Long Reads

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.

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.