dronelife

EHang 216 AAV Conducted Trial Flights in Japan EHang Holdings Limited (Nasdaq: EH) (“EHang” or the “Company”) has announced that the EHang 216, the company’s flagship model, has been tested successfully in Japan. The successful unmanned and autonomous trial served to “showcase safe, autonomous, eco-friendly urban air mobility (“UAM”) solutions,” says an EHang press release. The test […] The post EHang Takes Flight in Japan: Passenger Drones, Flying Cars by 2023 [VIDEO] appeared first on DRONELIFE. View the full article

Australian drone regulations are developing rapidly, as a newly published policy statement on emerging aviation technologies outlines. For more on international drone regulations, see our recent updates on regulations in Canada and Latin America. Drones Looking Up, Down Under! By: Dawn M.K. Zoldi Hot off the presses, on May 6, 2021, Australia’s’ Department of Infrastructure, […] The post Australian Drone Regulations: Things are Looking Up Down Under appeared first on DRONELIFE. View the full article

A new partnership between Autel Robotics and Skyebrowse introduces videogrammetry for thermal mapping: helping first responders perform night-time accident reconstruction, pre-plan for wildfires, and perform swat scouts. The following is a guest post by Gulraiz Khalid, Marketing Director at SkyeBrowse. DRONELIFE neither accepts nor makes payment for guest posts. In early 2020, SkyeBrowse introduced 3D […] The post Videogrammetry for Thermal Mapping: Game Changing Technology for First Responders appeared first on DRONELIFE. View the full article

As summer heats up, experts are expecting another scorching forest-fire season—especially with the added uncertainty fanned by climate change. However, Toledo University is finding new ways to predict forest fires using drone technology. Partnering with European drone LiDAR solution provider Routescene, the university assessed a forest-fire site in the Spanish province of Albacete to study the […] The post Spanish Researchers Deploy Drones to Improve Wildfire Prediction appeared first on DRONELIFE. View the full article

Open source drones are a “key winner” as the drone industry faces global tensions and a “surge of new manufacturers,” DroneAnalyst David Benowitz writes. Well before Part 107 enabled the commercial drone industry in the U.S., open source drones were a significant part of the market. Now, Benowitz says, open source platforms are being boosted […] The post DroneAnalyst: The Rise of Open Source Drones appeared first on DRONELIFE. View the full article

This article published in collaboration with JUIDA, the Japan UAS Industrial Development Association. Urban Air Mobility in Japan is ready to take off. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism in Japan has announced the formation of the “Next Generation Aviation Mobility Planning Office” to handle regulation and issues surrounding aviation mobility. The Ministry […] The post Urban Air Mobility in Japan: Next Gen Aviation Mobility Planning Offices will Support AAV, UAM appeared first on DRONELIFE. View the full article

Airspace awareness and UTM platform provider Kittyhawk changes its name to Aloft Technologies, Inc. Kittyhawk began in 2014 to enable the burgeoning drone market: it seemed appropriate to the founders to pay homage to the origin of manned aviation as they embarked on a project tackling the next frontier of flight. Now, the company has […] The post Kittyhawk Changes Its Name but Not Its Mission: Introducing Aloft Technologies Inc. appeared first on DRONELIFE. View the full article

DJI Government Edition drones were cleared for use by a US Department of Defense audit, which stated that “The DJI Government Edition versions that were tested, show no malicious code or intent and are recommended for use by government entities and forces working with US services.” The report from the Pentagon examined the DJI Government […] The post DJI Drones Cleared by Department of Defense Audit appeared first on DRONELIFE. View the full article

Photogrammetry solution provider Pix4D is celebrating their 10 year anniversary with a new logo – and by paying homage to the original partners and developers behind the platform. Pix4D was started by a group of researchers from the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), a research institute and university in Lausanne, Switzerland. The company “emerged […] The post Pix 4D Celebrates 10 Year Anniversary: Paying Homage to its History appeared first on DRONELIFE. View the full article

Randall Warnas, most recently head of Global Industrial sUAS at thermal sensor leader FLIR, has been named CEO at Autel Robotics, global drone manufacturer. The drone industry influencer spoke with DRONELIFE about drone technology, platform security, and building a career in the industry. “Visionary” is a word sometimes overplayed in the drone industry: but for […] The post Randall Warnas Named CEO at Autel Robotics: What’s Next for Global Drone Manufacturer appeared first on DRONELIFE. View the full article

Florida-based Censys Technologies manufactures made in the U.S. fixed wing drones – designed to push drone capabilities beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS). DRONELIFE speaks with co-founder Trevor Perrott on BVLOS flight, manufacturing in the U.S., and what surprises him about the commercial drone industry. Censys was founded in 2017 by a group of aerospace […] The post Censys: Made in the U.S. Fixed Wing Drones for BVLOS Flight appeared first on DRONELIFE. View the full article

The new HEISHA DNEST for Autel EVO and DJI Mavic is a drone-in-the-box charging system that allows users to work with their choice of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) drone. (See video intro below.) HEISHA’s DNEST provides weather protection, charging, and more to make commercial solutions into automated drone in the box solutions. The lates version of […] The post HEISHA DNEST for Autel EVO and DJI Mavic: the Drone-in-a-Box Charging System for COTS Drones appeared first on DRONELIFE. View the full article

The Verge Aero drone show for Armed Forces Day in the U.S. showed that drone shows – and Verge Aero’s flight planning software – have reached incredible new levels of precision and complexity. Drone shows have progressed from being an unusual fireworks alternative to being a must-have display in their own right, an art form […] The post Verge Aero Drone Show for Armed Forces Day: 180 Drones, Precision-Animated 3D Shapes appeared first on DRONELIFE. View the full article

