California-based Skydio makes one of the most talked-about but least seen drones on the market today. The Skydio 2 stands out for its impressive subject tracking, which basically allows it to fly autonomously while filming the subject of a video.

But the drone has been elusive. For one, the company has been overwhelmed with orders. It was already contending with a production backlog before the coronavirus hit. With the lockdowns that took effect in California in March, Skydio’s domestic production has been shuttered.

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We are almost halfway into the year which has already had some significant new drone releases. How do these new drones compare to other hot models on the market? Let’s take a look at the latest offerings from DJI, Autel Robotics, and Skydio along with some models that are still going strong to identify the best consumer drones you can buy.

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Public service drones have entered the popular consciousness as they are deployed more and more in the COVID-19 response. But local government agencies like police and fire departments have already been using drones to scout dangerous situations before sending people in. California-based drone maker Skydio has just launched a program to donate free drones for these operations. expand full story

Skydio, an American maker of enterprise and consumer drones, announced recently that it is currently unable to ship any models to customers. Based in California, Skydio is subject to COVID-19 stay-at-home lockdown orders and has been forced to close its manufacturing facilities. expand full story

With DJI being under fire from various angles (data security, tariffs, and new competition), Skydio is not sitting still. The Redwood City-based company has hired Brendan Groves to act as their new head of policy affairs to help “stretch the regulatory framework in ways it’s never been stretched,” to allow for new use cases for autonomous drones such as flying beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS). Groves says it will be a good stretch, “like yoga for the regulatory system.”

Even though I agree with Groves, I wonder if the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is ready for some hot yoga stretching exercises. It seems that for now, the agency will have enough of a workout dealing with the almost 31,500 comments in reaction to their NPRM for Remote ID for Drones.

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Through ACN Newswire we learn this morning that Skydio and DOCOMO, Japan’s leading mobile operator with over 77 million subscriptions, have formed a partnership to bring autonomous drones, such as the recently launched Skydio 2, to Japan and Southeast Asia.

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