Google’s corporate cousin Wing Aviation has repeatedly innovated its methods of organizing and operating UAV transport of ordered goods between retailers and customers. Now it’s taking that to another level by devising reactive, pragmatic, and automated networks of delivery drones whose flexibility and increased efficiencies are what the company thinks will be key to massively scaling the activity.
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Mississippi governor Tate Reeves has signed the Uncrewed Aircraft Systems’ Rights and Authorities Act into law, which codifies that the ultimate authority over the state airspace lies with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). This law is crucial because it prevents additional burdensome regulations for drone operators. At the same time, it clarifies that violations of property-based legal regimes, such as trespass, do not occur when a drone simply flies overhead.
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Update: B&H is now offering the DJI Mini 3 by itself for $379 shipped. You’ll have to supply your own controller, but that lets you bring home the folding quadcopter for $90 less than the Amazon packages below. It’s a great option for those who already have a DJI drone in their arsenal but want to upgrade to the latest release. You can also fly right from your iPhone, too.
Amazon is now offering the very first chance to save on the new DJI Mini 3 Drone. After just launching last December right ahead of the holidays, the brand’s new entry-level experience is landing at an all-time low. Now on sale for $469 shipped, this is down from the usual $559 going rate. It’s the second markdown so far, and arrives with $90 in savings attached. This discount is also matched directly from DJI. The Fly More Combo version is also on sale, now dropping to $798 from its usual $858 price tag. DJI’s new Mini 3 delivers a more consumer-focused feature set that is packed into one of its most compact builds yet.
The entire drone weighs in under 249 grams, while still delivering 38-minute flight times and a robust set of obstacle avoidance tech. The 1/1.3-inch sensor is already a notable solution for aerial photography thanks to the ability to record 4K HDR videos, but there’s also a rotating gimbal that makes this one of the first DJI drones to be able to capture vertical video for sharing to your smartphone. Take a look at the full specs in our coverage at DroneDJ and then head below for more.
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Australian developer of vertiports, Skyportz, has struck another deal to adapt existing commercial properties across that nation to serve as operating and recharging hubs for nearing air taxi services.
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Drone giant DJI has responded to a study that revealed significant security flaws in the firmware controlling four of its models by offering assurances it had been informed of the gaps and moved to eliminate them before the German researchers behind the discovery released their findings.
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For the first time ever, more than 45,000 square kilometers of previously unknown seafloor around Alaska’s Aleutian Islands and off the California coast has been surveyed by an ocean drone.
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Canadian drone manufacturer Draganfly is integrating SkyeBrowse’s one-click reality capture platform with its public safety aircraft.
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Air taxi developer Archer Aviation says it finalized several key details related to the financing of its future electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft manufacturing plant in Covington, Georgia, and, as a result, has begun construction of the initial 350,000-square-foot facility of its larger production plant.
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Drone-in-a-box solution specialist Airobotics has launched a fully-automated anti-drone solution, Iron Drone, at the ongoing World Police Summit in Dubai. Instead of relying on GPS or RF jamming, the new AI-powered counter-drone technology uses a net and parachute system to capture the target aircraft.
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Tech giant DJI has quietly released two new products for its pro users today: The company’s first-ever cinema zoom lens that will likely be leveraged by the long-awaited Inspire 3 drone and a tether system that adds agility to its professional camera platform Ronin 4D.
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Search and rescue (SAR) teams have rescued hundreds of people across the world using drones. This is also a story where a drone helped to rescue a man who was stuck in deep snow without cell service. But this story comes with a rather unique twist because, here, the drone was operated by the man who needed to be saved.
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Leading UAV developers DraganFly, Quantum-Systems, AeroVironment, and Teledyne Flir are among the companies that have provided cutting-edge aerial craft to Ukraine’s defense against the Russian invasion, but Australian firm SYPAQ Systems is distinguishing itself in that supportive effort by providing Kyiv with drones made of cardboard.
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Six months after getting mandatory approval from regulators, Swiss drone delivery company RigiTech began the first regular beyond visual line of sight (BVLOSL) operations in France on Monday, providing aerial shuttles of blood and biological samples between testing labs.
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Officials in Ireland have earned plaudits over the years for encouraging new technologies as drivers of innovation and economic growth, but they aren’t getting any applause for their perplexingly sluggish response in dealing with a series of drone sightings that have disrupted traffic at Dublin Airport, causing multiple flights to be redirected.
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South Korean aircraft developer Plana doesn’t plan to introduce its first air taxi for a few years yet, but it’s already initiating work to create what it says will be Asia’s first international corridor for electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) flights between its domestic market and Japan.
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One-click drone reality capture platform SkyeBrowse has launched a new AI-powered tool that can identify unknown objects or people in any drone’s flight path.
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DJI has discontinued the production and sale of the AeroScope drone detection and identification system that has been adopted by airports, government agencies, and private businesses as a tool to keep airspaces around their facilities safe from unauthorized UAV penetration.
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German researchers say they’ve found security gaps in four models of DJI drones – albeit not the kind that US politicians have claimed to justify placing the company’s craft on federal blacklists.
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Electric utility ComEd says it is expanding its drone program to allow pilots to operate inspection drones remotely, without being present on site. The utility has secured all the necessary waivers required from the FAA to conduct operations in which the drone flies beyond the visual line of sight (BVLOS) of the operator. And it is currently training pilots to automate drone flights using the Skydio Dock docking and recharging station.
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A UK drone pilot has been slapped with a hefty fine and a suspended prison sentence for having flown his UAV during a historic airshow event last July, during which it came dangerously close to a rare World War II-era Royal Air Force plane as it passed.
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SkyPixel, one of the world’s most popular aerial photography communities established by tech giant DJI, has announced the winners of its annual drone photo and video contest. See all the top, prize-winning drone photographs here and find out how a Vietnamese photographer’s delicate composition secured the distinction of Annual Best Work with over $15,000 in prizes.
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The new DJI Mavic 3M drone, which is equipped with a multispectral imaging system, has received its first firmware update since being released in November 2022.
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Specialized drone and tactical products maker BRINC is expanding its line of tech designed for emergency responders, public safety services, police, firefighting, and disaster units with today’s release of the LEMUR 2 UAV, whose range of cutting-edge capabilities has been conceived to reduce the danger posed to the lives of people working to save others.
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The DJI Mavic 3 Enterprise drone series is gaining a ton of new functionality with a major firmware update released today.
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