Specialized public safety and emergency responder consultancy Skyfire has announced its SF2 drone has been selected by Thales USA for its operations in North Dakota’s advanced UAV network.
Expand Expanding Close
Sphere Drones, one of Australia’s largest drone service providers, has introduced HubT, the next iteration of its innovative drone-in-a-box solutions for businesses. Leveraging the new DJI Dock 2 system, HubT comes as a fixed-site solution for automating repetitive tasks and beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) drone operations.
Expand Expanding Close
The recent passing of the TikTok bill in Congress is raising concerns that it might set a precedent for similar actions against Chinese companies in the US. More specifically, it could affect pending legislation like the Countering CCP Drones Act, which would effectively make all DJI drones — new and old — unusable in the US, and a fresh proposal known as the Drones for First Responders Act (DFR Act) which relates to first responder use of Chinese-made drones.
Expand Expanding Close
Ukraine is once again influencing the way militaries around the world prepare for conflict, this time in providing an example the US looks ready to follow by establishing a drone corps as a distinct branch of the Army.
Expand Expanding Close
DroneShield has rolled out one of the largest updates to the DroneSentry-C2 command and control counter-drone platform. The update packs in a completely revamped user interface, smarter AI, and more powerful drone detection capabilities.
Expand Expanding Close
The latest twist in the push by US politicians to undermine DJI not only underscores the unacknowledged protectionist motivations of their campaign, but also lays bare both their lack of understanding of drone activities, and willingness to surrender Ukraine’s defensive efforts in their zeal to subsidize American manufacturers.
Expand Expanding Close
Japanese telecommunications company KDDI Corp. says it is partnering with Skydio to create a network of drone stations across the archipelago to provide critical aerial emergency response within minutes of disasters striking.
Expand Expanding Close
Police, fire, emergency response units, and other official agencies in Connecticut will be able to continue operating their DJI drones in the line of duty, after a proposal to ban their use failed to pass a legislative deadline Thursday.
Expand Expanding Close
Lucid Bots, the manufacturer of cleaning drone Sherpa and other robotic products that automate dangerous, labor-intensive tasks, has raised $9.1 million in Series A funding to scale the operations team and expand its products into new markets.
Expand Expanding Close
Drone manufacturer Draganfly is enhancing the safety of its Commander 3XL aircraft line with the integration of parachute systems by ParaZero Technologies. The drone is used extensively in medical and emergency response operations, and having robust safety systems in place mitigates the risk of accidents significantly.
Expand Expanding Close
Australia’s Sphere Drones has achieved a significant regulatory milestone by procuring a beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) waiver from the country’s civil aviation authority.
Expand Expanding Close
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Verizon Frontline have signed a new three-year R&D agreement to find faster ways to use drones and share footage of damage caused by severe storms like tornadoes or hurricanes.
Expand Expanding Close
The Smithsonian announced just before “May the Fourth” that it has added a Boeing Cargo Air Vehicle to its collection at the National Air and Space Museum. The drone, dressed up to look like a Star Wars X-Wing, was used to fly the first commercial operation of a “large eVTOL aircraft,” which took place at Disney World back in 2019.
Expand Expanding Close
Several DJI drones and remote controllers come with built-in storage. This internal storage allows you to store high-definition video footage directly onto the drone’s memory without the need for an external memory card. The feature becomes particularly handy when you’ve forgotten your memory card or encounter issues with video recording.
Expand Expanding Close
Efforts to launch air taxi activities are really heating up for Volocopter, but not in a way Europe’s leading electric takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft developer would like: a struggle to secure additional funding to complete certification and manufacturing of its craft.
Expand Expanding Close
Axon, the company behind the infamous Taser drone project, has announced plans to acquire Virginia-based counter-drone technology developer Dedrone. Axon says having drone solutions in its portfolio will help it protect more lives in more places.
Expand Expanding Close
Automated drone mission planning platform Drone Harmony has released an exciting new update to help DJI Dock users unlock their flying camera’s potential.
Expand Expanding Close
Legislators in Connecticut have taken a significant step toward banning the purchase and use of DJI drones by state and municipal agencies, after a Democrat-led majority of Senate members passed a draft law phasing out use of the company’s UAVs over the weekend.
Expand Expanding Close
Electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) developer Lilium has announced a new partnership with advanced air mobility (AAM) operator UrbanLink that includes the purchase of at least 20 all-electric eVTOL jets. The aircraft will be operated around Florida as UrbanLink looks to become the first US airline fully committed to the nascent technology.
Read More
Swarm drone specialist UVify has achieved a new Guinness World Record for the most drones airborne simultaneously. The Seattle-based company recently orchestrated a breathtaking drone show of 5,293 IFO aircraft that lit up the night sky in Songdo, South Korea.
Expand Expanding Close
For the first time ever, emperor penguin chicks have been caught on camera jumping off a 50-foot ice shelf in Antarctica. Bertie Gregory, an award-winning British cinematographer for National Geographic, captured this spectacular, heart-stopping moment as the baby penguins were leaving their colony for the first time to travel to the ocean for their maiden swim. But the feat wouldn’t have been possible without a camera drone equipped with a telephoto lens.
Expand Expanding Close
Tethered drone systems specialist Volarious has released a new solution for the Vesper drone manufactured by Vantage Robotics. This is the first time Volarious has extended support for a drone in the Blue sUAS list — a favored choice for US government departments
Expand Expanding Close
ModalAI, a Blue UAS framework manufacturer of autonomous drone technology, has unveiled the latest iterations of its popular VOXL 2 development drone. The new Starling 2 and Starling 2 Max feature upgraded image sensor suites, including FLIR Lepton thermal, for reliable indoor and outdoor navigation. Both models come with impressive flight times and are compliant with NDAA regulations.
Expand Expanding Close
Urban Air Mobility specialist Joby Aviation is touting its latest milestone in eVTOL development today, relaying that it has completed testing of its pre-production aircraft and will now move into getting air certified using its production-intent eVTOL prototypes.
Read More