Long Reads

Flytrex co-founder and CEO Yariv Bash may not be out to change the entire world, but he is intent on revolutionizing the way goods are delivered on the planet with a tightly focused, carefully defined plan of making drones the primary force of that progress.

Everyone loves aerial light performances, but few people ever get a backstage peek at what goes into staging the spectacles. To remedy that, UK- and Singapore-based drone show specialist SKYMAGIC sat down with DroneDJ to offer an idea on how those work ­– and how the company differs from rivals in bringing the skies to life.

Skydio – the US manufacturer best-known for its AI-equipped drones that can take on tasks some other drones simply can’t – held a webinar today to discuss the capabilities of Skydio Cloud. First announced at AUVSI, the platform is designed to seamlessly integrate with the rest of the company’s platforms. Let’s see what it does.

The world of drones is changing – and fast. And these changes, specifically around autonomy and automation, will undoubtedly have implications for many of the commercial pilots around the world – particularly those who fly in the Enterprise space.

There’s no question that DJI holds the lion’s share of the drone market. There’s also no question that its products are really well-built and have a ton of top-notch engineering packed in. But we’ve got this nagging question: Why are all of its drone products based on the standard multi-rotor design?

So we had a realization the other day: We’d never tried out DroneDeploy software. And while we had a basic understanding of what it can do, we wanted to learn more. So we had a one-hour briefing with the company. And we’ll share with you what we learned.

There are really two kinds of pilots when it comes down to it: those who pilot manufactured aircraft and those who prefer to build their own quads. There’s actually kind of a third category, and I’m in it.

Everyone’s asking: When will DJI’s Mavic 3 Pro be released? What features will it have? Should I buy the AIR 2S now… or wait? We’ll be up front and tell you we don’t have all the answers (yet). But we do have some of them.

For some, every season is drone season. But in the northern hemisphere, at least, this is the time of year when a lot of people consider picking up a new drone. The days are longer, the temperatures are finally climbing, and – at least in most places – you don’t have to worry about snow anymore.

Editor’s note: If you are new to First Person View drone flight, or would like a refresher on safety tips and drone regs, please read our story on the topic here.

It’s been one day since the release of DJI’s innovative new FPV drone, and many people have already ordered the product. We take a look at some of the main reasons why this might be the perfect fit for someone wanting to get into the world of First Person View flying – and a couple outlining why it might not be a fit for others. Let’s hop in.

DJI’s new FPV drone combo has some amazing technology baked in. It’s also not inexpensive. So this post is for people who are not experienced pilots.

Skydio held its last webinar of this unusual year on December 22. It featured panelists from the Enterprise and First Responder sectors, as well as more details about Skydio’s optional Autonomy Enterprise Foundation software and its Skydio Academy for pilots. Overall, the focus was the Skydio 2’s AI, and what that means for professionals.

As you may now know, a man has been charged after a drone collided with a police helicopter in Los Angeles. DroneDJ has the inside story, including the original sworn complaint by an FBI agent.

I know what you are thinking: Don’t most articles detail the exact opposite? I’d say you are correct in that more people are interested in moving up — learning more, doing more, and perhaps even making income from their drone operations. However, in a sense, my short tale is more indicative of where the average drone consumer might want to do — that is to have and use these tools on occasion in order to see the world from a different perspective and to share this work and art with others. 

What a fall it’s been for DJI: The release of product after product after product. So many, in fact, that one of DJI’s senior people took to Twitter about it. And we thought: Yeah, that’s impressive. Let’s review.

You’ve heard the rumors. You’ve seen the leaked images. And now? The wait is over. We’ve got everything you ever wanted to know about the new Ronins – right here, and right now.

It looked like a promising product: A multi-featured drone that could be configured for heavier lifting. The young team behind it seemed to have a great UAV on its hands. Backers flocked to the Indiegogo site, throwing money at the Toronto-based startup. With rare exceptions, they didn’t receive the drones — or their money back.

Yes, I realize I’m a little behind the curve to be writing about the Mavic Air 2. But, truth is, I received a loaner just recently, not long after joining DroneDJ. I’d done some indoor flying, but I finally got a chance to get out into the great outdoors. So this will be a relatively brief, “first impressions'” kind of review.

Battery semi-charged? Check. Propellers attached? Check. Then let’s power up and fly! Well, not so fast. Today we’ll make the case — and from personal experience — that it pays to give your gear a routine but deliberate inspection before each and every flight.

Five years ago, it would have been exceedingly rare to find a fire department that was using a drone as part of its tool kit. Now, you’d be hard-pressed to find a major fire department that either doesn’t already have a drone, or isn’t planning on getting one. Drones can simply do too much valuable work to not have them.