We all know DJI from their unmanned aerial vehicles, also known as drones. Now, we have learned that maybe DJI will not restrict itself to the only the air but may launch something for our terra firma, i.e. the ground. We do not know exactly what DJI has in store for us, but late last year on December 30th, DJI started a new company at the same address as their European Headoffices in The Netherlands, called DJI Terra B.V.
Today DJI released new Inspire 2 firmware for both the drone and the controller. Some of the new features include: support for the Zenmuse X7 gimbal and camera, updates CineCore 2.1, new EI mode in Camera Setting and a number of other bug fixes.
So far, the initial reactions on social media vary from: “Who’s going to try first? 
” to “No longer iso-lock at D-LOG 
” . Other people wonder, “how much speed and range they reduced again 
” and when DJI will make the Point of Interest (Orbit) feature available for the Inspire series.
Chances are you have seen this video: “Drone used to catch cheating wife” as it has been watched nearly 14 million times on YouTube. The video shows John’s wife of 18 years, Donna leaving home to go to work. However, she doesn’t go to her office, instead, she meets and kisses some other guy in an SUV at the CVS parking lot. John, a professional photographer from Honesdale, Pa., suspected his wife was up to something and decided to follow her with his drone. He captured the whole episode on video and later on shared it on YouTube, where it became a viral sensation.
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Hurriyet Daily News reported that Turkish security forces had seized a drone with a handmade explosive attached to it. The bomb rigged drone appears to be a DJI Mavic Pro and supposedly is made by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants in the eastern province of Ağrı.
Non-commercial or hobbyist drone pilots would be required to register their drones (again) in a government registration system as part of a defense policy bill agreed to by House and Senate negotiators. This measure would reinforce the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) ability to regulate the booming world of consumers drones and is part of the National Defense Authorization Act for 2018, a bipartisan compromise that will likely be passed by both chambers.
This Greek guy on YouTube has been showcasing both his own ignorance of any Greek flight safety measures and regulations as well as the impressive flying ability of the DJI Mavic Pro and Spark drones. In his latest video, he claims to set an altitude record of 8,200 feet with his DJI Mavic Pro drone, right next to the Milos Island National Airport(!).
This week AT&T, deployed its helicopter Flying COW (Cell on Wings) for the first time ever. In the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, 48% of the cell sites in Puerto Rico is still out of service. Cellular company AT&T launched their Flying COW on Tuesday in an effort to re-establish connectivity throughout the area. This is the first time a drone equipped with cellular technology has been used successfully to provide data, voice, and text services to customers after a disaster.
What if cell service from a drone could save lives? Earlier this summer Verizon tested to see if they could provide cell phone coverage from an airborne drone to first responders in case of an emergency, i.e. right after an earthquake or hurricane. The tests were being conducted in Belleplain State Forest under the auspices of the Federal Aviation Administration, which had granted special permission to Cape May to conduct the exercise. The FAA did require a special chase plane to follow the drone.
With all the drone incidents that are reported, it is easy to forget that drones can also be used in a very positive or even life-saving way. Take this story for instance where an 82-year old lady was reported missing in Randolph County, North Carolina. Somehow she ended up in a cornfield and it is very easy to get lost in one of those. Randolph County NC Sheriffs Office brought in a drone to assist in the search. The drone provided a straight-down perspective and as you can see in the video below, that makes it much easier to spot people. It took less than 25 minutes to locate her and bring her safely back to her family.
According to the Adirondack Explorer, a Canadian Hiker has pleaded guilty to flying a drone in the High Peaks Wilderness in the Adirondack Park. The hiker, Keven Descheneaux of Trois Rivieres, Quebec was fined on June 17, 2017, by a forest ranger for operating a drone near the ranger’s outpost in Johns Brook valley. Descheneaux has the questionable honor of being the first person to be convicted of operating a drone in the Forest Preserve.
Today I stumbled upon this video on Facebook, from a talented drone pilot, who on a recent trip to Iceland flew his DJI Mavic Pro through a rock and into Iceland’s world of wonders. By doing so he convinced me that;
DJI, the world’s leader in civilian drone and aerial imaging technology presented new drone technology hardware and software during the AirWorks 2017 event in Denver, CO. Michael Perry, DJI’s Managing Director for North America announced in his keynote, FlightHub, a new drone fleet management system, a new Software Development Kit (SDK) to allow developers to do more with DJI drones, two new customizable drone, the DJI Wind 4 and DJI Wind 8, and a strategic partnership with the Menlo Park Fire Protection District in California and lastly a new investment by its SkyFund investment arm.
