drones

Diversified UAV equipment and services company Volatus Aerospace says it has secured delivery of next-generation Natilus long-distance cargo drones, with the first production run of the craft expected in 2025.

NASA has partnered with other US agencies and a Colorado-based drone manufacturer to create a UAV-based system to observe volcanoes for indications of what otherwise might be unexpected, catastrophic eruptions for local communities.

Construction sector tech services provider SiteAware has raised $15 million Series B funding to expand client adoption of its Digital Construction Verification platform, part of its aim to make the drone-linked, artificial intelligence-enhanced asset the new standard throughout the US building industry.

English Premier League soccer fans who still complain about delays created by referees consulting video footage shifted their impatient ire this weekend to a stadium invading drone that caused a long halt in the Brentford-Wolverhampton match.

Less than a week after deadly aerial attacks of an oil refinery and the Abu Dhabi international airport, officials in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced an indefinite ban on flights of consumer drones and light sports aircraft.

Canadian drone services specialist Volatus Aerospace is partnering with a US company to provide fully integrated mobile command centers to first responders and other UAV operators in public safety missions. 

London-based navigation tech company Neuron has offered details on trials it completed in the UK last year, demonstrating its ability to successfully track drones operating beyond visual line of site (BVLOS) missions using its data secured traffic management platform.

Researchers in Wales are using a mix of tech assets including drones to monitor the erosion of the country’s coastline, which has accelerated from rising sea levels produced by global warming.

Taking inspiration from recent moves by US government agencies to blacklist Chinese tech companies – including global drone giant DJI – over potential security concerns, Japan has discreetly nurtured development of a home-grown alternative to UAVs from China that dominate its market – a top-down version of America’s Blue sUAS.

This just might be pushing the convenience store concept a tad too far. According to news reports, the ubiquitous, always-open 7-Eleven chain is preparing to launch an app-facilitated drone delivery service in Japan. Soon, there may be nothing left for consumers to do but pay online, tip the old head back, and open their mouths.

As an exploit, it may not rank up there with UAVs saving lives on first responder missions or locating people desperately lost in the inhospitable wilds, but an Australian farmer is celebrating what he believes to be the world’s first sunflower crop to be entirely planted by a drone.

Bird watchers in the UK were outraged at seeing a drone fly in and break up a recurring mass flight phenomenon by starlings known as murmurations. The interruption last week near Brighton’s pier was also denounced for the dangers that the craft’s propellers posed to the performing creatures.

The tumult in the UK over drones live-streaming horse races to provide an advantage to clients in betting rings has reached a new pitch, with clearly displeased and disapproving politicians joining the debate. Their earnest outrage notwithstanding, the desire to thwart the lucrative practice continues to be undermined by a confounding consideration: The activity isn’t illegal under existing laws.

Israel is nearing the halfway mark of its national drone initiative – an ambitious pilot program seeking to test and prepare operational capacities for UAV use in daily life and business, and place participating companies at the forefront of rapidly approaching aerial services.

Custodians of the Seaford Head coastal cliffs in southeast England know loss of their archeologically important site to erosion and rising sea levels is a question of when, not if, and as a result are using drones and other digital technology to thoroughly map and model the area before it’s gone.

Fans of aerial artistry have gotten a nice range of spectacular UAV piloting footage over the past year or so, including some seemingly impossible high-speed flights through sports venues and shopping malls. Now, one of the magicians responsible for many of those films is offering a we-dare-you-not-to-flinch video of his drone whizzing through Dallas Baptist University’s baseball facilities while a full crew of players works out.

DroneDJ readers are familiar with stories about prisoners working with outside UAV pilots to stage aerial drops of prohibited matter into jails around the world. Now there’s a case of penitentiary guards themselves using drones to deliver not just the usual contraband phones, tobacco, and drugs to their prison, but also orders of hamburgers, fried rice, and booze.

The world’s leading drone maker, DJI, is among eight Chinese companies set to be added to official US government blacklists Thursday, according to a Financial Times report. The development risks compounding woes the company has experienced in the US over allegations of involvement in the repression of minority Uighurs by China’s government.

The introduction of drones in monitoring fishing fleets in Iceland has uncovered a far vaster occurrence of the illicit, environmentally damaging practice of dumping unwanted catches back into the ocean than officials had suspected.

Innovating startup Electric Sky is working on an energy transmitter to beam power to both single and swarms of drones in flight, and has now been backed by a grant from the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

Professional UAV pilot Geoff Watkins has accomplished something beyond merely transforming his passion for droning into a gainful career. His recent work at the controls has produced a tool that will be passed down through history: a precise, drone-generated digital model of a 1,000-year-old Norman castle.