Josh started in the drone community in 2012 with a drone news Twitter account. Over the years Josh has gained mass exposure from his aerial photography work and spends his days writing drone content for DroneDJ as well as pursuing his business. You can view Josh’s photography work here.
Josh can be contacted by email at josh@dronedj.com or @JoshSpires_.
To get people excited about Coca-Cola’s latest product, it has partnered with Walmart to deliver its latest Coca-Cola with Coffee drink by drone to select customers in Coffee County, Georgia. The move doesn’t come as a surprise as Walmart continues to embrace drone deliveries.
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Researchers from the Shibaura Institute of Technology, Tokyo, have improved drone landings with a camera mounted on a servo-controlled platform. The system uses image recognition to detect a landing location from a preset landing symbol.
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A US Africa Command spokesperson has shared that one of its MQ-1C drones has malfunctioned over Niger, Africa, while armed with a Hellfire missile. It’s not the first time the US drones have crashed in the region, with an MQ-9 Reaper crashing due to mechanical failure last year.
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Western Australia’s regional police force have turned to drones to reduce response times in emergencies, making Albany the first town to have its police officers trained as drone pilots. The drones are set to respond to car crashes, search and rescue operations, and more.
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German drone company Wingcopter has raised $22 million in its latest funding round to expand into North America and advance its technology. The company will also use the funds to strengthen its leadership in the market, deliver COVID-19 vaccines, and launch the next delivery drone.
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On New Year’s Eve, London introduced drones to its fireworks display for the first time. We watched it and loved it so much that we shared it with all of you. We have put together a short exclusive piece on the show’s inner workings with the help of the company behind the drones, SKYMAGIC.
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The North Dakota Department of Transportation and Northern Plains UAS Test Site has partnered with industry leaders, including Skydio, Volansi, SkySkopes, iSight Drone Services, Airspace Link, Equinor, Workhorse, and Xcel Energy, to execute the FAA’s BEYOND program goals.
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General Atomics B maritime variant of its famous MQ-9 Reaper drone is set to receive a new pod system, allowing it to deploy smaller drones. The modular pods will allow the drone to be quickly equipped with a mission-related payload to improve the drone’s usefulness.
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According to Reuters, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has reportedly signed two deals with the United States to purchase 18 MQ-9 Reaper drones and 50 F-35 fighter jets. It is also reported that one of the deals was signed right before Biden officially took office, prompting him to look over the deal.
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There is no doubt the DJI Mini 2 is an impressive drone, but we thought we’d still share some awesome videos from the community. The following four videos are what we think are perfect for showing the Mini 2’s versatility.
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The Internet of Things (IoT) Expo India has shared its list of the top five drone manufacturers in the country. The list includes Aarav Unmanned Systems, 1 Martian Way, ideaForge, Drone Tech Lab, and Aero360.
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Altitude Angel has announced it has joined an EU initiative by the name of AMU-LED, focusing on the future of air mobility. The European Commission created the initiative, which has the job of demonstrating how drones can be safely integrated into the skies.
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Researchers from the Westphalian University of Applied Sciences and TU Delft have developed optical-flow-based control for drones by looking at how flying insects solve complex problems such as landing and avoiding obstacles.
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Scientists from the University of Arizona are set to test their Mars drones in Iceland after receiving a $3 million grant from NASA. The grant was given as a part of a project that combines rovers and drones to explore more of the red planet.
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Drone company WeRobotics has announced it has been selected to work with Pfizer to develop a new drone to deliver COVID-19 vaccines. The pharmaceutical company has chosen to develop the cargo drone from DJI’s new Matrice 300 drone platform.
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Delivery drone company Volansi has signed a deal with Australia’s largest aerospace material manufacturer to promote Volansi’s drones in Australia and the world. The drones will be promoted to the commercial and defense services markets.
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A UK police officer has accidentally sent a drone plummeting 70 feet into a pond after unintentionally initiating the emergency cutoff. The drone was being used in a search and rescue mission when the unfortunate event took place.
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California-based drone startup TraceAir has raised $3.5 million in its series A funding round led by London-based XTX Ventures. The company’s construction site development acceleration platform utilizes drones to survey and create 3D maps of projects.
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The US Department of Defense (DoD) has successfully tested its unmanned boat, the Ghost Fleet Overlord, in a recent test that saw it travel more than 5,400 miles, with minimal human contact. The test is a massive milestone for the drone boat and the Ghost Fleet Overlord program.
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A missing kayaker’s friends have joined together to raise money to get a thermal drone in the air to aid in the search and rescue mission. The kayaker never returned home at lunchtime after going out off Moa Point, New Zealand.
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The Indian Army has demonstrated its destructive drone swarm during the recent annual Army Day Parade 2021 held last week. The drones captured by the various camera angles appear to be different, suggesting they have different battlefield tasks.
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The Indian Army has signed a deal with drone manufacturer ideaForge to use its high-altitude surveillance SWITCH UAV. The $20 million deal was made after being the only drone to pass the operational requirements during a real-world evaluation.
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American drone manufacturer Skyfish has formally launched its brand-new autonomous drones, the Skyfish M4 and Skyfish M6, along with a ruggedized remote controller. The company has also partnered with Sony to officially support its A7, R, and QX camera series.
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Canada has chosen to purchase an Elbit Systems Hermes 900 search and rescue drone to monitor the endangered whale population along the east and west coasts of the country and the Arctic as a part of the Canadian National Aerial Surveillance Program.
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