day be used in creating an effective drone-defense system to help keep soldiers safe.
Emmy winner, Graham Sheldon, got his hands on a DJI Inspire 2, a set of Zenmuse X7 gimbal and lenses. Here is what he thinks about the combination that offers you a 24 MP CMOS sensor and 14 stops of dynamic range.
In his review, he notes how much easier the Inspire 2 is to operate and how much faster you are up and running. He notes:
“The big sell for me on this is that it takes five minutes from box open to takeoff. Unbuckle the drone and lens case and in minutes grabbing shots with your favorite two or single person team.”
In pursuit of amazing photos of 2,000-degree hot lava, Erez Marom flew his $1,500 DJI Phantom drone too close and caused it to melt. The melted drone was worth it though according to Marom. He said:
“When you take a drone through a volcano, you take a certain risk that the drone isn’t going to come back,” Marom says. “I knew the drone might not come back, but it was worth it.”
A drone has become an essential part of the Queensland police operations new numbers show. During the last year, one or more drones were launched 52 times by the Queensland Police Service photographic section. All flights combined add up to more than 60 hours of flight time in the last year alone.
We already know that drones are used in more creative ways than for which they were intended. Herding sheep, or spreading propaganda, for instance, are both good examples. In this video posted on Fire Island and Beyond, we have an NY fisherman who uses his drone to successfully locate a school of striped bass off Fire Island. Needless to say, it made catching the feeding fish really easy.
Two days ago we wrote about an FAA-commissioned study that had been released by a team from the Alliance for System Safety of UAS through Research Excellence (ASSURE), that concluded that drones colliding with large manned aircraft will likely cause more structural damage than birds with the same weight for a given impact speed.
Chinese drone manufacturer, DJI responded to the ASSURE report, in which a DJI Phantom 3 was used, with a public statement to address some of the concerns.
The British Civil Aviation Agency CAA said that drones had become one of the most wanted Christmas gifts under the tree this year. Two million drones are already in the air in the U.K. but the CAA expects 1.5 million could be added after the Holiday season is over.
This week a new research report has been released by a team from the Alliance for System Safety of UAS through Research Excellence (ASSURE) that concludes that drones colliding with large manned aircraft will likely cause more structural damage than birds with the same weight for a given impact speed.
Whereas birds have a soft mass and tissue, drones are made of harder materials and contain more compact mass, such as batteries and motors, which are likely to cause more damage during a collision with a manned airplane.
NOAA reports that drones help improve the scientific research on Antarctic species such as leopard seal by taking photos from straight above. Since the leopard seals feed on Antarctic krill – small, shrimp-like crustaceans, the size and weight of the seals are a good indication of the Antarctic ecosystem as a whole. In the past researcher would spend hours searching for leopard seals, catching them and immobilizing them so that they could be weighed. Keep in mind that weighing these large mammals in icy conditions is no easy task.
Chinese drone manufacturer, DJI just announced today that they will be adding new identification features to their “electronic license plate” for drones system, Aeroscope. Aeroscope is a system that remotely identifies and tracks airborne drones, allowing law enforcement and aviation safety officials to respond to safety and security concerns about drones. The new additions allow drone operators to voluntarily identify their drone and drone flights to law enforcement agencies. The new features are available in the DJI GO 4 app and as of now work only with the Mavic Pro.
The Federal Aviation Administration has issued the first waiver to an Albuquerque, N.M. cinema drone company. The film company will be allowed to fly over the crew and cast on film locations.
The US Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration released an “Information for Operators” memo today in which they recommend the use of reflective vests by small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) remote pilots. These orange vests should have text on them such as “Drone Pilot Please Do Not Disturb”, “Drone Pilot Stand Clear”, “Drone Pilot” or similar warnings against distracting the person wearing it.
On November 28th, Amazon was granted a patent for the “directed fragmentation of an unmanned aerial vehicle” or a self-destructing delivery drone. Oftentimes patents are simply filed to claim and protect a certain idea. The actual invention may never be developed or built at all. That may apply to this patent filing for a self-destructing delivery drone from Amazon as well.
