Why do we call these guys “Awesome?” Because we’re big fans of the Beagle Drones business model, which we’ll explore later in the story. We’re also huge fans of what this startup is about to do: Launch a very well-thought-out CineWhoop on Kickstarter later this month. And we have some deets… right now.
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On our latest edition of The Buzz podcast, we’re delighted to spend some time with Skydio CEO Adam Bry. Despite the pandemic, it’s been a great year for Skydio. Listen as DroneDJ senior editor and chief writer Scott Simmie takes a deep dive with Adam about his US-based drone company. It’s a great discussion and includes a look at the recently announced Blue sUAS list that recommends Skydio’s X2 drone for government and military purchasers.
Deets for subscribing after the break — you know you want to…
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On our latest edition of The Buzz podcast, we’re pleased to have an extended visit with Brendan Schulman, DJI’s vice president of policy and legal affairs. In a year when issues like “Made in the USA,” data security, and Remote ID have all been shaping the drone industry, Schulman has a lot of insight — and a lot to say (follow him @dronelaws on Twitter).
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.
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Well, well, well. About a week after a photo of what could be a DJI FPV racing drone was leaked, there’s further indications that DJI has something up its sleeve in Shenzhen. The latest version of the Android “Fly” app has some new, not obviously visible commands that seem to line up with speculation that DJI might be adding a drone to its FPV Camera/Googles ensemble.
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If you’re visiting DJI headquarters in Shenzhen for the first time, you’ll likely receive the guest treatment. That means you’ll be taken to the main lobby and shown what looks like a small museum display. It’s a row of DJI-manufactured drones, including the iconic original Phantom that was released in 2012. It’s an astonishing record of technological accomplishment, and it makes you wonder what’s next.
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The DJI Mavic Air 2 is becoming the worst-kept secret in the drone world. We already know a lot of the specs, thanks to documents made public by the FCC and Brazil’s communications agency. But we were missing one important number: the price. Now we know it’s $799 — a $120 price drop from its predecessor’s original retail price. And boy does this drone look hot…
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We’re super excited to give away one FREE ticket to the Drone U Fly-In Challenge that will take place at a Netflix movie set right outside of Santa Fe, NM on April 4th and 5th. During these two days, you will be able to participate in both the Creative and the Technical Challenge. See below for more details.
Don’t forget to participate in the Drone U Fly-in Challenge Giveaway, if you haven’t done so already. The winner will be announced at 6 pm EST today.
And the winner is Zac Widmer from Washington state. Congratulations!! We will send you an email shortly!
To start off the weekend right, we have a great giveaway for you today. DroneDJ teamed up with DJI for this promotion and we will give away one DJI Mavic Mini, our new favorite travel drone, and one Mavic Mini Care Refresh package. All you need to do to have a chance to win this amazing little folding drone is sign up using the form below. The winners will be announced on March 15th.
Don’t forget to participate in the DJI Mavic Mini Giveaway, if you haven’t done so already. Winners will be announced at 6 pm EST today.
The winner of the DJI Mavic Mini is Noah LaRoy from Michigan. And the Mavic. Mini Care Refresh package goes to John Meyendorff in Michigan as well. Congratulations to both! Be sure to check your email with instructions to claim your prize.
The new DJI Mavic, that we reported on first earlier this week, may be priced as low as $799. And this new foldable drone from DJI is likely to feature OcuSync 2.0, which would make it an very attractive offering and a very capable aircraft.
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Now that we have seen the first images of what we believe to be the new DJI Mavic (and not the DJI Mavic Air 2), it’s time to talk about the specs. We believe that the new DJI Mavic will be DJI’s safest drone ever, as it will include ADS-B In and almost certainly 360-degree obstacle avoidance. Furthermore, we expect the following specs for this new foldable DJI drone.
