DroneDJ

The South Korean capital Seoul is upgrading its stable of smart city light poles with drone-equipped models that will aid officials to battle the problem of illegal parking and monitor traffic snags.

In one of those periodic developments that pits questions of privacy against the rights of people to fly camera-equipped UAVs as they’d like, the Missouri legislature began debate this week on a proposed law to prohibit drones from photographing people or their property without consent.

Saildrone, which made history by sending an ocean drone into the eye of a hurricane last year, is going all-in to protect the coastal areas of the US with better ocean data. Following a $100 million Series C investment in October 2021, the company is now opening a new regional HQ and operations center in St. Petersburg, Florida.

A group of Finnish volunteers has hand-delivered 140 DJI Mavic Mini drones to the Ukrainian military to assist with reconnaissance efforts against the invading Russian forces.

Singapore companies F-Drones and Marco Polo Marine are teaming up to create what they say will be the world’s first large-scale, electric aerial delivery UAVs designed to service offshore wind farms – and at 90% less cost than current transport options.

Less than a week after Ukraine officials called on private citizens to put their drones to use in defending cities from invading Russian forces, signs are accumulating that consumer UAVs are increasingly taking to the air – and flowing in from abroad – for operation in the conflict.

US defense and security company Leidos Inc. has won a $26 million Air Force Research Laboratory contract to deliver its next-generation counter-drone system designed to neutralize attacks by both individual and swarming UAVs.

With International Women’s Day (March 8) just around the corner, DJI is looking to celebrate female drone pilots with a campaign called #ChooseToFly. The drone maker is seeking inspirational stories from hobbyists and professional drone operators alike, promising a brand new DJI Mavic 3 to the best entry!

FCC filings, which tend to pop up not too long before a product is released commercially, indicate that two new DJI drones are indeed coming to North America.

A hydrogen-powered drone built in China has reportedly set the nation’s endurance record for UAV flight, with the fixed-wing craft doing so in vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) mode.

Biological science students at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo have schooled themselves in the art of drone piloting as part of their noble pursuit of counting members of local elephant seal populations.

Australian air logistics and drone delivery specialist Swoop Aero has marked another milestone in its healthcare operations in Malawi by delivering Pfizer COVID-19 vaccinations requiring ultra-cold supply chain conditions.

SkyeBrowse, a reality capture platform that can convert your DJI or Autel drone video into a 3D model at the speed of coffee, was launched only in 2020, but it has already saved law enforcement departments in the US over 50,000 hours of manpower and $5 million in accident reconstruction. As the startup celebrates its recent $2.3 million seed round with a spate of hirings, let’s retrace its backstory to see how “the fastest and easiest drone reality capture platform in the world” came into being.

Mobile operator VEON, whose two biggest markets are Russia and Ukraine, says it will share the know-how of its drone-based AI solution with the international telecom community so that they can assist with the search and rescue of missing persons in their communities.

Autonomous drone mapping startup Emesent has announced its latest survey-grade LiDAR payload: Hovermap ST. The lightweight, IP65-rated solution is being launched with Emesent’s new Automated Ground Control feature that, the company stresses, enables autonomous data capture in harsher environments than ever and for a wider range of use cases.

The antennae of drone watchers have started twitching again after drone pilot and DJI leak conduit OsitaLV tweeted claims the company will discount its Air 2 drone while it undertakes previously rumored development a new Mini 3.

Google’s corporate cousin Wing is again expanding its activity in Australia with enlarged drone delivery service in the Canberra area, including orders from its new supermarket client, Coles.

Edinburgh company Flowcopter is trying to bridge a major problem in deploying UAV on extended offshore missions: Smaller craft have neither the heft nor battery life to handle the exacting conditions, while gas-powered engines aren’t well-suited to quick adjustments rotor flight requires. Its solution is a long-distance, heavy-lift drone equipped with hydraulic motors that effectively regulate spin rates.

Public health authorities in Tanzania’s semi-autonomous islands of Zanzibar are using drones to locate and map mosquito breeding sites in malaria hotspots.

Today, we round up last week’s top stories featuring DJI, Autel, MLB drone testing, and a cool new tool for indoor drone inspections. Read below to get caught up on everything you need to know.

San Francisco-based electric takeoff and landing (eVTOL) vehicle and air taxi company Archer Aviation finished last year with a bang. Now, its co-founders and -CEOs Brett Adcock and Adam Goldstein tell DroneDJ why they think 2022 will be even more exciting.

A team of researchers at Virginia Tech has developed pliable materials that can morph from ground traveling drones into aerial craft – and back – in a matter of seconds.