Will drones ever become mass-market, must-have gadgets?

Xiaomi’s unveiling of its first, astonishingly cheap drone last week marked a symbolic milestone for the fledgling technology. In recent years, the Chinese electronics company’s entrance has signaled a new technology’s turn to the mass market. In 2011, “the Xiaomi effect” hit smartphones when the company took advantage of decreasing smartphone component costs to make

A Brief History of Drones

When it comes to “boys and their toys”, one the most impressive and controversial in recent years is the automated drone. In official circles these are known as UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicle) – or to the rest of us, the ‘flying robot’. What other toy could threaten the security of one of the world’s most

Munich Re Selects PrecisionHawk to Improve Post-Catastrophe Assessment Using Drone Technology

Munich Re, one of the world’s largest reinsurers, has partnered with PrecisionHawk, a global, drone data platform, to enhance insurance assessments worldwide by providing faster response times and increased reporting accuracy in the aftermath of a natural disaster. The partnership was recently exercised following the April earthquake in Ecuador, where PrecisionHawk collected drone imagery of the

Student designs drone that gives new meaning to the phrase ‘photo bomb’

Forget cats and dogs, a student at the Rochester Institute of Technology is making it rain photos. Visual media student Nicholas Kundrat installed a Fujifilm Instax camera onto a DJI Flame Wheel F450, creating a film and drone hybrid that actually allows unsuspecting subjects to see the images instantly – after they flutter down to the

Drone Racing May Soon Establish A Betting Market

We’ve written before about the growing potential of drone racing as the sport of the future, and with each passing day the words only seem to become truer. It’s not too often that an entirely new sport or competitive activity comes to light, and in this instance it’s picking up followers and competitors pretty rapidly.

On June 3-5, 2016, Drones Data X gathers industry leaders at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco

The commercial drone industry is just starting to take shape and has seen enormous growth in the last year alone. Drones are already helping change the way we work and live and are becoming a mainstream tool for consumers and businesses. But we’ve only begun to scratch the surface of possibilities. Companies like Google X

How to Fly a Drone Without Being a Jerk

Drones are a marvelous new consumer technology, allowing the average person to take aerial photographs, make highly accurate maps and models, and generally have a grand old time—after all, we’re talking about having your very own flying robot. But there is danger here: Because drones are so new, our society has yet to form rules

Oregon’s growing drone industry is finding business in surprising places

As a former helicopter pilot in the U.S. Army and then for Life Flight, nothing gets me more excited than aviation. And right now, there’s a lot to be excited about. Here, in the U.S., I’m confident that 2016 will go down in aviation and business history as the year drones became tools, not toys.

Xiaomi gives sneak peek of new drone release coming May 25

This short teaser video from Xiaomi has recently appeared online, showing their soon to be released first drone product. The video was first spotted on Chinese streaming site Youku. There’s not much to jump at here, though, if we’re getting an accurate sneak peek from Xiaomi’s teaser images. It looks like a pretty standard quadcopter, with the only interesting

Using UAVs in smart city construction

The notion of a truly smart city is a fashionable topic among governments of developed countries, and increasingly, developing countries too. Using sensors and real time monitoring systems,  it is possible to process and analyse data collected in real time to enhance quality, performance, and interactivity of urban services while reducing the costs and consumption, creating a

All Before Breakfast With Tyler Chorlton

Most people have a strict regime when it comes to breakfast. They may have cereal, toast, yoghurt or perhaps just a cup of tea or coffee. What would your routine be if you lived in the mountains and were faced with a bluebird sky? You’d surely head up on the first lift and get riding

Investment Trends of the Commercial UAV market

Although the commercial unmanned aviation industry is still in its infant days, the market already presented a diverse range of fantastic hardware, software and operational products. These prerequisites connected, especially in the last two years’, many accelerator, early stage and also later stage investment companies with the market. The investors strongly raised their portfolio by

The Complete Guide to Drones

The just-released book by Adam Juniper, The Complete Guide to Drones: Whatever your budget, true to its title, offers everything you need to know to get started in the world of drones. The book starts off with a brief overview of the history of drones, covering military drones, the influence of RC hobbyists, building and

LAST OF ITS KIND – Aerial journey to the melting glaciers

In early May I had the opportunity to go back to where my photography and film “career” began. When I was a teenager I got my first fixed lens film camera from my grandfather. During our holidays in Switzerland I practiced in the stunning landscapes of the Engadin. This time I go back to document

How to Get Started with Drone Racing

Drone racing is one of the hottest, new sports out there. The spectacle of hot-shot pilots sending powerful drones racing around a track is a great spectator sport, so it is no surprise that ESPN is planning to start broadcasting races soon. And it’s easy to get into: all you need is a drone and

Fast-Growing Dedrone Raises $10M Series A

Dedrone, developer of a market-leading civilian drone detection system, today announced that it has raised $10 million in Series A funding. The round was led by U.S.-investor Menlo Ventures, one of the world’s premier venture capital firms investing in consumer and enterprise technologies. Dedrone will use the fresh capital to accelerate the advancement and sophistication

$127bn Worth Of Human Labor & Services Could Be Replaced By Drones

[Ubergizmo] had previously reported how robots could replace human jobs one day. In fact it has been estimated that 5 million jobs could be replaced by robots in 2020. However it seems that not only do we have to worry about robots taking our jobs, but we will also now need to worry about drones

Making History: Ziplines Are Saving Lives with Drones

These Californians have invented life-saving drones that drop blood bags and medicine into remote areas. Are their Ziplines the future of healthcare in the developing world?