Scientists have believed that the narwhal’s tusk was mainly for sexual selection, however, new drone footage shows that the tusk may be a multi-purpose tool for the unicorns of the ocean. The drone aerial video confirms scientific theories and traditional Inuit knowledge, but at the same time, it raises new questions.
Two weeks ago we wrote about the 9 question DJI Knowledge Quiz that DJI will launch in the U.S. This is a mandatory quiz that every owner of a new DJI product needs to answer before they can fly their new drone for the first time.The questions will appear in DJI GO 4, DJI’s main flight app, which runs on smartphones and tablets connected to drone remote controllers. DJI worked together with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to develop the quiz questions and correct answers for the United States market. Now, DJI would like to develop a similar safety quiz for the Canadian market and DJI is actively reaching out to work together with Transport Canada to do so.
A couple from Marshfield, WI is thankful to be reunited with their dog that had gone missing in the marshes for three days. Mollie and Steve Schrodi told NewsChannel 7 how last Saturday a routine trail walk in the McMillan Marsh with their Wirehaired Pointing Griffon Jax took a turn for the worse.
Today, Epson, providers of the Moverio AR smart eyewear platform, and DJI, the Chinese drone manufacturer, announced a glassed based augmented reality drone flight simulator app. The app has been developed by Y Media Labs exclusively for the Epson Moverio BT-300 (FPV/Drone Edition) smart glasses. This app could be used as a drone pilot training tool to prevent drone incidents from happening.
RedBull recently spoke to the doctoral assistant behind the cargo-carrying and collapsible PackDrone, inspired by Origami, the Japanese art of paper folding. According to Przemyslaw Mariusz Kornatowski, the Swiss-based doctoral assistant, the PackDrone is designed to be deployed in search and rescue missions to deliver food, water and medical supplies to people who are trapped. The drone’s collapsible, cage-like structure ensure the best of both worlds, portability and safety. Redbull caught with Kornatowski to find out how he went from paper to origami-drone and what lies ahead of us.
Local drone pilots in Albuquerque showed off their drones and their drone capabilities at a local Drone Discovery Day event. The free event was organized by drone company Colibri in partnership with the Balloon Museum, demonstrating the ins and outs of the various drones that are currently available.
The New Zealand Herald reported two drone incidents with airplanes on their approach to Auckland airport. A passenger on board the flight said that the drone passed so close to the airplane, it was only meters below the airplane as it came into land at Auckland airport. This report comes in after we reported on similar incidents in The Netherlands, Canada, and Great Brittain.
A member of the public captured a video with a drone of about 124 acres (50 hectares) of protected woodland missing in the Semenic-Cheile Carasului National Park, on the border with Serbia, Digi24 TV reports. The National Park has one of the largest virgin beech forests in Europe and has been included in the Unesco’s World Heritage List this summer.
Earlier this summer, on July 2nd to be exact there was a drone flying in the restricted airspace of Gatwick Airport in Great Britain. This 2-minute video released by NATS shows the chaos caused by the drone pilot. Various airplanes were directed to holding patterns and some planes ended up diverting to other airports.
This report is the first in an ongoing series, called Drone Takedown, of drone counter techniques and other methods used to bring down or destroy airborne drones. With so many instances where drones have become an accidental hazard or have been used on purpose to inflict harm, it comes as no surprise that new companies spring up to offer ways in which a dangerous drone can be inactivated.
Today we will take a look at the Australian company MySky Technologies, that has invented a kamikaze drone that can take out enemy drones, including fixed wing ones.
Ok – this doesn’t have that much to do with drones but it is so good, I wanted to share it with you all.
With help of his friends, Max Lanman wrote and directed this short clip. Lanman put this short commercial together to help his girlfriend sell her used 1996 Honda Accord on eBay. The video starts out talking about the girlfriend and how she is different and unique. She doesn’t care about things and the used Honda Accord is perfectly fine for her to get from A to B.
Seriously? That was the first thing that came to my mind when I saw this video of a guy being lifted in the air by a drone to go skydiving. I mean, what is wrong with just using an airplane, which would be able to get you much higher and thus giving you more airtime?