We recently heard from an interesting company Swissdrones that creates unmanned helicopters that are used for a variety of applications.  With a stated range of 20 km (about 13 miles) and a payload of up to 45 kg (or about 100 pounds).  This application was in a joint operation with the Swiss Federal Office for Civil Protection (FOCP) and was used to detect radiation. As they describe it: “The SwissDrones SDO 50 V2 helicopter drone was deployed in a joint operation with the Swiss Federal Office for Civil Protection (FOCP) to detect and measure radioactive particles. Watch the video t ..read more

Here is a copy of the presentation of the 2018 Xcellence Awards awarded by AUVSI, and brought to you by Roswell Flight Test Crew The awards were given out in the following categories: 1.) Technology Innovation 2.) Remote Identification 3.) Detect and Avoid 4.) Cyber Security 5.) Counter UAS and Security 6.) Innovative Unmanned Solutions 7.) Training and Education Organizations 8.) Operations and Safety Both our Editor in Chief and I helped out with the judging of some of these categories. It was harder than you might think to judge.  Not to give too much away but be sure to congratu ..read more

As drones become more and more ingrained in a variety of applications,  here is a good example of how drones are changing the way to business is done.  Who wants to crawl in a tank for an inspection, if you do not need to? Here is a release from Avetics Global on it’s award for In-tank inspection.   April, 2018:  Netherlands. Avetics Global has won the Most Innovative Technology Award at the 2018 Tank Storage Awards held in Rotterdam for its Aquila In-Tank Inspection Drone, with the panel of judges selecting it against a crowded field of thirteen competitors from around the ..read more

April 1, 2018,  Magnus Sigerson,  the world famous Norwegian explorer,  has quietly been trying to prove for the last decade that Vikings were the first people to circumnavigate the world and has come up with a new twist.  Drones. Sigerson, who’s relations include the famous Sigerson mentioned in the Sherlock Holmes story The Empty House,  told us,  “For a number of years we have been trying to get the financial resources to be able to recreate a circumnavigation of the globe using a traditional Viking craft.  There were many challenges, financial, find ..read more

The following is a guest post by Blue Label Labs Editor Rae Steinbach.  Originally published in DroneLife.com Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, commonly known as drones, have become a big business over the last few years, and the market is still continuing to grow. Business Insider predicts sales to grow beyond $12 billion in the year 2021. While drones already have a number of applications, a businesses can hire a programmer who can apply Augmented Reality to the technology in order to expand the possibilities. When combined with AR, drones can be equipped with an advanced range of capabili ..read more

At an event today in the headquarters of the Menlo Park fire department in California, DJI and thermal imaging specialists FLIR unveiled the latest result of their partnership: The Zenmuse XT2. Setting the standard for the next generation of aerial imaging The Zenmuse XT2 is a dual vision camera that combines thermal and visual sensors. The visual camera offers 4K video and 12mp stills from its 1/1.7″ CMOS sensor. With the second thermal camera, both can record and stream at the same time, allowing teams on the ground to compare a live feed with a thermal one in real time. DJI and FLIR ..read more

With the Women and Drones Women to Watch contest up and running, we couldn’t resist featuring another great group of drone photographers: the Drone Girls.  Check out these amazing images and follow these six rising stars as they make their mark in drone photography. The following is a guest post by aerial photographer and Drone Girls founder Serena Coady. 6 Female Drone Photographers to Look Out For in 2018 Drone photography is on the rise internationally. As UAVs evolve and become more readily available, the popularity of mesmerizing birds-eye imagery grows. So too does the number of ..read more

Former FAA Administrator Michael Huerta, now a Senior Advisor at Macquarie Capital, joins other drone industry leaders on the Industry Advisory Board of InterDrone, the world’s largest commercial drone conference. The show’s new owners, Emerald Expositions, has built an impressive resource. “The board consists of 19 members from industry-leading companies to analysts, and former FAA employees and administrators, including Michael Huerta,” says the announcement.  Other members include representatives from major companies in the industry like PrecisionHawk, AT&T, Aerovironment, and DJI ..read more

A new drone market research report makes the largest and boldest prediction yet for the drone industry, which the report predicts will exceed $50 billion in the next 7 years.  Researchers expect that North America will lead the market this year. “The North American region is estimated to lead the UAV market in 2018,” say researchers. “The US and Canada are key countries considered for market analysis in this region. Increase in defense World Image by By Strebe (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 ] expenditures of the US and Canada and the presence of major UAV manufacturers in North Americ ..read more

In most places, commercial drone operation requires certification; and in the United States, that’s a Part 107 Remote Pilot’s Certificate from the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA.)  Many drone purchasers, however, are unaware of the existing laws that apply to drone operation.  Offering clarity and emphasizing safety, the FAA has published a Fact Sheet about Part 107 Requirements.  (The Fact Sheet can be found here, the full text of Part 107 is published online here.) A rash of recent reports blaming drones for interfering with manned aircraft has led to concerns that a few rogu ..read more