Drone Expert Eric Cheng Joins Drone360 Magazine as Editor-at-Large

Waukesha, WI – (May 13, 2016) – Eric Cheng, a UAS (Unmanned Aerial Systems) expert and an authority on drone video and photo, is joining Drone360 magazine as the Editor-at-Large. Cheng’s broad background combines a passion for photography with experience as a General Manager and Director of Aerial Photography for DJI, the leading manufacturer of

Acrophobia | Basejumping When You’re Afraid Of Heights

Acrophobia is about a BASE jumper that is afraid of heights. He has to overcome his deepest fear before every single jump. When it comes to BASE jumping and wingsuit flying, most people think about videos of daredevils risking their lives. Most actual BASE jumpers, however, see it differently. They are not crazy. For them,

Second Women in Drones Event Planned for InterDrone

MELVILLE, N.Y., May 12, 2016 — BZ Media LLC announced today the second Women in Drones Luncheon, a special networking event at InterDrone™ The International Drone Conference & Exposition being held September 7-9 at the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas. Gretchen West, a Senior Advisor at Hogan Lovells US LLP and former executive at Drone Deploy and AUVSI,

Are flying robots the perfect co-workers?

The year is 2020. A group of warehouse workers are locking up for the weekend. As the lights go off, a swarm of buzzing drones fly into the darkness. Over the coming days, they will zoom up and down the aisles, updating the inventory for when their human colleagues return on Monday morning. This isn’t

Around The World With A Drone | An Unforgettable Journey

Having the opportunity to travel the world is a dream for most people. Imagine having a drone with you and being able to record every memory. The landscapes, the people, and the sports all create a journey never to forget. Check out this video, one of the latest entries from the drone festival “Rise of

Aerial video of rarely seen area near San Francisco

This video by Gary Yost premiered last week to a sold-out house at the Throckmorton Theater in Mill Valley as part of an event to raise awareness of the restoration of the old air force station on the top of Mt. Tamalpais near San Francisco. Yost has been working for almost 5 years promoting the

Ultra-portable, unbreakable: Diodon, the world’s first inflatable drone

Meet DIODON, the first inflatable drone. An inflatable drone comes with some undeniable advantages, as you can imagine. Here’s are the basics: Easy to carry – Deflated, the DIODON is small and fits in practically any bag Crash proof – The DIODON is inflatable, which makes it practical and crash proof Autonomous – The DIODON’s electronic system

Skycatch COMMANDER app makes mapping easy

I had the chance last weekend to test out the just-released Skycatch COMMANDER flight app for use with DJI drones. It’s billed as easy-to-use, and it most definitely lives up to that appellation. With just a few taps on the screen of your iPad or other device connected to the DJI remote control, the drone

First Age of Drone Expo to be held in Dortmund, Germany

This 7-8 October 2016 Dortmund, Germany will host the first Specialized Exhibition and Conference, Age of Drones. The show will gather worldwide companies from the entire Drone supply chain with customers and end-users in Westfalenhallen Dortmund Expo Center. The emergence of pilotless aircraft in Filming & Photography provides cutting-edge solutions for the realization of creative ideas of film directors,

International Drone Day

This weekend marks celebration of the second International Drone Day!  Public perceptions of drones have greatly shifted since last year.  A year ago many people were skeptical of drones, even wary, many likely convinced that if you were flying a drone, you were probably spying on somebody.  In response to this, the theme of last year’s

The magic of a drone: Showreel

Need some motivation to get out and fly your drone this weekend? This film by Kai Jonny Thue Venøy will definitely get you inspired! It was filmed with a DJI Phantom 2 (GoPro Black 3 and 4), DJI Phantom 3 Professional and DJI Phantom 4 in several locations: Norway: Åheim, Hoddevik, Strynsvatn, Røfsdalsnipa, Blæja, Kvandalseggja, Blåfjellet, Svolvær,

World’s First FPV Drone Race Set Against the NYC Skyline to be Held July 30-31, 2016

Following the success of the second New York City Drone Film Festival, Yeah Drones is announcing the Liberty Cup FPV Drone Race set for July 30/31. They have partnered with the Liberty Science Center to bring you a high octane combination of virtual reality, video gaming and STEM-education. Competitions will be held in MINIQUAD RACING

FlytOS: Operating System for Commercial Drones Now Open for Developers

Drones are beginning to play an increasingly important role in a variety of commercial applications, such as: agriculture, surveys, inspections and delivery. As these applications become increasingly complex, access to common building blocks that can be easily customized for each use-case becomes critical. NavStik Labs, based in Pune, India, is building an open platform to enable commercial drone makers

A Comprehensive Breakdown of the DJI Phantom 4: Features and Specs

  The decision to purchase a DJI Phantom is one of the great double-edged swords of the drone world. Being that DJI is a massive and well-respected company with extensive support and spare parts options, you can’t go wrong with your purchase, but the ever-growing list of options can leave a technophile pouring over every

Game fishing rises to new heights

Pioneering game fishing from the beach using innovative techniques from above. See how these fishermen use a drone to help land a fish from the beach.

Competition, co-creation accelerate in Week 2 of Airbus Cargo Drone Challenge

Our latest community challenge has gotten off to a fast start and is showing no signs of letting up anytime soon. The Airbus Cargo Drone Challenge is averaging eight entries per day since its April 12 kick off. That puts the Challenge on pace to reach 330 entries by the May 22 deadline, good for

Big data and drones team up to keep the lights on

Storm damage repairs and preventative maintenance on power lines and trees are two of the most important tasks utility companies take on, requiring a large amount of time and budget. Currently, ground crews inspect assets manually or via helicopter, and then based on their observations, they’ll identify areas that need attention. New technology on the