Finally! Some really exciting DJI news today as we show you leaked images of what must be the new DJI Mavic Air 2. This new drone in the DJI Mavic lineup is rumored to be introduced in April this year. As you can see in the photos, the drone looks very similar to the DJI Mavic 2 series.
Update: New photo shows rear obstacle avoidance sensors.
As predicted last week, DJI released the RoboMaster EP on March 9th. This is DJI’s second educational robot and it is compatible with multi-party hardware, supports multiple software platforms, and has an open SDK.
It seems that DJI is about to introduce a new DJI RoboMaster soon. Today, DJI leaks photos that show parts of this new educational, modular and remote-controlled device. No drone, it seems. Sorry. It is rumored that the release date for this new DJI product is March 9th.
We know that ZeroZero Robotics and DJI have had to close their offices as a result of the Coronavirus spreading in China. The assumption was that other drone manufacturers such as Autel Robotics would have been impacted as well and that as a result the Autel EVO II might be delayed.
As we are getting nearer to spring and hopefully better drone-flying weather, DJI has quietly lowered the price on the Mavic 2 Pro (DJI, Amazon) and Phantom 4 Pro V2.0 (DJI, Amazon). Both drones can now be bought at the official DJI online store for $1,599. That is some welcome news for sure!
Rumors and news of the highly anticipated DJI Mavic 3 Pro keep swirling and changing. Here’s the latest information that we have as well as some advice we have for you. If you want the new DJI Mavic 3 Pro sooner, then stop buying the DJI Mavic 2!
Today we have something exceptional for you! A special offer on the annual Drone U Fly-In Challenge, which takes place on a Netflix movie set just outside of Santa Fe, New Mexico on April 4th and 5th. During this two-day event, you will be challenged to show what you can do with your drone. On day one, you will create a video of this Western town based on a specific shot list. On day two, you will be making a detailed 3D map of the entire Netflix studio setup. Of course, as always, experienced flight instructors from the Drone U will be present to help you complete the challenge and to improve your drone flying skills. Sign up with the exclusive DroneDJ link to receive special pricing for this amazing drone event, the Drone U Fly-In. DroneDJ will be there as well, so I hope to see you there!
On many fronts within the drone industry, people have been taking action to try and stop or change the current proposed rules for remote identification for drones, better known as the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) NPRM for Remote ID for Drones.
Today we learned that after delaying Remote ID for drones three times themselves, the FAA has denied a request from commenters to extend the 60-day commenting period that ends on March 2. The agency states that “subsequent delays in promulgation of a final rule implementing remote identification of UAS would not be consistent with the safety and security objectives of the proposed rule.”
Today, we received another confirmation that the DJI Matrice 300 release is planned for the end of February. This enterprise drone will have a new feature in its transmission system, and two of these new unmanned aircraft have already arrived in DJI’s offices in California.
New DJI Matrice 300 (or M300) specifications and information has been leaked exclusively to DroneDJ before the launch of this new enterprise drone late February. The M300 will be accompanied by a brand new hybrid thermal camera called the DJI Zenmuse H20.
Here are our updated DJI rumors. We will share with you all the info we currently have on the DJI Matrice 300 (M300), the DJI Mavic 3, the DJI Mavic Air 2 and even other DJI aircraft.
CES 2020 in Las Vegas was a great place to meet up with people in the drone industry and you always learn something new. One of the things we picked up this time, is that the DJI Matrice 300 is rumored to be launched in late February. It seems that DJI realized that after a number of reports came out of crashing DJI Matrice 200 / 210 drones, it was time for an updated and improved version. In the days after CES, we have been able to confirm these rumors through a secondary source.
Yesterday morning we got up early and instead of going back to CES, Paul from Drone U and I went to an area right outside the controlled airspace of Las Vegas to fly the all-new Autel EVO 2 with the 8K camera. Here are our first impressions. Keep in mind that we were flying this foldable quadcopter with a beta version of the app. Autel Robotics told us that they will keep updating both the software and firmware before launching this drone by the end of January for $1,445.
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