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Drones that charge on power lines may not be the best idea
Scientists have developed a system that lets drones autonomously charge by hooking onto power lines, potentially allowing them to remain in operation indefinitely.
Drone deliveries are making their case in a crisis
It’s no surprise, then, that drone deliveries have taken so long to truly take off worldwide. Take Matternet. Matternet’s contributions could go even further. Matternet’s hospital payloads are given a similar wipe down. The uptick in Wing deliveries isn’t surprising.
Skydio 2 review: The best self-flying drone is now a great all-rounder
Around a year and a half ago, Skydio blew my mind. The then-unknown company presented the R1 drone to the world, and it was quite special. Typically, follow features and obstacle avoidance aren't very effective, or only work in certain modes (i.e. with compromises). Skydio's R1 put these features front and center, and it did them incredibly well. But there were still caveats. The R1 was prohibitively expensive ($2,499 at launch), large, clunky and limited in what it could do beyond all that following and obstacle avoiding. Enter the Skydio 2, the company's second take on a drone. It's cheaper, smaller and much more versatile. The hope is that it will be the much-needed DJI rival we deserve, and I'm excited about it enough to say right here that it is. But, and yes there are some buts, it still has some edges that need smoothing out. I'll get to those in good time, but for now, let's start with the positives.
Parrot's latest drone includes an immersive cockpit headset
Parrot launched its 4K Anafi drone last year with the view to balancing a decent camera and plenty of features with a price tag that wasn't prohibitively expensive. Its latest model, the Anafi FPV, does the same, but with a heap more fun, focusing on total "flying immersion" via a cockpit glasses headset.
'Flying battery' drone can apparently hover non-stop for two hours
A startup called Impossible Aerospace claims its "flying battery" drone has a flight time of up to two hours. If that holds true, the US-1 will be able to stay in the air almost five times longer than many other drone makers' devices before you have to recharge the battery system.
Pro drone racing confronts its amateur roots
"The drone racing league is a sport. We are a league. We do an annual season. We have a clear rule system and scoring system," Nick Horbaczewski, founder and CEO of the Drone Racing League (DRL), enthuses in a small business suite located on the second floor of the Circus Circus Casino in Las Vegas. With a deal with ESPN in the bag, his league is poised to bring the sport mainstream, and within moments of our introduction, he's let me know he's serious.
Parrot's Anafi 4K drone is much more than a flying toy
Drones come in many shapes and sizes. At their most affordable, drones are fun flying toys. And for industrial uses or professional filmmakers, you've got specialist machines that can run well into tens of thousands of dollars. Parrot's new $700 Anafi falls somewhere in between, balancing a decent camera and plenty of features with a price tag that isn't prohibitively expensive.
Skydio R1 review: The ultimate follow-me drone comes at a price
In a park, perched on San Francisco's East Bay, I set down Skydio's R1 drone, open an app on my phone, click "launch" and do something I would normally never do. I walk straight under a tree, knowing full well that the R1 will follow me and that the branches are directly in its flight path; I am trying to make it crash. I fail. I repeat this task a few more times, even with the drone flying backward, but try as I might, the R1 slips right under (and sometimes over) the tree's canopy. I am doing nothing but walking, no controller or phone in my hand; the R1 is figuring this all out by itself. Should I be surprised at this? In theory, no. When drone newcomer Skydio recently revealed the self-flying R1 ($2,499), the main selling point was its superior ability to follow a target and avoid obstacles at speed. But drones have offered various versions of follow-and-avoid for a while, and in my experience, none has really nailed it. Hence my surprise at how deftly the R1 avoided Californian topiary, right out of the box.
Air Hogs' Supernova packs motion controls in a kid-friendly drone
Toy drones have been cheap and plentiful over the past few years, but it's really hard for new products to stand out from the pack when they need to keep the price down and can't throw in premium features like a 4K camera. But that hasn't stopped Spin Master from trying new things with its Air Hogs line: At this week's Toy Fair, the company is debuting its first motion-controlled model, the Supernova. It's not quite DJI's Mavic Air, but it's still got some sweet moves to show off in a more kid-friendly form factor.
Pros and cons: Our quick verdict on DJI's Mavic Air
If you have a checklist for a camera drone, it probably includes things like portability, image quality, battery life and cost. DJI has been in the game long enough to know the things you want, and the result is the Mavic Air. Not to give you any spoilers, but the Mavic Air does well on all the above, and offers a whole lot more to boot. It's not all up-sides though (okay, it is mostly upsides, but you'll probably want to watch our "pros and cons" video above all the same).
