Sean Captain

As America gradually starts to reopen its economy after COVID-19 lockdowns, the need to continually disinfect public spaces is growing. Researchers at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) have a suggestion: build disinfecting drones with germ-killing UV-C lights.
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COVID-19 is pushing society to get creative with how we do business and use technology. That’s included calls to expand drone use for contact-free deliveries. Now two senators are calling on the FAA to waive rules that slow down development of drone delivery services.
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For half a week in early May, the skies over Latvia were virtually shut down when an experimental drone went missing over the country. At last the drone has shown up, stuck in a tree.
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Delivery drones may be having their springtime, thanks to the pressure of the coronavirus. The need for contact-free delivery and the urgency of innovation are helping to push this nascent business forward. Now drone delivery company Flirtey has obtained a key patent for tech that makes deliveries safe.
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No place is more dangerous for a drone to fly than near airports. Not only are the skies crowded, but aircraft may take off or land at low altitudes within the 400-foot ceiling drones are supposed to fly under.

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Just a pound or two of plastic and metal can bring air traffic to a standstill. Such was the case at Vance Air Force Base in Oklahoma when a small drone wandered into the base’s flight path on Wednesday.
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Police in Europe are getting serious about rogue drones. Today, anti-drone technology company DroneShield announced a deal to serve the European Union Police Force.
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In need of a checkup? If you’re in Colombia’s capital, Bogota, you may get one whether you want to or not. The city is deploying drones with infrared cameras to spot residents who may have fevers due to COVID-19.
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Fotokite already offers a clever response to two challenges for deploying drones: limited battery life and the need for a certified pilot. And now it’s tackling a third challenge with its new product: How to deploy a drone as quickly as possible in a first responder situation.
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Ingenuity can be turned to many purposes. The same tech that builds drones can also make medical equipment. So is the lesson from Amazon Prime Air, which recently started mass-producing face shields for frontline COVID-19 medical workers.
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The hottest, most contentious issue in the US drone community is the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) plans for a drone-tracking system called Remote ID. Despite huge outcry from drone owners over the FAA’s initial proposal for the system, the agency looks set to move quickly to implement it.
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NASCAR hasn’t held a race since March 8 due to the coronavirus lockdowns. This weekend the racing finally resumes, but in a socially distanced way that puts drones at the center of coverage.
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I bet you didn’t see that one coming. That’s the goal of a new fixed-wing drone from the Netherlands that looks exactly like a bird.
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The video, set to the Top Gun theme song Danger Zone, provides a stunning view of the Navy’s Blue Angels flying in formation. How did the drone pilot get such great footage? Probably not legally.
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The “Is DJI spying?” saga continues in Washington, DC, and at least one state capital. This week, 14 Republican representatives on the House Judiciary Committee sent letters to both the departments of Justice and Homeland Security to investigate government use of DJI drones.
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Drones are clearly not popular with everyone out there. But things got especially heated in Butterfield, Minnesota, when a local man took out a drone with a shotgun.
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A drone like the new Mavic Air 2 is rightfully called a flying camera, with image quality being a make-or-break aspect of the product. DJI’s new drone boasts some very impressive photo and video capabilities, but at least in the current firmware, Mavic Air 2 suffers from several camera problems or limitations.
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For more than a half century, much of the urban experience has been built around the needs and capabilities of automobiles. Now China is experimenting with a framework built around air taxis to create the world’s first drone hotel.
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In March 2016, Barbados virtually froze the drone industry in the country. That year, it passed a temporary ban in the importation of drones and suspended the issuance of licensees for drone operators. The Barbados drone ban has been continually extended over the years and was just renewed again for another six months.
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Consumer drones offer vast opportunities for entertainment and creative expression in photography, as long as you follow some basic rules. The US is one of the stricter countries when it comes to drone laws, but the rules for recreational users are pretty easy to understand and comply with. And it costs only $5 to get set up.
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There may be a global recession on. But that doesn’t seem to have tamped down demand for DJI’s hot new drone, the Mavic Air 2. In fact, customers are ordering them faster than stores can stock the product, especially the Mavic Air 2 Fly More Combo.
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