Australia

The Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) has sent out a reminder to all drone pilots to stay away from bushfires, with huge fines and possible jail time if you are caught. Every year Australia and the world receive a battering from bushfires, and firefighters don’t want to deal with drones.

Australian-listed drone startup Elsight has managed to secure $8.3 million in funding during its latest investment round. The money is expected to grow the company’s sales and marketing activities and further develop its Halo connectivity platform.

Aussie drone startup Aerologix has received $1.5 million in its pre-seed funding from private equity firm Nightingale. The company has created a platform that allows drone pilots and clients to connect for specific jobs. Think of it as the gig economy for the drone world.

Australian farmers located across New South Wales (NSW) will now access a one-day drone training course taken from their farms. The drone training course looks to familiarize farmers with the new high-tech helpers in hopes that they will begin using drones for more tasks.

Shoppers in Australia have been urged by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) to look out for the drone safety advocate symbol when buying a new drone. The symbol indicates that the retailer and manufacturer have pledged to educate customers about when, where, and how they can safely use their drones.

The Australian drone registration deadline is looming, so we thought we’d share the info for those required to register and become accredited before going out to fly. This post is a MUST-READ if you are flying or wanting to fly your drone for commercial purposes in Australia.

Australian power grid operator TransGrid has turned to drones to install hardware onto powerlines, removing someone’s risk of falling from the top. The drones will also install wires in mountainous terrain throughout New South Whales (NSW) and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT).

An architecture firm in Canberra, Australia, has created digital renderings of an upcoming development, including drone delivery areas for residents to safely collect their parcels. JUDD Studio has created the futuristic design for the upcoming 152-unit East Garden Apartments.

Police are investigating another prison drone drug drop over at the Port Phillip Prison in Melbourne, Australia. Staff at the maximum-security facility uncovered the plan on Saturday, with what appeared to be blades, mobile phones, and illegal drugs being dropped in.

Google’s drone delivery company Wing Aviation has turned its focus to construction site deliveries in Australia as workers continue to share the benefits they would bring to construction sites around the country.

Aerodyne Group has announced it’s acquired a majority stake in Australian drone surveying and inspection company Sensorem. The move will allow Aerodyne to expand its operations in Australia and get its products in more customers’ hands.

Australian authorities are struggling to keep drone drug deliveries out of Victorian prisons that have been on lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic. The drones have been dropping narcotics and street drugs such as heroin to keep the prison drug market alive.

Surf Life Saving New South Wales will be using its drones to monitor Sydney beaches to make sure people are following COVID guidelines. The drones took to the sky over the weekend and are expected to be out until further notice.

Over the last few months, Alice Springs Airport staff in Northern Australia have noticed an increase in illegal drone flights as a result of COIVD grounding a large fleet of aircraft at the airport. It makes for interesting but illegal and dangerous aerial photos.

In a new report released by Deloitte, Australia’s GDP is estimated to increase by $14.5 billion thanks to the increasing usage of drones and related technologies. The increase is set to slowly happen over the next 20 years, with an estimated $9.3 billion in cost savings.

Researchers at the James Cook University in Cairns, Australia, have turned to drones to spot deadly box jellyfish in a world-first study. The drones are being tested to see if they could be used as an early warning system rather than the current nets in place today.

Tasmanian police in Australia are getting the latest drone tech to fight crime in the state, thanks to the government’s AUD$400,000, (US$283,640) drone program. Over the next four years, drones will slowly become an everyday tool for Tasmanian police.

American Marines are training to guide Air Force bombers with drones in preparation for a possible war in the Pacific Ocean. The American troops trained in northern Australia at various military test ranges to simulate islands hundreds of miles apart.

During the DroneDeploy conference, remote pilot Gareth Pickford from the NSW National Parks and Wildlife shared how drones were used to assess the damage caused by the devastating bushfires, known as the Black Summer, earlier this year in Australia.

Earlier this week, Queensland’s fire and emergency services reminded drone pilots to stay away from an active wildfire in Kooralbyn, Queensland. The agency took to social media to spread the message as best it can.

Drone autonomy company Emesent has made it into the final phase of the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) SubT Challenge 2020, making it the only Australian team left. The Aussie team will be joined by Data61 and the Georgia Institute of Technology.