dronelife

DroneUp’s new hire is a retail powerhouse, a veteran of major names that include Apple, Under Armour, and Verizon. DRONELIFE talked to DroneUp’s new Chief Strategy Officer about why his experience at Apple – he negotiated the first iPod, and managed the global retail iPhone business – is a perfect fit for the drone industry today. […] The post Why a Former Apple Executive’s Experience is Perfect for the Drone Industry Right Now: DroneUp’s New Hire appeared first on DRONELIFE. View the full article

Urban air mobility (UAM) could provide a major benefit for the disabled community. A new white paper from Aerobility and CIVATAglobal says the industry must be inclusive from the outset to realize that goal as passenger drones are introduced. While the concept of integrating air taxis, drone taxis, passenger drones, or flying cars into community […] The post Passenger Drones Should Benefit the Disabled Community: But Will They? The Need for Inclusivity appeared first on DRONELIFE. View the full article

FLIR’s Vue® TZ20 Hi-Res Dual Thermal Zoom has all the features to make it the ultimate thermal payload for public safety and more. Situational awareness is a key benefit of public safety drone programs. For law enforcement, an early understanding of a scene can improve the safety of all involved. That’s where unmanned systems can […] The post The Ultimate Thermal Payload for Public Safety: FLIR’s TZ20 Hi-Res Dual Thermal Zoom appeared first on DRONELIFE. View the full article

One of the UK’s largest airport agencies is leading the development of Scotland’s first drone delivery network to transport medicine, blood and organs. AGS Airports, which owns and manages Aberdeen, Glasgow and Southampton airports, is leading a consortium of 14 groups including the University of Strathclyde and air traffic control provider NATS. Dubbed CAELUS (Care […] The post UK Airport Consortium Develops Drone Delivery Network in Scotland appeared first on DRONELIFE. View the full article

One of the world’s largest aviation advocacy groups is flying high on the tailwinds of recent FAA regulatory changes to drone rules. The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) is lauding the agency’s recent publication of Part 89 as well as the overhaul of Part 107 on Jan. 15. Writing in a recent news release, AOPA […] The post Major Aviation Advocacy Group Lauds FAA Drone Rule Changes appeared first on DRONELIFE. View the full article

The North Dakota Department of Transportation (NDDOT) and the Northern Plains UAS Test Site (NPUASTS) announce 8 BEYOND partners. These companies – including some major players in the commercial drone space – will work in North Dakota to execute on the goals of the (FAA) BEYOND program, the next phase of the UAS Integration Pilot […] The post North Dakota DoT and Northern Plains Test Site Announce BEYOND Partners appeared first on DRONELIFE. View the full article

The latest executive order on drones may require federal agencies to replace – or at least review – their current fleet of Chinese- or other foreign-manufactured drones. BREAKING – Show Me the Money! Adversary Country Drones To Be Replaced? By Contributing Editor Dawn M.K. Zoldi* Up until now, most of the U.S. government’s extra special […] The post The Latest Executive Order on Drones: the Ban on Chinese and “Foreign Entity” UAS Expanded appeared first on DRONELIFE. View the full article

SparkCognition is a leading industrial artificial intelligence company; SkyGrid, a Boeing, SparkCognition company, is an airspace management system. Together, the two have successfully deployed an AI-powered onboard system providing cybersecurity for drones. As drones become an increasingly important tool in major industry and infrastructure, concerns over security have also become more important. Like any computer […] The post Cybersecurity for Drones: SkyGrid and SparkCognition Deploy First AI-Powered System appeared first on DRONELIFE. View the full article

Nine drone and aerospace organisations in the UK have joined forces to respond to the UK Research and Innovation’s Future Flight Challenge (FFC.) The Airspace of the Future (AoF) Consortium includes Thales, Cranfield University, Cranfield Airport Operations, Inmarsat, Altitude Angel, Ocado Group, Blue Bear, Satellite Applications Catapult, and Connected Places Catapult. The group will work […] The post The Airspace of the Future Consortium: 9 UK Drone Organizations Join Forces to Integrate Drones into Transport Systems appeared first on DRONELIFE. View the full article

The COVID-19 Humanitarian UAS (Unmanned Aircraft Systems) Response Partnership (CHURP) has announced the successful finish of their current test phase, which included drone delivery of COVID testing kits. CHURP is a partnership formed over nine months ago by Emergent 121 Consulting and Akin Gump, LLP. It’s a timely project to design and test extended drone […] The post COVID Humanitarian UAS Operation (CHURP) Completes Delivery Testing appeared first on DRONELIFE. View the full article

NOAA has awarded Black Swift Technologies (BST) a contract to develop GPS-denied navigation, enabling Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations for drones in GNSS-denied environments. NOAA has almost 95,000 miles of domestic coastline to survey – and while drones are by far the best way to complete the mission, flying within visual line of sight […] The post GPS-Denied Navigation: Black Swift Moves Drone Flight Forward with NOAA Contract appeared first on DRONELIFE. View the full article

GM has unveiled a Cadillac brand flying car. The sleek and beautiful eVTOL passenger vehicle could be the car company’s concept of transportation’s next generation. Passenger drones, drone taxis, Automated Aerial Vehicles (AAV): as a few companies like Ehang, Volocopter and others move into test flight programs, large car manufacturers are thinking forward to the […] The post Cadillac Flying Car: GM Unveils eVTOL Concept appeared first on DRONELIFE. View the full article