DJI Mavic Air review: Aerial photography's next small thing
When DJI revealed the Mavic Pro in late 2016, it ended up being a turning point for the company. DJI was already the dominant name in consumer drones thanks to the Phantom series, but the Mavic Pro was cheaper, smaller and downright meaner-looking. The combination of price, features and cool-factor made it an instant success. Then there was the Spark, which was smaller, but less powerful and lacked some of the basic features that a budding aerial photographer wants. Enter the Mavic Air, a quadcopter that slots between the Mavic Pro and Spark on DJI's roster.
DJI's $799 Mavic Air drone is a tiny creative powerhouse
Yesterday's leak might have spoiled the surprise, but DJI was still enthusiastic about unveiling its new Mavic Air drone in rainy New York this morning. While last year's Spark was all about making drones accessible to a new generation of pilots, the $799/£769 Mavic Air (pre-orders are open now with shipments starting January 28th) is a high-performance creative machine that just happens to be incredibly small. When folded up, the Mavic Air is about as tall and wide as a smartphone -- it's so tiny, in fact, that a spokesperson had a few crammed into his vest without looking the least bit frumpy.
UVify's Oori is a 60MPH micro-drone that leaves others in the dust
At last year's CES, drone newcomer UVify made a splash with its speedy Draco racing quad, so much so that we gave it the Best Drone award in the official Best of CES awards. This year, the team is back with a new quadcopter called Oori, and it promises to be just as much fun.
DJI forces UK pilots to sit a ‘knowledge quiz’ before takeoff
If you're hoping for a DJI drone this Christmas, be prepared for one teeny-tiny roadblock as you rush into the back garden with controller in hand. Today, the company has announced a mandatory "Knowledge Quiz" for all of its customers in the UK. It will live in the DJI GO 4 app — which is basically required to use the company's snap-on controller — and pose eight questions about safe, common sense flying. In short, you won't be able to fly until you've answered them all successfully. So if you haven't already, it's worth swatting up on our handy guide to UK drone regulations.
UK lifeboat crew tests drones as search and rescue helpers
Drones are becoming an important part of the emergency services. Police are using them to search for missing people, while fire departments test them as a tool to survey dangerous sites. Until now, however, we haven't seen or heard about them being used by the coastguard. That all changes today, however, as a lifeboat service in Norfolk, England, has started using them in open water. As the BBC reports, they're equipped with cameras that can live-stream footage to monitors inside the boat. They could prove useful in choppy conditions when the crew can't see above the waves.
Drone Racing League sets Guinness record for fastest flight
The team behind the Drone Racing League (DRL), which is in the midst of its second aired racing season, have just set a Guinness World Record for the fastest battery-powered remote-controlled quadcopter. The drone earning the title is the DRL RacerX, which was designed and built by Ryan Gury, DRL's director of product, and the company's team of engineers.
Flying a DJI Spark by waving your hand isn't as great as it sounds
DJI's Spark is the company's first attempt at a true drone for everyone. DJI has made no secret about the fact it thinks non-RC enthusiasts want a lightweight, compact quadcopter that's easy to control. That's exactly what the Spark is. But after spending some time with it (and a Mavic Pro, for comparison), I'm torn. The Spark is, indeed, incredibly fun, simple to use and easy to carry around. But, the gesture controls aren't as useful, or reliable enough for new pilots. And therein lies the dilemma.
DJI's palm-sized Spark drone delivers epic selfies
Everyone loves taking selfies, even if they don't like to admit it. And if you're looking to take those snaps of yourself to the next level, DJI's new, cutesy Spark drone may be just for you. The company's latest drone is designed to fit on the palm of your hand and can be controlled with motion gestures, letting you take some over-the-top pictures and videos without much effort. You can wave your hand to have move it up or down, right or left and pull it toward or away from you, while a quick gesture that resembles you taking a picture will trigger the camera's selfie mode. The only drawback to this is that the Spark can only go up to 10 feet away from you, and that's where the Spark's companion app and remote control come in.
Virtual 'top hats' ensure swarming drones won't crash
Drone swarms can be used for lots of things, like creating holograms, putting on a Superbowl halftime show or collecting military intelligence. One of the problems with a bunch of quadcopters executing maneuvers in close proximity, however, is that they can crash when they touch or fly under each other. Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have found a way to avoid both issues by creating a virtual bumper area around each copter so that they don't accidentally touch. They've also ensured that each copter has a little "top hat" of space above it so it won't go underneath another drone and get caught up in its airflow.
DJI's first-person goggles look to the future of drone flight
The new DJI Goggles put you in the cockpit of a quadcopter, giving you a first-person, VR-like experience in the real world. The goggles have a couple of screens through which you can see whatever the drone's camera is pointing at. You can even control where the camera is pointed simply by moving your head. While we were able to take a quick test-drive of this immersive headset last summer, the company's been rather coy about sharing specifics. Now, though, DJI has revealed a more detailed set of features for its goggles, as well as information on the new Ronin 2, an image-smoothing gimbal rig for professional filmmakers.
