The highly geeked out unit of the U.S. Department of Defense has issued a $10 million contract to develop its long contemplated Persistent Optical Wireless Energy Relay system (POWER), which will likely use drones as airborne platforms to conduct electric refueling for other vehicles – or for re-juicing their own batteries.

Autel Robotics has finally filed paperwork with the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to bring its all-new Alpha drone to North America. The company has been teasing this product for a while now as a competitor to the DJI Matrice 30 series. Autel Alpha was also showcased at the Energy Drones and Robotics Coalition (EDRC) conference in Texas as part of a soft launch in June 2023.

Tethered drone systems specialist Volarious has unveiled fresh software enabling DJI and Autel drones to conduct unlimited aerial monitoring. The Singapore-based company is further running a two-month free trial offer to celebrate the launch of its new “Sentry Mode” solution.

Exhibit 7,820,403,994,962-A of how social media dramatically lowers human intelligence. In reaction to Seattle’s magnificent New Year’s Eve fireworks and drone show, countless people were left obsessed with the notion that one of the UAV formations in it was actually a detail of intimate female anatomy. Almost impossibly, the idiocy got even worse from there.

Reality capture and drone data management specialist DroneDeploy is giving users a sneak peek into its upcoming January 2024 product update.

Better late than never: That turned out to be the case for thousands of drone show fans in Busan, South Korea who made the trip back to the city’s Gwangalli Beach to see a delayed New Year’s eve performance that was cancelled 30 minutes after 2024 had already arrived.

It would appear that medical drone delivery company Spright has become a victim of owner Air Methods’ recent financial crisis, which evidently resulted in the Denver-based aviation services firm closing its fledging UAV unit under terms of its Chapter 11 rebound agreement.

It looks like DJI could be prepping to shutter its STEAM Education division with the company announcing the suspension of sales of several products such as the Tello drone and RoboMaster EP from December 31, 2023.

DJI has released a new firmware update for Mavic 3 Pro, the world’s first consumer drone with a triple-camera system.

Cargo drone transport specialist Silent Arrow is looking to extend the dramatic innovations behind its 2019 heavy-lift GD-2000 transport glider through its new project developing a UAV capable of carrying similarly massive payloads up to 345 miles for the US Air Force.

DJI has issued surprise updates for the Avata FPV drone and Mavic 3 aircraft, promising to fix some known issues. What exactly those fixes are, however, remains a mystery.

Use of first-person view (FPV) drones has been described as providing a thrilling new perspective all UAV pilots should experience – as well as being an essential tool for many professional filmmakers. Now the Galloway Mountain Rescue Team is finding another use for its new DJI Avata craft: saving people lost or otherwise missing in the vast wilds of Scotland.

The continuing evolution of rules and legal interpretations on official drone use in the US took another twist this week with the decision by a California appellate court rebuffing Chula Vista municipal police claims that all videos its UAVs capture on duty are “records of investigations,” and as such protected from public scrutiny.

What a year it has been for DJI drone fans! From the dual-camera Air 3 to the omni-sensing Mini 4 Pro, the company released some of its most powerful, feature-rich drones in 2023. But as more advanced products are launched, older offerings reach their End of Life (EOL). We know of at least five DJI products whose service and support will end in 2024, and the list includes popular heavy-lifter Matrice drones.

Are you planning to fly your DJI drone this winter? Then you should know common drone issues caused by low temperatures, as well as safety and camera settings tips to follow before, during, and after the flight to keep your aircraft in the best shape.

EHang continues to advance toward the introduction of air taxi services following the reception of the “Type Certificate” of its EH216-S electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) craft from China’s regulators, and most recently inaugurated its Urban Air Mobility (UAM) Operation Demonstration Center in Shenzhen’s Bao’an district. Yet despite – or perhaps because of – its continued progress, the startup’s US detractors appear bent on complicating its launch of passenger activity with repeated attacks.

Seattle-based UAV security and emergency situational awareness specialist BRINC has recruited another big US client to its LEMUR 2 drone offer, with the New York city of Schenectady voting Tuesday to approve a nearly $700,000 contract with the startup to introduce the craft as police department asset.

ACSL, a leading drone maker from Japan, says the first batch of its compact 4K video drone SOTEN has arrived in the US. Shipping is expected to begin early next year.

DJI has released a new firmware update for the RC 2 drone remote controller, making it easier for users to export screen recordings and screenshots.

South Korea is enthusiastically planning for the introduction of future advanced urban air activities using UAVs and air taxis to lift delivery trucks and cars into the skies. Now officials in the nation’s capital are preparing to use drones to better manage vehicles that will be left clogging Seoul’s streets.

Controversy over the construction of a reef-anchored judging stand is undermining excitement over the 2024 Summer Olympics’ surfing competition – only the second appearance of the sport in the quadrennial global gala’s history. Now a work-around solution is being forwarded by international officials, who propose using drones among other tech alternatives to provide scorers views needed for evaluating rides.

Officials in Ukraine have made a series of announcements on plans to dramatically increase drone production in the nation’s effort to drive out invading Russian forces, including a pledge to manufacture over a million first-person view (FPV) craft for attack and reconnaissance missions.

The largely productive year for the drone sector is drawing to a close with the less fortunate news that trailblazing North Carolina startup PrecisionHawk has filed for bankruptcy, and is shuttering the business.

DJI has released new firmware updates for its latest smartphone gimbals, Osmo Mobile 6 (OM 6) and Osmo Mobile SE (OM SE). And to reap the benefits of the new software package, you will also need to update the DJI Mimo app.