Scott Simmie

Drone manufacturer Autel announced on September 3 that its EVO II Dual drone package is “Made in the USA” — meaning it will have a competitive edge over drones manufactured elsewhere — and particularly drones of Chinese origin. The Department of Interior has banned the use of Chinese-made drones or drones containing Chinese parts over data security concerns — and the Trump administration’s Anti-China sentiment seems to be growing.

The US Federal Aviation Administration has given Amazon’s Prime Air drone service approval to operate a fleet of drones that may soon be dropping off parcels to customers. The FAA move is crucial to Amazon’s plans to begin offering drone delivery — though this is likely to be a very incremental rollout.

It looked like a promising product: A multi-featured drone that could be configured for heavier lifting. The young team behind it seemed to have a great UAV on its hands. Backers flocked to the Indiegogo site, throwing money at the Toronto-based startup. With rare exceptions, they didn’t receive the drones — or their money back.

A decision by the US Department of the Interior to stop buying drones with Chinese-made parts has hampered pre-emptive fire-fighting efforts in 2020. The news, contained in an internal memo written earlier this year, points out a clear downside to the controversial policy.

Many of the drones in the Mavic line are fantastic. There’s no shortage of owners who have put these drones to use professionally. But there are applications where you simply want to keep the drone in the air longer or want to monitor an extended area without flying Beyond Visual Line of Sight. That’s where Volarious comes in, converting your Mavic 2 into a persistent device that can fly while tethered to a box that’s tethered to a vehicle.

DroneDJ has spoken with the journalist who reported that a drone came in close proximity with Air Force One earlier in August. He told us what he saw, why he believes it was a drone — and what has happened since then.

DJI has released a new guide based on the use of drones during the pandemic by the Public Safety sector. The guide is kind of a ‘Best Practices’ for drone use by First Responders and other professionals during the pandemic.

DJI’s flagship AirWorks conference, with its emphasis on Enterprise drone applications and First Responders, got underway today. During the keynote address, FLIR Systems announced a new FLIR camera.

DJI has released a video on a Chinese social media channel that shows the inner workings — or at least some inner workings — of a DJI factory. The video shows some of the final stages in the manufacture and quality control testing of a Mavic 2 Zoom drone. The factory is very automated — and looks about as high-tech as you might imagine.

There are a ton of great drone videos out there. And there are a ton of great videos from DJI. The drone giant knows that slick videos sell product, so it’s been known to throw a few dollars behind important productions. And the production we’re about to explore? It was not inexpensive.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is pushing ahead on plans to test multiple drone detection and countermeasure systems for suitability at airports. It has issued a call for White Papers from those who have technology they would like considered. The first tests will soon be carried out in Atlanta.

In the space of a little over a week, there were two high-profile drone incursions into public events in the United States — plus an alleged near-miss with Air Force One. All three incidents were troubling and left social media commenters complaining about drones. Given there will always be the odd rogue pilot who ignores the rules, what can be done? As it turns out, plenty.

A company that builds a “drone-in-a-cage” for confined, difficult, and GPS-denied environments has announced a distribution partnership. Drone builder Skypersonic Inc. and Minnesota’s Maverick Drone Systems are now working together. As a result, Maverick is now in a position to offer the services of the Skycopter inspection drone to its clients.

Chinese manufacturer Zhiyun, known for its handheld gimbals for amateur and pro cinematography, is about to release its latest product. The Crane 2S gimbal is packed with new features the company says truly up the game for a hand-held gimbal unit.

If you’ve been flying for some time, odds are you have a story or two about a drone crash. It happens to the best of us — and it happens even more often to the worst of us (meaning as pilots, not people). A Reddit post documents one of the more memorable mishaps we’ve seen: A drone disaster at sea.

The UK’s Greater Manchester Police department has just released drone footage that shows a unique new use-case scenario: Using a thermal camera to monitor a large gathering breaking local rules requiring social distancing due to COVID-19. As you’ll see, people were in pretty close quarters.

Wow. Just wait until you see this. This Red Bull x DJI production is one of the slickest, smoothest motocross videos we’ve ever seen. And guess what? This entire video is one single, amazing drone shot done with an unnamed FPV drone…

A new drone payload could have your Inspire 2 or other suitable drone working as an air quality control robot. The firm Scentroid has just released a product that can sample the air and tell you precisely what’s in it.

The case against a renowned American photojournalist who used a drone to document mass COVID-19 burials has been dismissed. George Steinmetz will not be prosecuted for his actions, and his DJI Mavic Pro 2 has been returned by police.

The Air Force has confirmed it’s looking into what multiple witnesses say was a near-miss Sunday night between a drone and Air Force One. The president was on board as the aircraft was approaching a touchdown outside of Washington. Several on board the specially outfitted Boeing 747-200B saw the object, which most seem to agree was a drone.

A significant number of high-level jobs have been slashed at DJI, according to a new report by Reuters. The news agency says it spoke with 20 current or recently departed DJI stuff to pull together its report.