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Archer Aviation, one of the companies driving the nearing launch of air taxi services, has announced its hiring of former top Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) official Billy Nolen to oversee safety operations in the continued development of its electric vertical takeoff and landing plane (eVTOL).

Supernal, the advanced air mobility (AAM) unit of South Korean automotive giant Hyundai, has taken a minority shareholding stake in micro-climate specialist TruWeather Solutions, whose hyper-localized atmospheric tech solutions will be used in operating safe and comfortable air taxi services.

I’m trying something new. Each week I’m going to recap my favorite stories from the past week as well as our discussion during the weekly live stream. I’ll fill in some of my opinions on the topics, throw an interview in here or there, and see where it goes from here. Hope you enjoy it.

Skydio has pushed out a software update to enable Remote ID on Skydio 2, 2+, and X2E drone models when flown with the Skydio Enterprise Controller, Skydio mobile apps (with or without Skydio Controller), or Skydio Beacon/Beacon+ (with or without Skydio mobile apps).

The US House of Representatives has added to Washington’s flurry of legislative initiatives in recent months surrounding future airline, drone, next-generation aircraft, and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) activity, with a new committee proposal that – among many, many other things – sets deadlines for creating new rules on beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations by UAVs.

Want to convert your phone video into a 3D model? One of the fastest and easiest drone reality capture platforms out there, SkyeBrowse, has just updated its proprietary videogrammetry software to make this possible! In addition to DJI and Autel aircraft, SkyeBrowse now supports raw video files from all drones, phones, GoPro, and video cameras.

Autonomous drone solutions provider Percepto has raised a whopping $67 million in Series C funding. Led by Koch Disruptive Technologies (KDT), this fresh equity and debt funding brings the total investment in the drone company to more than $120 million to date.

Flag carrier Korean Air is forging ahead with its trail blazing test program using drone swarms for inspection of its planes to measure wear of fuselage components, and detect any weaknesses or damage requiring repairs.

Specialized drone services company sees.ai has obtained what it describes as unprecedented authorization to conduct routine beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) inspections of live overhead electricity infrastructure in the UK.

Looking to put a smile on your favorite guy’s face this Father’s Day? You’re in luck because great deals and discounts are available right now on some of the most impressive and easy-to-fly drones out there. Hours of airborne fun and mesmerizing photos, both are guaranteed!

Senators Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) have proposed new legislation to increase the use of US-made drones in infrastructure projects. The bipartisan bill would authorize $100 million in competitive grants to help local governments leverage American drones in critical infrastructure inspections, maintenance, and construction activities.

A new bipartisan push to ban US government agencies from operating Chinese-made drones, including DJI, is currently underway in the Senate. This time, it’s the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that’s under the scanner for using more than a dozen drones that were manufactured in China.

Austrian aviation tech specialist Frequentis has been selected to provide its unmanned traffic management (UTM) system to Lithuania’s air navigation service provider, Oro Navigacija, in an effort to integrate drone traffic into the country’s wider airspace.

Officials in New York are proposing changes to rules that strictly regulate drone activity within NYC, but UAV businesses and other operators hoping to see the end of the city’s quasi-blanket ban on flights aren’t likely to be singing the praises of liberalization just yet.

A 41-year-old father of two, accused of illegally flying a drone into a “critical area” of Dublin Airport, is now facing the prospect of a jury trial after the charges against him were upgraded by the court.

Telecom company BT Group has released new research indicating the UK needs to take steps to catch up with other nations currently leaving it behind in terms of drone operation and service readiness – a somewhat counterintuitive finding given the nation’s innovative aerial efforts over the past couple of years.

Scaling efforts by Italian cargo and heavy-lift drone developer FlyingBasket have received further lift with longtime strategic partner and European aviation and defense giant Leonardo assuming a direct equity stake in the Milan-based company.

US drone maker Inspired Flight Technologies has unveiled a new medium-lift drone that can carry up to 3 kg of payload and yet fly for more than 40 minutes. According to the California-based company, its IF800 Tomcat drone will start shipping to customers before the end of the year.

German air taxi developer Volocopter has signed an agreement with Swiss-AS to incorporate the startup’s AMOS software to monitor, analyze, and manage notifications on the maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) requirements of its electric takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOL).

Leading US drone manufacturer and autonomous flight specialist Skydio has been granted broad, open-ended authorization to conduct beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) missions by aviation regulators in Japan – certification made all the more remarkable in being valid across the entire country.

If you don’t know who Aloft is, you’re either new to the drone world or maybe have some crazy unique drone use case. However, it has become the leading LAANC provider, as well as offering a plethora of other solutions for drone and fleet management. Today it announced an expansion of what it already provides.

Drone detection, identification, tracking, and mitigation tech specialist Dedrone this morning announced the launch of its agile DedroneTactical counter-UAV solution geared for security, military, and government users.

Infrastructure inspections are a routine task for businesses like Valmont Industries. But a recent mission from Valmont is making headlines because it saw the company flying a gas-electric hybrid drone nonstop for 77 miles! The drone flew for almost three hours, from Childress to Aspermont in Texas, inspecting vital infrastructure like power lines, railroads, bridges, and more.