DroneDJ

Intel has generated a great deal of well-deserved praise for the performance of its uncrewed aerial vehicles during the light show for the Tokyo Games’ opening ceremonies. But Intel has been using its drones and powerful tech applications in other ways that are enhancing the Summer Olympics experience.

It’s Wednesday again. Seems like only a week ago that the DroneDJ panel was live on YouTube and Facebook, discussing the latest in drone news. Wait a minute – it was precisely one week ago…

Electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicle company Joby Aero announced it has passed an impressive milestone in the continuing development of advanced air mobility. California-based Joby says a prototype of its eVTOL craft traveled over 150 miles on a single battery charge – a flight it claims to be the longest of its kind.

Motorists around the world have been forced to adapt their ill-advised bending of rules of the road to the spreading presence of tech’s cop proxies – whether cameras capturing red light burners, or fixed radar boxes photographing the plates of speeding cars. Drones have also been added to that police enforcement mix, as law-breaking drivers in Poland have now painfully discovered.

Drone Delivery Canada (DDC) has become the first publicly traded drone delivery company to be granted a domestic cargo license under the Canada Transportation Act and Air Transport Regulations (Canada). This license, normally issued to airlines that provide passenger or cargo services, is a critical achievement for DDC.

Dollywood, one of the best theme parks in the world, is running drone light shows until July 31 as part of its 2021 summer extravaganza. The production of this drone display, which is integrated into a choreographed fireworks show, is said to have cost a half-million dollars. And now, a new video offers a behind-the-scenes look at the preparation that goes into putting together a drone show that’s both stunning and safe, day after day.

Travis Scott is often hailed as the music industry’s unofficial king of elaborate promotional stunts. And judging by what went down at the Rolling Loud music festival in Miami last weekend, we’ll have to agree. The rapper got 250 drones to form a scannable QR code during his concert set, which directed fans to a Spotify pre-save link for his new single “Escape Plan.”

Remember Porsche’s thrilling campaign video for the Taycan Cross Turismo that was shot by Johnny FPV? While you and I may have found the film absolutely spectacular, the carmaker thinks its Drive2Extremes campaign can go up a notch. And it is willing to wager a $20,000-worth one-week-long, all-expenses-paid trip to the Porsche Ice Experience in Levi, Finland, for that.

The Malaysian government has approved a budget of $11.3 million (MYR 48 million) to allow its police department to purchase 16 vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) drones. The budget endorsement comes at a time when thousands of medics, who have played a key role in the country’s COVID-19 response, are protesting over low wages and job insecurity. As a result, many on social media are questioning the cost of these drones, pointing out that the New York Police Department was able to secure 14 drones for $480,000 (MYR 2 million) only in 2018.

There are several remarkable aspects to a film captured by amateur uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) pilot Ilya Bardysh  – for starters, its dizzying flight altitude of 3,200 feet. But the most arresting of all those is the clear video the drone took as a Saker falcon swooped in and attacked the craft right out of the sky.

There are very few things drones can do that are more satisfying than what a team of pilots accomplished in Wales over the weekend: use the craft to find and rescue a lost dog stuck in a dangerous situation.

The latest innovation to battle thousands of migrants attempting illegal Channel crossings from northern France to England has been thwarted on legal grounds. Plans to fly police drones detecting and monitoring the organization and launch of illicit passages have been grounded by French laws as violating individual privacy rights.

Just when we think we’ve seen every imaginable drone video of Iceland’s volcano, something new comes along that – like the volcano itself – is red hot. And this one reflects how the volcano is like a shape-shifter, ever-changing and unpredictable.

Emergency response solutions specialist Carbyne has teamed up with visual augmentation firm Edgybees to offer enhanced, real-time imagery during calamities. The service is designed to enrich live videos from drones and provide crisis managers with better, fuller information about developing emergencies their responders will be encountering.

Residents and visitors of Ocracoke Island prize the calm and seclusion its remoteness affords. Yet that distance from off North Carolina’s coast also makes getting supplies to locals facing emergency extreme weather difficult – a problem drones may help Ocracoke solve.

Arms and ammo are often said to be the lifeblood of fighting forces – one reason why militaries around the world have deployed uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAV) to re-supply troops locked in prolonged combat situations. But for wounded soldiers, actual plasma is even more important than munitions, which is why the UK’s Royal Navy is testing drone delivery of blood to battlefields. 

Australia’s drama-charged National Rugby League (NRL) cannot seem to catch a break. With Sydney’s latest COVID-19 outbreak spiraling, hundreds of NRL players and their families have been forced to relocate to Queensland mid-season. But since then, there have been multiple reports of COVID-19 bubble breaches, which have put the game’s future at risk. The latest scandalous development comes in the form of drones being deployed as creepy, electronic Peeping Toms to keep the players and their families in check.

You have seen the awe-inspiring revolving globe drone show at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Now, watch hundreds of drones take off and ascend toward the night sky like stunning shooting stars in this new behind-the-scenes video.

It’s been a long time coming. But it appears the ZeroZero Robotics V-Copter Falcon drone – which offers a highly unusual design and impressive flight time – is ready to ship to customers.

You have to see this. Seriously: You have to see this FPV video taken at a swimming pool – as competitive swimmers take on a 400M freestyle relay race.

The US Department of Defense issued a statement Friday saying its position is that “systems produced by Da Jiang Innovations (DJI) pose potential threats to national security.”

We realized we haven’t done a recent roundup of recommended drones. We also realize that many drone buyers want to get in under the $1,000 price point. So we figured: Let’s highlight what are, in our opinion, the best standard drones for under $1,000 in this Buyer’s Guide.

It’s on. After a year-long delay, the Tokyo 2020 Olympics have finally begun, albeit in the shadow of COVID-19. The opening ceremony today at the $1.5 billion Olympic Stadium was an extravaganza that was both celebratory and subdued. But our favorite part came right toward the end when more than 1,800 drones took to the skies to form a globe over the stadium as artists from five continents sang Imagine.