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A Texas man has been charged for allegedly flying a DJI Inspire drone loaded with drugs and other contraband into a Fort Worth prison.

Update: DJI Avata is available to buy now from DJI’s online store and Amazon.

DJI’s FPV Goggles V2 with digital image transmission are now available at 25% off the typical retail price. This price drop has presumably been done in preparation for the rumored release of the DJI Avata CineWhoop-style mini FPV drone.

Gremsy, one of the most popular developers of camera gimbal stabilizers for drones, has announced its latest product, the Aevo heavy-lift carbon gimbal. According to the company, Aevo comes with the highest payload capacity ever (9kg) for industrial applications.

NASA has awarded a small business grant to the University of Cincinnati (UC) to develop better autonomous navigation for drones.

Hawaii may seem like a tropical paradise to many, but its climate and location make it vulnerable to some rapidly growing and destructive invasive pests – a reality officials are now dealing with by deploying drones to battle a species of rhinoceros beetle ravaging the archipelago’s iconic coconut trees.

A trio of hospitals in the UK’s northwest is set to begin receiving blood and other patient lab samples by drones using designated air corridors over Morecambe Bay, with the objective of cutting transport time of using frequently clogged roads surrounding the large estuary.

An Arizona-based startup has invented technology that will allow drones to carry advertising billboards in the sky even in blowing wind.

Ascendant Irish drone delivery company Manna Aero says it plans on expanding what has been gradually wider and effective services in Ireland to far bigger markets, starting with a move to the US expected later this year, and operation across the European Union in 2023.

Archer Aviation reported passing another milestone in its efforts to develop electric takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft for use in aerial services like air taxis, with the receipt of a $10 million pre-payment from United Airlines as part of its 2021 transaction for 100 urban air mobility (UAM) vehicles.

As it prepares to bring free Prime Air drone deliveries to customers in California and Texas, Amazon is offering an inside look at how its drone delivery system works. A new video released by the company shows rigorous flight tests being conducted at one of its facilities in Oregon.

Autel Robotics has released new firmware for its EVO Lite and EVO Nano drones. The updates, which are being rolled out with v1.4.20 (iOS) and v1.4.26 (Android) of the Autel Sky app, are packed with some of the most-requested features to the drone series, including easily-accessible flight logs, voice notification options, as well as an increase to the maximum flight distance.

Fancy putting a single-seat, fast, highly maneuverable next-generation aircraft through the paces as a pioneering, George Jetson-esque test pilot? Well, step this way, because Zapata will be giving 25 lucky people the chance to fly its JetRacer flying car during US trials it has planned.

A bipartisan bill has been introduced in the Senate that seeks to create the mechanisms and allot $100 million in funding for the deployment of drones in infrastructure inspections overseen by local, state, and US government entities.

Commercial drone solutions specialist A2Z Drone Delivery has announced its second-generation automated delivery winch, RDS2 (Rapid Delivery System 2). The company says its latest product offers the highest payload capacity (22 pounds) of any tethered delivery system on the market, and also eliminates the need for specialty payload boxes.

Cargo drone manufacturer Windracers, which counts the British Royal Mail among its partners, has won its third round of funding from the Future Flight challenge at UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). The fresh capital will help Windracers to further middle-mile drone delivery trials and regulatory work with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

Ondas Networks has had finalized agreements to purchase automated UAV systems company Airobotics in a deal that will pair the Israeli firm with American Robotics‘ groundbreaking beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) drone services to industrial and infrastructure clients.

In another example of the ways drones are being used in rapidly diversifying missions, an amateur pilot has uploaded a video demonstrating his deployment of a DJI Mavic Mini to rid his yard of a hornets’ nest. Though the operation wasn’t quick, clean, or easy, the tech eventually prevailed over pests – ish.

Drone start-up SkyeBrowse, whose reality capture platform allows DJI and Autel users to create accurate 3D models at the press of a button, has launched a new, upgraded version of its proprietary software: Hyper.

DJI has just rolled out the latest version of its Mimo smartphone app for Android and iOS devices. While the update is focused primarily on fixing minor issues and optimizing the overall app quality, Mimo is now formally bidding adieu to Android 7 and iOS 11.

Wading into an area Amazon, Walmart, and even automotive company Renault have all examined before, US car giant Ford is looking into a cargo truck that can act as a logistics and docking hub for drones making last-mile deliveries.

Yet again, we seem to be getting daily leaks for another DJI product that will make the official reveal more like a formality than a necessity. Now we are getting more details into what will come in the box with DJI’s Avata cinewhoop and the first feature list, thanks to more leaked photos.

There’s no longer any question about whether the US Army’s experimental flight of the solar-powered Zephyr UAV will break the aerial endurance record, only by how much the craft will shatter that mark with each additional day it remains aloft.

Update: DJI Avata is available to buy now from DJI’s online store and Amazon.

For the umpteenth time, DJI’s mini FPV drone, Avata, is in the limelight ahead of its official announcement. In the latest leaks, DJI Avata has been caught on camera up close, with one photo revealing the box the drone could come packed in. Another critical detail about the CineWhoop-style drone that has emerged from the fresh leaks is that it could be equipped with DJI AirSense technology.