Drone News Feeds

AUVSI’s North Carolina chapter and DRONELIFE host free webinars and chat rooms monthly, where drone pilots from all over the country can get their questions answered by a panel of experts.  This month, AUVSI NC hosted two representatives from the FAA: UAS Integration Program Manager Michael O’Shea and  Aviation Safety …

ANRA Technologies​ is a major name in UAS Traffic Management (UTM) around the world.   Now, the company announces the release of ​ANRA MissionManager™: a new version of their drone operations software platform​. ANRA’s deep expertise in UTM and involvement in testing scenarios that involve multiple flights under a vast …

Wingtra‘s recent WingtraHub 1.0 release introduces a lean workflow between the WingtraOne drone and Pix4Dmatic, a “fresh Pix4D product for reliable speedy processing of large datasets,” says a Wingtra press release.  “This integration is especially key since Wingtra’s VTOL drone is designed to map large sites fast and safely while …

Source: SkySkopes As industries across the globe come to grips with the “new normal” of a COVID-19 challenges, drone service providers (DSP) are launching new levels of innovation across a range of public and commercial sectors. Last year, Barclays projected drones will lower costs by $100 billion across a majority …

Source: Matternet Drone logistics startup Matternet is taking flight with one of Asia’s largest airlines to expand drone delivery. Today, the California-based company announced a partnership with Japan Airlines to deploy the Matternet M2 drone system to Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s new “drone logistics business development project” – Japan’s initiative to …

The Skydio 2: Affordable autonomy U.S. drone manufacturer Skydio is stepping up to help boost diversity in the drone industry, hiring two highly qualified women to key leadership roles.  Devon DiPietro has been named Director of Marketing, and Jacqueline Sharma has been hired as Vice President of People Operations. The two new …

Source: Skyward Verizon is dialing up a new mission for its drone subsidiary – wildfire damage inspection. The telecom announced today the FAA granted Portland-based Skyward a temporary waiver allowing company pilots to fly Percepto Sparrow drones from their homes to inspect critical communications infrastructure near the Big Hollow wildfire …

The current crisis is providing the opportunity for historic – potentially paradigm-shifting – new projects.  Retail giant Walmart has announced another new drone delivery project: one that brings the capabilities of drone technology during a crisis right to people’s doorstep.  DroneUp, Quest Diagnostics, and Walmart have partnered on drone delivery …

Photo courtesy of Baker Hughes By DRONELIFE staff writer Jim Magill Following a successful two-year pilot program, international oil and gas company Shell will employ a small fleet of drones to fly over more than 500 oil and gas sites in the Permian Basin of West Texas and southeastern New …

The FAA policy on type certification for certain unmanned aircraft systems was recently released.  The policy provides a process by which unmanned aircraft may be certified for certain operations currently prohibited under part 107, such as flight over people or flight beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS).  The new policy …