DroneDJ

The enduring pandemic hasn’t managed to undermine France’s passion for going on vacation whenever the opportunity arises, though it has forced most travelers to choose domestic destinations over foreign options. That has translated into a recent surge in visits to France’s nature reserves and national parks, and a corresponding increase in the number of drones overhead that now constitute a real problem.

Professional baseball has gone to some extreme, and some argue self-destructive, lengths to cut the duration of both major and minor league games. One thing it hasn’t been able to rule-change into submission is rain stoppages. And now it looks like baseball may also have trouble with drone delays.

The 1930s-40 radio show The Shadow famously began each episode with the reminder/warning that its crime-fighting hero “knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men,” and relied on that knowledge to bring criminals to justice. A UK police drone has gone one better by using the heat lurking in the bodies of three bank robbers to help nearby officers bust them (while taking a nifty video of the cuffing to boot).

“No geofence restrictions” has often been a selling point for Autel drones. But now, it looks like the drone manufacturer is upping the ante on airspace safety by introducing a compulsory No-Fly Zone database in the United States. This new geofencing feature comes with the latest firmware update (v2.7.25) for the EVO II drones.

Comedian Jonathan Winters used to joke about a mythical place named Kwaziland, a country only 10 feet wide and 11 miles long. Its main exports are spaghetti and rope. Kwaziland may be fictional, but Yanjin County could easily flourish in the pasta and string trade. Take a drone tour of a skinny metropolis.

A 5G-enabled drone developed by Drone Racing League (DRL) and T-Mobile has just made its primetime debut. As one of the first racing drones in the world to have an embedded 5G module capable of live streaming video, the Magenta 5G drone gave baseball fans unprecedented behind-the-scenes access to the long-awaited Field of Dreams Game hosted by Major League Baseball (MLB).

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) receives dozens of uncrewed aircraft sighting reports every month. With incident reports coming in from pilots, citizens, and law enforcement officials alike, the FAA’s database of drone and unidentified aircraft sightings runs into thousands of Mandatory Occurrence Reports (MORs) today. So, now, an enterprising online publication is featuring these reports in an interactive map of the United States – thus making it easier for people to zoom into their neighborhood for details or explore hotspots of sightings more intimately.

This is a two-fold post. First, we wanted to point out an excellent CineWhoop fly-through that caught our attention on Instagram (along with an interview with the pilot). Second, we wanted to identify what’s becoming an increasing business trend in the world of drones.

Heartbreaking scenes of a juvenile whale trapped in shark nets off Australia’s Gold Coast for two days and two nights has reignited debate about the country’s shark control program. The humpback whale, which has been freed after a marathon rescue mission, still faces a fight for survival because rescuers have not been able to remove all portions of shark control equipment from its tail.

Autel Robotics has finally released a statement in response to CEO Randall Warnas announcing his resignation with a LinkedIn update. Further, Maxwell Lee, general manager and owner of Autel Robotics, has also reacted to the news.

Counter-drone specialist Citadel Defense has scored another in a growing list of business successes by landing a $6 million contract through the US Department of Defense (DOD). The coup comes less than a month after the San Diego-based company signed a $4 million deal for a similar anti-drone system.

Indicative of its status as one of Europe’s most popular vacation destinations, Spain is currently dealing with a surge from the 91.2 million cars expected across the nation’s roads this summer. As part of their effort to ensure that travel glut circulates well (or as smoothly as inevitable traffic snarls allow), Spanish police are flying drones to keep watch for breakdowns, accidents, and ­– not least of all ­– driving offenses.

California companies Marine Advanced Robotics and Planck Aerosystems have announced their strategic alliance to produce a platform composed of a marine uncrewed surface vessel (USV) with an onboard aerial drone. The combined asset is designed to allow users to conduct advanced operations in the sea and sky in the same, integrated mission.

As DroneDJ has sadly had occasion to note, the incidence of misguided pilots flying uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAV) too close to wildlife has increased considerably around the globe in recent months. In an effort to turn that curve around on their watch, Canadian authorities are issuing stern reminders that laws prohibit disturbance or marine animal harassment by drones – and carry heavy fines for pilots who do.

We’ve all been there – or at least those of us who fly drones. Maybe you catch a tree, a component fails, or you just plain make a mistake. But the odds are you’ve crashed your drone, especially if you’re flying FPV. But take comfort in the fact that even if you’re facing a costly repair, it’s not the $130 million price tag for a recent military drone crash in North Dakota.

If you’re running a large warehouse, there’s a lot more to it than moving stock in and out. You have to track that stock as efficiently and accurately as possible. Now, we’re increasingly seeing the potential here for drones to play a role, saving employees from tedious (and even dangerous) work.

Looking to pick up the DJI Mavic 2 Pro? It’s getting harder to get. In fact, unless you want to purchase with the Smart Controller, it’s showing on the B&H website as “discontinued.”

Autel Robotics CEO Randall Warnas is leaving the drone company after about nine weeks on the job. Randall announced his resignation in a LinkedIn post on Thursday. He pointed to people around him having “unjust authority and no accountability” and noted that blatant nepotism and favoritism in the organization was undermining his ability to function in the role as needed.

Visitors to Easter Island have described an almost magical vibe emanating amid the mysterious, ocean-facing maoi statues erected by its original inhabitants. But located as it is about 2,000 miles from either Tahiti or Chile, it’s also a land of hardship – especially during recurring droughts. Now drones are seeking to alleviate that aridity by searching for fresh water sources.

The Nebraska State Patrol (NSP) is launching a new drone program that will help to get the roads cleared faster after an accident, while still allowing NSP investigators to conduct a thorough crash investigation. NSP has bought 18 Autel EVO drones and is deploying 19 certified drone pilots in troop areas throughout the state for drone-based accident reconstruction and mapping.

Sale and consumption of pot is, of course, legal in California ­– so long as producers, retailers, and consumers do their business according to regulations. But because not all actors in the sector are following those rules, drones are being brought in to help authorities crack down on illegal marijuana growers.

Use of uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAV) on missions requiring both accuracy and rapidity are growing throughout business applications – and are the main focus of first responder work. Maximizing that combination of speed and precision of drones – while avoiding crashing – was also at the heart of recent promising research.

The US Air Force considers its microwave-shooting weapon against large swarms of enemy drones so successful that it’s now doubling down to enhance it further. So in addition to its so-called THOR anti-drone system, the Air Force is out to develop an electronic, craft-smashing hammer to complete the thematic program.

A company known for products ranging from phones to air fryers to security cameras has taken a bold, four-legged step into the world of robotics. Xiaomi has announced the CyberDog, an Open-Source ground-based robot.