Recent research from the Mercatus Center argues that drone highways situated over existing public roads could be the fastest way to full integration of commercial drones. The Mercatus Center research, written by senior fellow Brent Skorup and Harvard University JD student Connor Haaland rank the 50 U.S. states in terms of readiness for the drone industry. […] The post Mercatus Center: Drone Highways are the Road to Commercial Drone Integration appeared first on DRONELIFE. View the full article

How a professor of computer science, a high-tech CEO and an RC hobbyist developed some of the most accurate drones for engineering on the market – in Montana. Skyfish.ai was started in 2014 – but until today, when the company announced the formal launch of their platform, they’ve been operating under the radar. That’s stealth […] The post Drones Made in the U.S.: Meet Skyfish.ai, the Montana Manufacturer Producing World Class Drones for Engineering appeared first on DRONELIFE. View the full article

Commercial drone provider American Robotics this week flew into rarified skies, becoming the first company approved by the FAA to operate automated drones without human operators on-site. The authorization allows American Robotics to deploy its Scout drone system with acoustic Detect-and-Avoid (DAA) technology that enables drones to maintain a safe distance from other aircraft. Company […] The post America Robotics Snags First-ever FAA Approval to Fly Automated BVLOS Drones appeared first on DRONELIFE. View the full article

The U.S. government has taken a further step to limit the use of Chinese-manufactured drones for government agencies. GSA limits inclusion of some drones from procurement list for government agencies By DRONELIFE Staff Writer Jim Magill In the latest skirmish in the ongoing war between the federal government and the producers of Chinese-made drones, the […] The post Drones for Government Agencies: GSA Limits Procurement List to Blue sUAS appeared first on DRONELIFE. View the full article

During CES 2021, French drone manufacturer Icarus Swarms announced a new UAS product line targeting security and emergency first-response industries. A company spokesperson says the new line is “based on a pioneering technology using intelligent pathfinding algorithms and microdrones coordinated in a swarm.” Icarus officials hope the new technology will “transform” military and police strategies […] The post French Drone Maker Unleashes Autonomous Swarm Concept at CES 2021 appeared first on DRONELIFE. View the full article

As the U.S. drone industry continues to develop, new developments in commerce regulations may make it easier for U.S.-based drone manufacturers to access the global marketplace. Flexibility is the Key to Airpower: More Developments in Drone Export Controls By DRONELIFE Guest Contributor Dawn M.K. Zoldi* On January 12, 2021, the Bureau of Industry and Security […] The post U.S. Drone Industry: Changes in Export Control Could Help U.S. Manufacturers appeared first on DRONELIFE. View the full article

For safety and drone traffic management, a robust communication system for drone delivery is a critical component that must be in place before delivery can be implemented at scale. Skyward, Verizon, UPS team up on communications system for drone delivery By DRONELIFE Staff Writer Jim Magill The dream of delivering packages by drone to doorways […] The post Communications for Drone Delivery: Skyward, Verizon, and UPS Partner appeared first on DRONELIFE. View the full article

Sony is lifting its cameras to new heights with a drone project. At CES 2021, the Japanese electronics giant this week announced the release of a new drone called Airpeak. The company says it’s capable of “dynamic filming and precise, stable flight, and aims to contribute to the world of entertainment while also pursuing new possibilities […] The post Sony Launches Airpeak Drone Project at CES appeared first on DRONELIFE. View the full article

As the U.S. prepares for a new president, industry stakeholders wait to see what will change with the new administration. Here, industry leader Lisa Elllman discusses how drone technology could be used to address some of the problems the U.S. – and the world – now face. The following is a guest post by Lisa […] The post Will the New Administration Leverage the Power of the Drone Industry and Emerging Technologies? appeared first on DRONELIFE. View the full article

Former DJI Executive Romeo Durscher has joined open source platform Auterion as Vice President of Public Safety. Romeo Durscher brings his years of passion for using drones to save lives and improve communities to the Auterion team. It’s a new start that brings value and satisfaction for both Durscher and Auterion: and signifies a shifting […] The post Former DJI Exec Romeo Durscher Joins Open-Source Drone Software Platform Powerhouse Auterion appeared first on DRONELIFE. View the full article

Ahead of CES 2021, drone company Autel announced the release of the new Dragonfish flight platform for the second quarter of this year. A fixed-wing drone, Dragonfish offers a 120-minute flight time as well as takeoff/landing capabilities in space-restricted areas and an deployment assembly time of under three minutes. With a range of up to […] The post Autel Announces Dragonfish Drone Ahead of CES appeared first on DRONELIFE. View the full article

California-based drone startup Skydio is flying high after receiving the 2021 Best of Innovation Award for Drones and Unmanned Systems at CES for the company’s Skydio X2. Given ahead of CES’s first-ever, all-digital expo on Jan. 11-14, the award is an annual competition honoring outstanding design and engineering in consumer technology products across 28 product categories. […] The post Skydio Soars with 2021 CES Innovation Award for Drones appeared first on DRONELIFE. View the full article

The market in military drones and sensors “will be one of the most dynamic growth sectors of the world aerospace industry this decade,” says the Teal Group‘s recent analysis. “Teal Group’s 2020/2021 market study estimates that UAV production will increase from current worldwide UAV production of $5.6 billion annually in 2020 to $14 billion in […] The post Military Drones and Sensors are an Exploding Market appeared first on DRONELIFE. View the full article