Drone industry

Everybody has heard about drones by now, but there are several other oft-used terms like UAS and UAV that tend to confuse readers. So, what exactly is a drone and how is it different from these other commonly heard terms such as UAS, UAV, FPV, RPAS, and model aircraft?

Drone Industry Insights (DII) analyzed more than 500 global companies whose core business is to manufacture drones. Here’s what they found…

After spending the last couple of months to acquire a $9 million stake in a European drone manufacturing firm and buying out an AI-based software company for an undisclosed sum, Aquiline Drones has quietly laid off nearly half of its workforce.

Research firm DroneAnalyst has just released its fifth annual drone market report, which combines findings from its annual survey and interviews with key industry stakeholders. The independent advisory firm has earned a reputation for being one of the most credible voices in the ever-expanding drone industry, and there’s a lot to unpack in the report. But, for now, let’s focus on four core insights, beginning with DJI’s commercial market share taking a massive hit in 2021.

At first, Ignatius Asabor’s journey from Nigeria to Finland could sound like feel-good fiction. “You can’t imagine how happy I am,” he tells you with his trademark toothy grin. But dig deeper, and you realize it’s a story of ambition, hard work, and tenacity. It also serves as a case in point that social media can be a very powerful tool in landing your dream job.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) says there are 234,605 certified remote pilots in the United States, as of June 30, 2021. How much do these pilots earn? And which industries are paying the most? Let’s find out…

Drone manufacturers, take notice. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has finalized a new rule that will crackdown on companies that make false, unqualified claims that their products are made in the USA.

Skylark Drones, the only Indian company to rank among the top four drone service providers in the world by Drone Industry Insights, has raised $3 million in a pre-Series A funding round to fuel growth in new geographies. This new funding follows the company’s previous seed funding round, which took place in 2018.

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.

Ever wish you could drill down into the trends behind drone hardware sales? Wish no longer. A new report from DroneAnalyst has the scoop on hardware and data-based projection for where this sector will be headed from 2021-2026.

Tethered drone manufacturer Elistair has secured around $6 million (€5 million) in a Series B funding round. The money will allow the company to accelerate its expansion plans in the United States while reinforcing its presence in Europe.

Drone data capture company Skycatch has announced it has received $25 million in funding in its latest funding round to develop its operations and product offerings further. The funding was on top of a $13.2 million funding round all the way back in 2014.

The Liverpool City Region in the UK is dubbed to become the next testing ground for drone operations, creating jobs for skilled workers and boosting economic growth at the same time. The project has been given the name Phoenix I and will accelerate drone usage around the country.

Estonian drone company Hepta Airborne has announced a freemium version of its uBrid platform to allow more people to benefit from it. The company has perfected the software for the last couple of years, working with clients to improve it.

TideWise and STABLE have announced successful testing of their ARIEL project, which saw a drone autonomously take off from the USV Tupan. The drone is housed on the tiny crewless ship to monitor and detect oil spills.

Swiss company Meteomatics is working with Thales to explore using drones to capture meteorological data for faster, more accurate, and cheaper weather forecasts. The company hopes to replace the traditional balloons, satellite, airborne, and ground-based techniques.

Dataiku, an AI and machine learning platform, has partnered with UAVIA to create an autonomous solution for edge computing on drones. This partnership will produce an automated system for training and deploying machine learning models onto the drones themselves, removing the need for a central computer.

Acumen Research and Consulting has released a new report that suggests the medical drone market could hit $643 million by 2027. The reason behind it is the recent advancements in drone technology and the continuing adoption of medical delivery drones worldwide.

The Port of Antwerp, Belgium, has turned to autonomous drones to undertake inspections, surveillance, and monitoring missions. The drones will allow the port to undertake fully independent operations, improve efficiency, lower costs in the long term, and make the port safer.

AgEagle Aerial Systems has come under fire recently after a research company released a report suggesting the company lied to investors. The Schall law firm has confirmed that it is looking into the claims and encouraging investors who have lost over $100,000 to get in touch.

Aquiline Drones has begun manufacturing Drone Volt’s Hercules 2 and the Altura Zenith in the United States as a part of the partnership announced in November of last year. This will allow Drone Volt to serve the US enterprise and government markets without building its own factory.