Ishveena Singh

Drone manufacturers, take notice. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has finalized a new rule that will crackdown on companies that make false, unqualified claims that their products are made in the USA.

The extensive search operation went on for 36 hours. But in the end, authorities at a German zoo were able to track and find Jang, an adorable, endangered red panda – with the help of a thermal drone.

So, you think drones are revolutionizing surveying, mapping, and inspection tasks? That will start to sound like old news once you find out what researchers in New Zealand are teaching drones to do. Two University of Canterbury academics are enabling drones to use hazardous precision tools in midair for a variety of complex industries.

Skylark Drones, the only Indian company to rank among the top four drone service providers in the world by Drone Industry Insights, has raised $3 million in a pre-Series A funding round to fuel growth in new geographies. This new funding follows the company’s previous seed funding round, which took place in 2018.

With 24 people confirmed dead and 121 still unaccounted for, the still-standing portion of the Champlain Towers condominium building in Surfside, Florida, has now been demolished. Meanwhile, a drone video released by Miami-Dade Fire Rescue department before the demolition gives a glimpse of the rescue and recovery efforts at the site of the terrible tragedy.

Drones have become an indispensable tool for commercial applications, improving safety, increasing efficiency, and delivering stupendous time and cost savings across industries. However, when it comes to confined-space inspections, the economic barrier to entry is too high. Drones that specialize in internal inspections can easily cost upward of $40,000. But this simple yet effective drone accessory by Heliguy will empower you to carry out up-close internal inspections with the extremely popular and affordable Mavic 2 drones.

There is no question that search and rescue drones are incredibly effective at finding missing persons. But it’s not often that you have similar events unfolding 600 miles apart on consecutive nights. But this is exactly what happened in Ohio and North Carolina this week. And both times, disaster was averted with the help of drones.

The Communist Party of China (CPC), which has ruled China continuously since 1949, is celebrating its 100^th anniversary. And to commemorate the occasion, 5,200 drones lit up the night sky in Longgang, Shenzhen, last week. The massive drone light show, which should be going down in Guinness World Records, showcased some of the most pivotal chapters from the party’s history.

Drone light shows are a lot more environmentally friendly than fireworks. In an ideal world, we would see drone shows replace fireworks completely. For now, though, there are quite a few cities, big and small, that are planning to light up their skies with drones and fireworks alike this Fourth of July. Here are six where you can catch a drone light show on Sunday…    

Have you been waiting for a sub-250-gram, sub-$300 beginner’s drone from DJI? That wait may not end any time soon because DJI is not launching the much-discussed Mini SE in the United States. Or even in Europe (except Russia). Here’s why…

Drone manufacturer Parrot’s latest offering, the ANAFI Ai, has a definite attention-grabbing feature – 4G connectivity. But just how useful is long-range control going to be in a drone whose useable flight time is under 25 minutes remains to be seen.

It’s quite rare to spot a critically endangered southern right whale in southeastern Australia. Rarer still is to find the mammal swimming next to you in a lake. But that’s exactly what happed to visitors at Lake Wallis in New South Wales (NSW) on Tuesday morning.

[Update: June 30, 7:13 am PT] The DJI Mini SE will NOT launch in the United States or Europe (except Russia).

Read more: No, DJI’s sub-250-gram, sub-$300 Mini SE is not coming to US

Alphabet’s drone-delivery subsidiary Wing has launched a free mobile and web app, OpenSky, to inform drone pilots, both recreational and commercial, when and where it is safe to fly in the United States. Drone flyers can use the OpenSky app to see information on airspace restrictions, pre-plan flights, and get airspace approvals. This app has been available in Australia since 2019.

Nearly half of the people who drown in the Great Lakes every year drown in Lake Michigan. So now, one city in West Michigan is adding a specialized drone to its water rescue tools arsenal. Not only will this drone help South Haven Area Emergency Services (SHAES) responders to locate distressed swimmers, but it will also drop a floatation device to the swimmer in danger, reaching them about three minutes faster than a lifeguard.

Israel-based drone photographer Lior Patel has spent the last seven months following “sheep flow” – hundreds of sheep being herded across grasslands and roadways as fluidly as water. And he has documented the best footage in a fascinating aerial timelapse that has got the internet hooked.

Drone insurance company SkyWatch.AI has been providing flexible insurance coverage to thousands of commercial drone pilots in the United States since 2018. This month, the company decided to take a deep dive into its policy data to date and dig out drone industry trends. Here’s what they found out…

The infamous drone sightings that caused the UK’s Gatwick Airport to close for almost two days in 2018 have dominated news broadcasts and counter-drone industry discussions for what seems like eons. But to date, no culprit has been found. And so, the couple that was wrongly accused of the chaos is now calling out the police for failure to publish a report on the incident.

A drone survey funded by McDonald’s has revealed the sordid scale of Britain’s trash problem. When rubbish-mapping drones scanned the coastal resort towns of Bournemouth, Christchurch, and Poole (BCP Council) in the month of May, it was discovered that littering had increased by 454% compared to the volumes found during the March lockdown.

Every year, New York City spends over $1.4 million to collect water quality samples. But now, a new drone-based solution can help NYC, and over 50,000 other water utilities in the United States, to slash their water sampling costs by up to 90%, and sample collection time by 75%.

Read DroneDJ’s exclusive interview with Dawn Zoldi, one of the most recognizable, inspirational figures in the drone industry. 

Dawn Zoldi has superhuman powers when it comes to multitasking. She runs her tech consulting business, P3 Tech Consulting. She hosts a weekly podcast, Drones at Dawn, to discuss the latest developments impacting the UAS industry. She serves as an adjunct professor at Colorado State University, teaching about the developing discipline of Homeland Security. She is an adviser at Women and Drones, having won recognition from the organization in 2019. And she is the first female CEO and president of UAS Colorado, a nonprofit business league dedicated to advocating for the unmanned aircraft community in Colorado.