DroneDJ

It’s time to block your calendar because DJI is going to make Las Vegas the center of commercial UAV activity for three days from October 10-12 with the AirWorks 2022 drone conference.

US President Joe Biden is nominating Phil Washington, the chief executive officer of the Denver International Airport, to lead the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). If confirmed, Washington would become the FAA’s first Black permanent leader.

Armor Group, a major European manufacturer of industrial inks, says it has started using a drone-in-a-box solution for daily surveillance and preventive inspection at a French manufacturing site whose atmosphere has been classified as “potentially explosive.” The company’s La Chevrolière site is now benefiting from Hoverseen automatic docking system for Parrot ANAFI thermal drones. 

London-based developer of the VX4 electric takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOL) Vertical Aerospace has signed on E-One Moli Energy Corp. to design and supply the ion-lithium batteries that will power its future air taxis.

Flight navigation tech specialists Iris Automation and Sagetech Avionics are teaming up to provide a one-stop shopping solution to ensure cooperative and noncooperative detection and air risk mitigation for both drones and crewed aircraft.

Leading US power utility Dominion Energy has obtained a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) waiver to operate open-ended beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) inspections at over 40 plants using drones from Skydio, whose regulatory team helped secure the approval.

According to local news, Dan Brand was flying his DJI Mavic 3 above his family’s property when it was shot down. Burke County sheriffs are currently investigating the illegal act of shooting down a UAV.

A new firmware version is being rolled out today for the DJI Mavic Air 2. The update comes barely a month after the drone saw its last firmware refresh.

Elon Musk’s brother, Kimbal Musk, has acquired more than 9,000 drones from Intel to form a new drone light show company, Nova Sky Stories. While the terms of the acquisition have not been disclosed by either party, the chipmaker has confirmed that it will no longer run the Intel Drone Light Shows unit.

In a development that many didn’t see coming, Ondas Holdings has announced a deal to acquire drone-in-a-box solution provider Airobotics. The news comes barely a year after Ondas’s acquisition of American Robotics, a fellow player in the fully automated drone ecosystem.

UAV sensor specialist Censys Technologies has closed an over-subscribed Series A Funding round that generated $8.3 million ­– capital the company will use to accelerate its transformation from a drone services company to a provider of what it calls airborne intelligence.

The broadening deployment of UAVs for rapidly diversifying purposes in recent years has allowed operators to get eyes on – and in – places that were previously inaccessible, when not intentionally shut away from outside observers. Among organizations that have taken to the skies for closer looks are animal rights activists, who now operate drone missions to obtain video evidence of inhumane treatment of livestock on massive “factory farms.”

Conservationists say that a drone flying illegally and recklessly over a nature reserve in the United Kingdom has forced at least 150 migratory birds to flee in panic. At the same time, the drone “noticeably harassed” several sick sandwich terns who had most likely been infected with Avian Influenza (bird flu). The weakest of the terns soon perished thereafter.

A criminal transport and logistics crew has been nabbed by Spanish police with vehicles being readied for delivery to drug traffickers smuggling narcotics across the Mediterranean – a haul that netted both aerial drones and uncrewed underwater vehicles with potential payload capacities of up to 200 kgs.

Even as the ink dries on a $48 million deal to supply Norway with intelligence-gathering Black Hornet drones, California’s Teledyne Technologies is also moving quickly to make delivery on over 100 ground robots it has contracted with Germany’s army.

Here’s some important news for longtime DJI Phantom users. The technology giant has announced the end of service (EOS) timeline for select Phantom drone models and their accessories.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has released what it calls the world’s “first comprehensive” set of proposed regulations for next generation aerial urban mobility (UAM) aircraft like air taxis that will operate in city environments.

A group of brainy volunteers in Kyiv producing drones for deployment by Ukraine’s army against Russian invaders have added trashed e-cigarette batteries to their mix of DYI materials being used in support the nation’s defense.

As you celebrate the Independence Day holiday, the FAA is sending out reminders to keep safety front and center. The message is simple: drones and fireworks do not mix well together.

If you’re looking to add a unique, fun drone to your collection, the V-COPTR is now 25% off on Amazon for a special pre-Prime Day special offer. We also got our hands on one to share our thoughts on this one-of-a-kind drone.

FreeFlight 7, the app Parrot specifically designed for its newest ANAFI Ai aircraft, has received a major update that, among other things, fixes at least 595 bugs. Parrot is calling the update its “biggest step forward” since the release of the ANAFI Ai drone.

DJI has released a new firmware update for its latest travel-friendly drone, the Mini 3 Pro. This is the aircraft’s first significant update since May, when sellers started accepting pre-orders for the sub-250-gram drone.