Australian drone delivery and logistics company Swoop Aero is preparing to initiate beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) services for New Zealand’s health care system, initially operating flights of lab samples between the South Island west coast towns of Westport and Greymouth.
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No doubt inspired by its nation’s status as one of the most environmentally conscious on the planet, flag carrier Air New Zealand has revealed four aircraft development companies it has selected to begin test flights of zero-emission planes in 2026.
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Last-mile drone delivery company SkyDrop has completed production of the fleet of UAVs it will use to transport Domino’s pizza orders to customers in New Zealand, bringing it closer to the launch of services the two companies announced earlier this year.
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A new autonomous underwater drone can survey mussels and scallops so accurately that it could potentially revolutionize the seafood industry by eliminating hours of costly and time-consuming manual work.
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After making history with the world’s first pizza delivery by drone from a New Zealand store in 2016, Domino’s is once again exploring the viability of commercial drone delivery on the island country in Oceania.
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A home-grown drone services company has considerably accelerated New Zealand’s drive to plant a billion trees by 2028 through aerial drops of so-called “seed bombs.”
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So, you think drones are revolutionizing surveying, mapping, and inspection tasks? That will start to sound like old news once you find out what researchers in New Zealand are teaching drones to do. Two University of Canterbury academics are enabling drones to use hazardous precision tools in midair for a variety of complex industries.
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The insect world, consisting of up to 10 million species, is vital for the survival of most life on Earth. Worryingly, though, these invertebrates are vanishing from the planet at an alarming yet. This is why researchers are now developing drones that will track and follow insects in real-time to fuel conservation efforts.
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In February 2021, a drone pilot in Auckland was slapped with a $1,000 fine after he crashed his drone into a trainee paraglider. The conviction was the first of its kind in New Zealand. Now, that pilot is appealing the sentence, saying the conviction would gravely affect his future career prospects.
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Drone racing has taken off over the years in New Zealand’s earthquake red zone, allowing the land to be used once again as it can no longer support a building. The drone racing course is just one of over 2,800 uses of this once forgotten piece of land.
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A missing kayaker’s friends have joined together to raise money to get a thermal drone in the air to aid in the search and rescue mission. The kayaker never returned home at lunchtime after going out off Moa Point, New Zealand.
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Kiwi drone enthusiast Bruce Simpson has come up with a new device capable of scanning for ADS-B signals from manned aircraft allowing for safer drone flights. Simpson showed off the device on his YouTube channel with many viewers showing interest in it.
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A recent study done over in New Zealand has found DJI drones to be the popular choice for the fliers of New Zealand — to no one’s surprise. The top picked drones included the DJI Mavic line, Phantom line, and the Inspire line.
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In a recent report, New Zealand‘s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) found that 1 in 5 drone pilots are flying illegally in no-fly zones throughout the country. The report also found an increase in drone usage without an increase in the knowledge of drone laws.
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In our latest piece of news in which drones are used for good we go to the New Zealand wilderness. Here pests such as rats, stoats and possums are now hunted with poison-laden drones. The unmanned aircraft will be used to drop baits in the path of these pests.
Drone photos show the location of bodies after the volcanic eruption that took place on New Zealand‘s White Island on Monday. According to reports, at least 47 people were on the island at the time of the eruption. 13 people are believed to have died. Five deaths have been confirmed, the remaining eight missing persons are presumed to be dead.
Update: The Independent reports that at least 16 people are now confirmed dead. A military rescue team successfully recovered six bodies, which had been located the night before by drones. “The operation was not without risk but thanks to sound planning and the skills of the specialist team involved we have recovered the six bodies,” New Zealand police commissioner Mike Bush said in a statement.
We have seen more crazy drone footage including swimmers and wildlife (sharks mostly), but I think this video may top them all. In this drone video, you will see how killer whales join a woman during her swim workout off the coast of Coromandel, New Zealand. Initially, the woman swam straight to the shore and got out of the water, but then she decided to go back in and complete her swim. A tourist captured the event with his drone.
Two youngsters in New Zealand disturb six endangered dotterels during the breeding season with their drone. Their actions have been labeled ”stupid and foolish”. According to a spokeswoman of the Department of Conservation, the boys were standing a mere 60 feet away from a dotterel nesting site.
In New Zealand a drone got dangerously close to an Air Force helicopter. The unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was spotted less then 200 feet away from the helicopter, which at the time of the incident flew at around 3,000 feet as it was approaching Auckland’s Whenuapai Air Force Base. Operations at the base were suspended for 30 minutes.
Pilots of an Air New Zealand airliner with 278 people on board feared that the drone would get sucked into the engine as it comes within 15 feet of the passenger jet. Both the airline company and New Zealand’s Civil Aviation Authority are asking for a tightening of the drone regulations after this latest drone incident.
A hovering drone seemed to be spying on a sunbathing mother and daughter in Mt Wellington, New Zealand. Melissa Rays and her daughter Morgaine Halligan were soaking up the sun in their backyard late in the afternoon when the drone showed up. The video footage shows the drone hovering above their house and backyard, seemingly spying on them.
Good morning! Here are the headlines you may have missed. Grab a cup of coffee, get up to speed and enjoy this beautiful 4K drone and time-lapse video of New Zealand.
