Ishveena Singh

The DroneDeploy Flight app for the DJI Mavic 3 Enterprise has received a fresh update to enable autonomous RTK flights for DJI’s newest flagship enterprise drone.

Automated drone inspection software company Drone Harmony provides full support for all DJI Enterprise drones and payloads. And now, the Swiss company’s flight planning and execution app for iPhones and iPads has received a new update, bringing several exciting features, including 3D interface, to users.

Drone mapping and surveying software specialist Propeller Aero says it has scooped up $15.35 million in fresh funding from new and existing investors. The round was led by VC firms and longtime Propeller supporters, Blackbird and Costanoa, with additional investments coming from Australian industry fund Aware Super, Canva founder Cliff Obrecht, and serial entrepreneur Leigh Jasper.

DJI has finally made the drone-only version of the Mini 3 available to buy for those pilots who already have an RC-N1 remote controller from their old Mini-series aircraft. And B&H Photo is currently offering the product at a deal price of $379, which is $90 less than its typical selling price.

Sony Electronics has announced three new accessories to enhance the efficiency, productivity, and overall functionality of the Airpeak S1 professional filmmaking drone. The fresh additions include an RTK kit, a lightweight gimbal, and a bigger battery pack. It’s worth highlighting though that Sony’s announcement comes days after DJI unveiled the Inspire 3 full-frame 8K cinema drone with built-in RTK positioning technology.

An epitome of understated elegance, the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart, Germany, is a must-visit destination for auto enthusiasts. But if you haven’t had the chance to make a trip there in person, why not take a virtual drone tour of the place right here, right now, and see the stunning machinery on display? Be warned, though – it’s only going to whet your appetite for all things Porsche!

Come September 16, 2023, compliance with the FAA’s final rule on Remote ID will become mandatory for most drones operating in US airspace. Many popular DJI drones have Remote ID capabilities built-in, but some older models need an add-on module to broadcast their identification and location information.

Update (September 13, 2023): The FAA has extended the Remote ID enforcement deadline by six months to March 16, 2024.

The 2023 edition of Coachella has already made its mark in history for featuring the most diverse and inclusive artist lineup yet for the music festival. But we at DroneDJ will remember Coachella 2023 as one where iconic Korean girl group Blackpink and eclectic Icelandic singer Björk turned to drone light shows to make their sets even more unique and unforgettable.

DroneUp, the drone delivery company that Walmart is using, says it plans to test new hydrogen fuel cell technology that has the potential to increase a drone’s flight time to two to five hours.

The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has announced a new set of sanctions to diminish Russia’s ability to continue its aggression against Ukraine. Overall, OFAC has designated 25 individuals and 29 entities in its latest round of sanctions that would also help to disrupt Russia’s importation of critical technologies used in its war against Ukraine. Included in this list is Aeromotus, which OFAC describes as a “UAE-based authorized dealer” of tech giant DJI.

DJI has released today a new professional aerial cinematography drone, Inspire 3. The full-frame 8K cinema drone comes with a host of powerful, exclusive features, and a price tag to match.

DJI has updated its Mobile SDK to support the Mini 3 and Mini 3 Pro drones. This is an exciting development because the MSDK enables third-party app developers, such as Dronelink and DroneDeploy, to add features not natively present in sub-250-gram DJI drones.

Diageo, the producer of Don Julio and Casamigos tequilas, says it is using drones to upskill agave farmers for the future of the ever-growing tequila industry. Agave plants are the key ingredient in making tequila.

DroneSense, a Texas-based company that builds drone software for first responders, says it is ready to venture into the hardware space with the production of a new communication device that can be attached to any public safety drone such as the DJI M300 or the M30. This add-on device will essentially function like a backpack computer and ensure no information is leaked to the drone manufacturer.

Infrastructure inspection platform gNext has announced a new partnership with Skydio to bypass the time-consuming manual uploading of drone data. Under the fresh integration, Skydio drone data can be sent directly to the cloud-based gNext platform over Wi-Fi.

The NASCAR dirt track race on Sunday at Bristol Motor Speedway marked the first time drivers were allowed to pick a lane on a dirt restart. And giving a rather high-tech twist to the whole process was a drone hovering above the racing surface, carrying a bright orange LED marker to indicate the “choose” area.

A Ukrainian businessman has launched a competition to incentivize drone manufacturers to land an aircraft at Moscow’s annual May 9 Victory Day parade on Red Square. What’s hard to resist is the massive prize pool, which currently stands at $550,000 and is only getting bigger.

Leading FPV drone manufacturer BETAFPV has launched the new Meteor75 Pro, the largest available 1S HD digital whoop on the market. Ideal for FPV racing as well as acrobatic flying indoors or outdoors, the new brushless whoop quadcopter is capable of delivering an impressive flight time of up to 6.5 minutes.

It looks like the years-long wait for the Inspire 3 drone will soon be over. DJI has dropped a new product launch teaser, promising to deliver “Inspiration” on April 13, 2023, at 9 a.m. EDT.

PrecisionHawk, one of the first US drone businesses to raise big VC money, has been scooped up by European technology company Field. The acquisition gives Norway-based Field a foothold in the US and plans are in place to operate PrecisionHawk under the Field brand name by the end of the year.

Images of an alleged Mavic 3 Pro have appeared online, showing a photography drone not dissimilar to the existing Mavic 3. But it sports three Hasselblad cameras instead of two, presumably to offer higher-quality optical zoom.