Scott Simmie

As we reported the other day, the FAA’s TRUST test is here. TRUST stands for The Recreational UAS Safety Test, and it’s mandatory for all hobbyists/non-commercial drone pilots. We thought we should give it a spin.

We occasionally explore ground-based drones, sometimes known as “Rovers.” And one of the most sophisticated, commercially available products of its kind is Spot – the quadruped produced by robotics and AI leader Boston Dynamics.

We had the opportunity for a virtual visit with Romeo Durscher this week. He’s the vice-president of public safety at Auterion and truly a pioneer when it comes to the use of drones in the public safety sector. He’s super-knowledgeable and has an outstanding big-picture view of where the drone industry is heading.

It was only a matter of time: The FAA has issued its approval for beyond visual line of sight flights using Skydio drones in conjunction with a Skydio dock. This is a major step on the road to completely autonomous remote drone operations – one that opens up a wide range of new use-case scenarios.

You’ve seen drone light shows before. And some of them are truly impressive, with massive numbers of drones morphing into 3D shapes in the sky. Amazing. But now there’s a new type of drone vying to create spectacles in the night sky.

We’ve seen tons of drone light shows over time. But we have never – ever – seen something like this: A failure that sent multiple drones plunging out of the sky, with spectators on boats below.

A couple of pieces of eye candy here: one phenomenal still image, plus a great little FPV zip that’s getting some buzz on Reddit.

Will flying taxis be part of the future? We believe the answer is a definitive “yes,” and an increasing number of major companies are preparing themselves for the future. Among them? A division of Hyundai Motor Group.

If you’re a drone pilot flying in the United States, you’ll want to pay attention to this one: The FAA’s new testing system is now in effect. You can select a testing organization and take the TRUST test free of charge.

We’ve been watching, with great interest, the exploits of inventor Richard Browning and his company, Gravity Industries. You’ve probably seen him fly by now, looking more than a little bit like Iron Man as he zips around in his jetsuit. Now Skydio has entered the picture.

With an ever-increasing number of drones being flown around the world, the business of detecting drones has been growing at a similar pace. And now, one of the leading drone detection companies, Dedrone, has announced it has surpassed 1,000 sales of sensors for drone detection.

The drone world these days is as much about software as hardware. Today, there’s news that Parrot and AirData UAV have partnered to integrate FreeFlight 6 with the AirData platform. That’s significant.

Sorry. We couldn’t resist. But FLIR sensors are on sale at the moment. And if you’re an Enterprise client (or just someone who really likes being able to capture thermal data), this sale is almost on fire.

We’ve never been to Venice, and from what we’ve been reading, now is the perfect time for a trip. The hordes of tourists normally clogging the city are a faint whisper of their pre-pandemic presence, meaning you really get to enjoy the beauty of Venice without all the distractions. Sounds perfect for a First-Person-View flight.

Well, we haven’t seen this before: The FAA’s Low-Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability, also known as LAANC, is temporarily down. That’s big news for those who use it regularly.

DroneAnalyst wants you – or at least some information from you. And by helping out DroneAnalyst with its annual survey, you’re assisting it with providing what we regard as the one of the most credible and thoughtful reports providing the Big Picture on the drone industry.

Insta360, the Shenzhen-based leader in 360° cameras, doesn’t have sales that often. At least, not sales like this one. It features some of their most popular 360° and action cameras, which are the choice of many for quads and Cine-Whoops.

Well, this has been a long time in the making. But we were thrilled earlier today to have an opportunity to speak with Alexandru Duru, the CEO of Omni Hoverboards. Let’s dive in.

You know us: Frequently posting drone videos that we think are worth your attention. And this one? Well, it fits the bill.

Remote ID is coming (though not until October of 2023) in the US. Though there’s no official policy yet in Canada, regulators are definitely interested, and it’s likely this will become part of the future across North America.

That headline? It’s the story: InterDrone has decided to cancel its planned August in-person conference.