Communications giant Verizon is a global presence in communications: and in the drone industry, Verizon Skyward is a leading drone management platform. 5G, drone inspections, and drone communications make Verizon an important player in the drone industry. For one department in the company, however, drones are being used as a critical tool for emergency response. Within […] The post On the Frontline with Verizon’s Crisis Response Team: Drones, Phones, and Communications Wherever and Whenever They’re Needed appeared first on DRONELIFE. View the full article

With mining, energy, agriculture, and more target verticals represented, Latin America offers a wealth of opportunity for the commercial drone industry. Drone regulations in Latin America are developing rapidly – but a lot of work remains, says ADP Co-Founder Daniel Conde. Taking Latin American Drones Higher! By: Dawn M.K. Zoldi Daniel Conde, Co-Founder de la […] The post Drone Regulations in Latin America: Different Rules, Common Threads appeared first on DRONELIFE. View the full article

The growth of the drone industry can be difficult to measure: companies in hardware, sensors, accessories, security, and software development all play a part in creating the drone industry ecosystem. The drone delivery sector is no different – recent research predicts that drone delivery will grow at a 53% CAGR over the near future, but […] The post The Drone Delivery Ecosystem is Growing: ANRA Introduces SmartSkies™ DELIVERY Software Solution [VIDEO] appeared first on DRONELIFE. View the full article

EHang Holdings Limited (Nasdaq: EH), announces a new electric autonomous aerial vehicle (AAV): the VT-30, a long range passenger drone designed for inter-city transportation. Publicly traded EHang has taken passenger drones to the skies all over the world. EHang has active projects in emergency response and aerial tourism in China, and extensive pilot programs in […] The post Ehang’s New Passenger Drone Designed for Long-Range, Intercity Transportation appeared first on DRONELIFE. View the full article

Israeli drone delivery company Flytrex has received FAA approval for drone delivery and flight over people. Flytrex says that the approval will allow Flytrex to expand drone delivery of retail goods in Fayetteville, NC. “The newly granted waiver permits Flytrex to operate its drone system above people, allowing for the largest-scale backyard drone deliveries of goods […] The post Flytrex Gets FAA Approval for Drone Delivery, Flight Over People: Backyard Delivery of Food and Retail Goods in Fayetteville, NC appeared first on DRONELIFE. View the full article

It takes a drone to catch a drone. Counter UAS solutions provider DroneShield will use tethered drones from Zenith AeroTech for drone detection. The first part of DroneShield’s “Detect. Assess. Respond,” system requires good drone detection – and a new partnership with Zenith AeroTech offers a better way to do it, by putting drone detection […] The post To Catch a Drone: DroneShield, Zenith AeroTech Partner on Tethered Drone Counter UAS System appeared first on DRONELIFE. View the full article

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) wants to change the definition of drone accidents, or “unmanned aircraft accident” in order to encompass smaller commercial drones operating in higher risk environments. Currently, pilots flying under Part 107 are asked to report drone accidents to the FAA within 10 days if an accident meets the definition of […] The post The NTSB Wants to Change the Definition of Drone Accidents appeared first on DRONELIFE. View the full article

New Counter -UAS technology from White Fox could help lift the cloud of criminal and terrorist drone threats that hovers over the U.S. and the entire global commercial drone industry. Lifting the Cloud of Drone Threats in the Homeland – STRATUS By: Dawn M.K. Zoldi (Colonel, USAF Ret.) Perception often aligns with reality. For the […] The post Drone Threats in the Homeland: Lifting the Cloud appeared first on DRONELIFE. View the full article

Auterion software firm teams up with Swiss motor manufacturer maxon By DRONELIFE Staff Writer Jim Magill Auterion, a software company that provides an ecosystem of connected drones, payloads and apps, is teaming up with Switzerland-based drive and motor specialist maxon best known as the creator of the precision systems enabling the autonomous helicopter Ingenuity and rover Perseverance to explore Mars. The […] The post Maxon Motors Powered Mars Exploration – Now, They’re Powering Drones. Auterion and maxon’s New Partnership appeared first on DRONELIFE. View the full article

In Canada, UTM is sometimes referred to as RTM, Remote Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) Traffic Management. Whatever you call it, it’s a complex system of technologies working together, and can be difficult to visualize. At flight demonstration activities as part of the Energy UTM Trials, supervised by Transport Canada and NAV Canada, AirMarket, and IT […] The post RTM, UTM: Drone Traffic Management is Complex – Canadian Energy UTM Project Shows How it Works (VIDEO) appeared first on DRONELIFE. View the full article

Africa is leading the way on widescale drone delivery: commercial drone applications for mining and other heavy industry are on the rise. African drone regulations are developing rapidly to support the continent’s growing drone industry. Big Things on the Big Continent – African Drones By: Dawn M.K. Zoldi, Contributor Drone deliveries in Africa have made […] The post African Drone Regulations: How Easy is it to Operate in the African Market? appeared first on DRONELIFE. View the full article

ANRA Technologies has won a leading place in NASA’s new advanced air mobility project, the Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate National Campaign 2 for Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) for Community Planning and Integration. ANRA will work FlyOhio, a collaboration of public, private and academic institutions led by DriveOhio’s advanced air mobility (AAM) group, to address the safety […] The post NASA’s Advanced Air Mobility Project: ANRA to Provide UAM Services for Multi-Year Project to Develop Passenger Drones and Other Advanced Air Mobility Solutions appeared first on DRONELIFE. View the full article