Josh

Former FAA head Michael Huerta has joined the advisory board of counter-drone company D-Fend Solutions to help rapidly grow the company. Huerta will bring his expertise in airspace management and airport safety to the counter-drone company.

The Autel Robotics Dragonfish was first shown publicly back at CES in 2017 as a prototype and has slowly evolved over the last three years. The Dragonfish is now featured on Autel’s website with a maximum flight time of 120 minutes and a maximum video transmission range of 18.6 miles.

NASA has delayed the launch of its Dragonfly drone meant to fly on Saturn’s Titan moon by one year to 2027 due to external factors, including COVID-19. The Dragonfly mission aims to explore Saturn’s Titan moon to look for the building blocks of life.

To give users more control over their privacy, DJI has introduced Local Data Mode, disabling various features to keep all your drone data on your device. With the expansion of the mode, the GO 4 app, and DJI Fly app now have the new privacy feature.

It appears that Iran has flown a surveillance drone above a US aircraft carrier, the USS Nimitz, according to the Tasnim News Agency, which is known to be have ties to the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Navy.

Russia has just used drone swarms for the first time in its Kavkaz-2020 training exercise. The country used various drones to provide surveillance of enemy soldiers, command centers, weapons, and military equipment to better aim airstrikes.

Delivery drone company Matternet is expanding its Asia operations with its latest partnership with Japan Airlines to bring drone delivery to Tokyo, Japan. The partnership will see Matternet’s M2 drone system deployed as a part of Japan’s drone logistics project.

Not long after the DJI Ronin SC 2 hit the FCC’s database, the DJI Ronin S2 and a new Ronin RavenEye Image Transmission System also appeared on the database. The new Ronin S2 looks to have a new name, a higher voltage battery, and a Wi-Fi chip.

The Drone Racing League Simulator has just been released on the Xbox One, opening the world of drone racing to a massive new audience. Along with the release of the game on Xbox, DRL has also announced the 2020 DRL Allianz World Championship Season.

The FAA has granted Verizon Skyward a temporary waiver that allows its pilots to inspect critical communications infrastructure near the Big Hollow wildfire in Washington from home using network-connected drones. The pilots are allowed to operate 24 hours a day with less than three miles of visibility and no person onsite to monitor the operation.

Earlier today, the DJI Ronin SC 2 passed through the FCC’s database, confirming one of the two new gimbals coming next month. The new FCC filing for the gimbal doesn’t tell us much, other than the new naming scheme and a larger battery.

In a recent update to the DJI Smart Controller, DJI has added support for the Mavic Air 2, allowing you to control and manage it. The update comes as a welcomed surprise for many customers who have wanted to use their Smart Controller from day one.

Amazon appears to be building a flight simulator, according to a new patent, to ensure its delivery drones don’t crash while out on deliveries. The flight simulator is meant to help Amazon program its drones to better navigate dropping off parcels at customers’ houses.

Drone solution provider MissionGO has completed the longest organ delivery by drone in Las Vegas last week with the Nevada Donor Network. The two test flights were carrying a human organ and tissue to various locations around Las Vegas.

Aerodyne has partnered with the leading infrastructure provider in the Middle East, Al-Babtain LeBlanc to transform inspections with drone technology. The partnership will allow both companies to leverage each other’s strengths and make a mark in local markets.

Kiwi drone enthusiast Bruce Simpson has come up with a new device capable of scanning for ADS-B signals from manned aircraft allowing for safer drone flights. Simpson showed off the device on his YouTube channel with many viewers showing interest in it.

DJI released the DJI OM 4 smartphone gimbal in late August, with the big new feature being the magnetic mounting system. Let’s review it and see if the magnetic mount and other improvements are worth the $149 price tag.

Altitude Angel, a UK company that enables the safe integration and use of drones and UAVs into international airspace, has announced it will be creating the first Drone Zone in the Thames Valley west of London. It will be open to drones and manned aircraft. The company submitted the plans for the commercial drone corridor to the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced Geopipe as the winner of the GENIUS NY program with a grand prize of $1 million to create 3D models using drones. BotsAndUs, Droneseed, Eget Liber, and Skyy Network all received $500,000.

FedEx is working with the Department of Transportation (DOT) to test drone technology within an airport environment at the Memphis International Airport. The tests in association with DJI and Asylon will help form future FAA regulations.

Autel Robotics has partnered again with lighting company FoxFury to create a lighting system designed for the Autel Evo 2 line of drones. The new lighting solution allows for creative photos and videos to be produced, and more importantly, can light up crime scenes.