Ishveena Singh

Public health authorities in Tanzania’s semi-autonomous islands of Zanzibar are using drones to locate and map mosquito breeding sites in malaria hotspots.

As part of its UAS integration initiative called BEYOND, the FAA has approved Iris Automation to fly a small drone autonomously beyond the visual line of sight (BVLOS) in a rural, unpopulated area south of Reno, Nevada.

Ordnance Survey (OS), the national mapping agency for Great Britain, has decided to incorporate Altitude Angel’s aeronautical data into its in-house survey planning software. The information will help the geospatial experts at OS determine whether it’s better to carry out a survey using a drone, or if it’s more appropriate for one of the agency’s 230 surveyors to get their boots on the ground.

Joining the push to make the drone community more gender-inclusive, AUVSI – the leading trade association for autonomy, robotics, and automated air, ground, and maritime vehicle industries – is rebranding itself as the Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International.

Flyability, the Switzerland-based maker of the popular Elios range of drones for indoor and confined-space inspections, is establishing a new Asia-Pacific (APAC) regional hub in Singapore.

Ukraine is looking at agricultural drone technology to ensure it continues to be a major player in the global grains market despite escalating geopolitical tensions.

Spright, the drone division of air medical service provider Air Methods, is joining forces with Oregon-based Interpath Laboratory to launch a drone delivery network that can transport lab specimens from remote and rural areas quickly.

Draganfly is celebrating a major health and safety milestone with its spraying drones disinfecting more than 500,000 seats using the company’s proprietary pathogen and surface sanitizer technology.

In a US-first, two programs running under the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) are coming together to improve road safety with tethered drones.

Drone Racing League (DRL) says it has more than doubled its broadcast reach with the just-concluded 2021-22 season of high-speed drone racing. At the same time, digital viewership of DRL races has also skyrocketed, interestingly revealing China as the league’s second-largest market behind the United States.

DJI is rolling out a new firmware update for the Mavic Air 2 drone. At the same time, the technology giant is updating the DJI Fly app to version 1.5.10.

Aerospace company AVSS has been awarded a $1.1 million contract by the Canadian government to test whether its parachute delivery system can support drones to drop off packages at locations where it’s difficult to land an aircraft.

Australian startup Emesent has scooped up an impressive $23 million (AUD 32 million) in Series A funding to take its autonomous drone mapping and analytics tech to new markets across the globe.

A new listing from DJI has just hit the FCC with the name DJI RC Plus, pointing at a new drone remote controller to be released soon. The listing comes with the usual test documents, including the all-important FCC label and location.

Lithuania is looking to drones to improve the quality of its road infrastructure. AB Kelių priežiūra, a state-owned company that ensures the maintenance of almost 13,050 miles (21,000 km) of national roads, is teaming up with drone manufacturer Thrust and tech company Agmis to automate road inspections with flying machines and artificial intelligence.

The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) says it is investigating the February 16 crash of a Joby Aviation air taxi prototype in Jolon, California.

Israeli startup Exodigo is announcing the commercial availability of its subsurface mapping platform in the US with a bang. The tech company has scooped up a cool $29 million in seed funding to make underground mapping easier with drones.

When it comes to search and rescue (SAR) operations, every second matters. And this new drone payload strives to not let any moment go waste as rescuers look for survivors trapped under debris or buried in an avalanche.

The chief of the Federal Aviation Administration, Steve Dickson, has resigned from his post halfway into his five-year term. Citing family issues, Dickson told his staff late Wednesday that he will leave the FAA at the end of March.

Epirus, a Los Angeles headquartered counter-electronics startup, has scooped up a cool $200 million in funding to develop countermeasures against potential drone attacks in the US.

Alphabet subsidiary Wing has named Adam Woodworth its new chief executive officer. Woodworth, who has served as the chief technology officer at the on-demand residential drone delivery firm since its inception, replaces James Ryan Burgess as the CEO.