Crowdsourcing hurricane data; Drilling down on collisions


VOL 4, ISSUE 18	September 1, 2020

Top Stories

Drone video leveraged for hurricane damage assessment

After The New York Times and amateurs alike documented Hurricane Laura's devastation, researchers downloaded all of the drone footage they could find to refine an automated damage assessment tool. (Image courtesy of Carnegie Mellon University.) Read more >

Training and Safety

Drones blamed for bird strikes

The FAA and the NTSB delivered a primer on UAS accident reporting requirements, and insight on how challenging collision investigations can be. Read more >

State found bird-drowned drone

Here is an epilogue for last month's sad and instructive tale of a quadcopter struck down in the prime of its service life by a bald eagle. Read more >

Here is your safe space

A Colorado city approved plans to create a drone park to educate aspiring aviators and provide a unique area for practice and training. Read more >

Gear

Robotic flying SQUID

This UAS can be propelled above obstacles before it unfurls for further flight. Read more and watch a video >

DJI wins patent battle with Autel

A recent ruling allows DJI to continue selling Mavic drones and has reportedly ended a two-year battle with Autel Robotics. Read more >

Persistent aerial presences

Two new drone tethers for the masses: V-Scout allows a DJI Mavic 2 to fly for hours; meanwhile, Axon Air is leveraging the Fotokite tethered drone as part of a public safety package.

Mavic duel

PCMag editors try to find the line where DJI's Mavic Mini can do just as well as a Mavic Air 2 for roughly half the price. Read more and compare sample videos >

Lifestyle

Deadly development

Add Mexican drug cartels to the growing list of bad actors weaponizing drones. Read more >

Eyes on the flock

Australian farmers are testing unmanned aircraft to surveil sheep. Read more and watch a video >

Public Safety

Tactical BVLOS now an option

Public safety operators flying drones under Part 91 with a certificate of authorization can now obtain advance permission to fly beyond visual line of sight to respond to emergencies. Read more >

'Dragon Eggs' spark fires with purpose

Colorado firefighters are dropping small firebombs from drones to create controlled fires that can help prevent the uncontrolled kind. Read more >

Pandemic relief dollars earmarked for drones

A North Carolina police force will use federal COVID-19 emergency relief funding to purchase new drones, among other items, and plans to use the UAS to monitor social distancing. Read more >

Beefalo hunters

No, that's not a spelling error. A beefalo, which is a cross between bison and domestic cattle, is on the loose in Connecticut and authorities called for air support to find and capture the creature. Read more >

Regulation and Policy

Charges dropped in wildfire flight

The FAA determined that it would be too hard to prove the guilt of a drone pilot suspected of flying over an Arizona wildfire. Read more >

Pentagon signoff

Following prohibition of federal use of Chinese-made drones, the U.S. Department of Defense announced five drones that it will buy. Read more >

News

Suit accuses PrecisionHawk of contract breach

North Carolina-based PrecisionHawk disputed various claims and vowed to defend itself in a lawsuit alleging that PrecisionHawk did not hold up its end of a 2015 contract to purchase Terraserver.com, and other assets, from the plaintiffs. Read more >

Partnering for industrial inspection

DJI and Shell Oil have entered into a partnership to advance the use of drones to inspect manufacturing facilities. Read more >

Banding together to open the black box

Small companies are banding together to battle drone industry giants by using open-source software to break the barriers that proprietary software creates. Read more >

Rust busters

The U.S. Navy hired a Google partner to use drones and powerful analytics to speed the process of spotting rust on ships, a multibillion-dollar problem. Read more >