Featured – Safety and Security

The UK’s Ministry of Defence has taken the decision to withdraw military personnel and equipment from London’s Gatwick airport. The measures were deployed in the run-up to Christmas after drone sightings near the airfield grounded air traffic and led to 1,000 flight cancellations over the course of 36 chaotic hours. 140,000 …

Our London correspondent, Malek Murison, reports on the fallout from the ‘Battle of Gatwick’ airport debacle.  Drones are often in the news at this time of year. More often than not, the stories are harmless: Aviation authorities laying down the law to the influx of new pilots, viral videos of …

It’s a common science fiction theme that drones and other means of surveillance may someday be used to track individuals, using AI and teams of government officials to identify people from aerial images.  There’s no need to get nervous yet, though – a paper published by two UK-based researchers says …

If you fly a DJI Matrice 200 or Inspire 2, it’s probably come to your attention during the past two weeks that both drones’ batteries have been compromised. DJI and the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority have issued safety warnings, indicating that in some cases the commercial models have been falling …

Earlier this week we reported that the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority had issued a safety warning for DJI Matrice 200 pilots, following a small number of incidents in which power failures had caused the aircraft to fall out of the sky. It now appears as though the problem has been …

Thermal imaging specialists FLIR Systems have plenty of interest in the drone industry, particularly when it comes to public safety. The Oregon-based company partnered with DJI earlier this year to launch the Zenmuse XT2, a dual optical and thermal camera designed to support firefighters and first responders. Now the company …

Swiss drone manufacturer Flyability has made a name for itself with its rugged Elios drone, which flies in an insect-inspired frame and effectively bounces off obstacles. This kind of capability has obvious applications in public safety and industries such as construction and mining, where the working environment isn’t always friendly. …

Drones are increasingly being adopted by public safety teams and first responders. A study out this week from DJI, the European Emergency Number Association (EENA) and Irish research firm Black Channel, shows why that trend is set to continue. And research like this is important. You’ll struggle to find an emergency service anywhere …

The Australian based Telecommunications giant Telstra is trialing new drone technologies to help in disaster management scenarios. If you are not familiar with them,  Telstra currently has over 35,000 employees and does business in over 15 countries.  Telstra now joins a number of telecommunications companies including Verizon that are getting …

A $20,000 prize has been awarded to Italian Vincenzo Navanteri by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI). Navanteri won the Prince Alvaro de Orleans-Borbon Grant at the FAI International Drones Conference and Expo, in Lausanne, Switzerland, for his drone ambulance concept. Switzerland, of course, is no stranger to drones transforming traditional medical services. …