North American Windpower reported that drones were used to inspect all 264 blades across 88 wind turbines of a Statoil wind farm, covering an area of approximately 22 square miles, located off the coast of England. The so-called Sheringham Shoal Wind Farm is one of the ten largest wind farms in existence and has a capacity of 317 MW, enough to power up to 220,000 homes in the U.K.
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The market for consumer and commercial drones has been growing at a very rapid pace. According to the latest FAA numbers, there are now 943,535 registrations of drones and drone owners in the U.S. market at least, two-thirds of which are made by DJI.
Is leading drone manufacturer, DJI sending sensitive information captured by these drones of U.S. infrastructure and government installations back to China? This is a question that is being asked by U.S. officials.
Some of the special Thanksgiving prices are still in effect in the DJI online store for products like the Spark, Osmo Mobile, Osmo+ and DJI Goggles. Now while DJI’s special pricing is very attractive, sometimes there are better deals to be found elsewhere. Take for instance this DJI Spark on eBay, brand new for only USD $370. Btw – if deals are your thing, keep an eye out for 9to5Toys, our deal specialists.
DJI launched a few new accessories for the DJI Spark (still priced at $399!), our favorite mini-drone. Last week they introduced the Spark Portable Power Charging Station for USD $89, which is a battery-powered charger for up to three Spark batteries. The charger itself can be fully charged in 1 hour and 35 minutes and can in turn charge up to three Spark batteries in 2.5 hours with its own 5000 mAh battery.
This week DJI introduces the Spark Portable Power Pack for USD $139 but the DJI website is unclear about what you will be getting when you buy this item.
Update: DJI updated their website on 11/30. The Spark Portable Power Pack does include two batteries.
Antarctica has to be one of the least human-friendly places on earth, one could visit in terms of weather conditions, yet last week it was the scene of some amazing feats, including the fastest Antarctic mile ever run, as well as the Antarctic Ice Marathon and 100k(!) race events. The event has been documented partly by drone in the amazing video you can see below. The scenery at the Union Glacier in Antarctica, just 650 miles from the South Pole, is amazingly beautiful and the drone footage is very cinematic.
Grab a coffee and enjoy watching this short movie.
Russia is known for having built the largest airplane, the Antonov An-225, the largest helicopter, the MiL V12, the largest submarine, the Typhoon class and now they are working on building a massive drone. The drone is called the SYF and is designed to carry a 400-pound payload and to fly for up to eight hours. The drone, designed by Russian company ARDN technology, has a maximum speed of 43.5 mph. The SKYF drone was designed specifically with logistics and agriculture in mind.
Last weekend in South Beach Florida, Kenny Melendez, who flies drones professionally, was flying his drone when he spotted a large shadow in the water right next to a swimmer. He flew the drone towards it to get a better shot of the large shark, which he believes to have been a tiger shark, very close to the shore and the swimmers.
On November 14th, 2017, the Federal Aviation Administration publicly released a database with non-identifiable information of every drone registration up to October 31, 2017. Dan Gettinger and Arthur Holland Michel at the Center for the Study of the Drone at Bard College have published a preliminary but detailed analysis of the FAA registration information. They confirm some things that we already knew, such as DJI being the undisputed leader in the drone market as well as some surprising insights. The information released by the FAA shows registrations geographically for both hobbyist and non-hobbyist segments of the drone market.
People keep coming up with new ways to use drones. We have already seen drones herd sheep, fight malaria, fly over volcanoes, deliver burrito’s and now they are being used to spread anti-media propaganda over NFL games, twice last weekend.
On Monday, a Northern California male drone pilot has been arrested on accusations that he was flying a drone over two NFL games last weekend. The arrest has raised concerns about security at professional sporting events, according to the police.
Mercedes-Benz recently completed more than 100 successful drone deliveries in Zurich, Switzerland. The unmanned aircraft delivered everyday items such as ground coffee and cellphones to Mercedes-Benz vans strategically located in the city. They were able to achieve a perfect safety record and more drone deliveries are planned for next year.
Apart from the DJI Thanksgiving offerings, DJI is also offering the DJI Select membership program for access to exclusive deals and services. This program is available for a limited time only, for an exclusive price of $29 per year.