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DJI drones can start streaming live aerial videos on Facebook (update)
DJI has updated its Go app to add a feature it promised in April: the capability to stream videos over Facebook Live using compatible drones, including the latest Phantom and Inspire. Sure, you can already stream aerial footage of sprawling landscapes, events and whatever you usually cover on YouTube. But the new feature could help expose your work to even more people -- plus, Facebook's probably the best venue to show your videos to your parents and grandparents. Android users will have to wait a bit for the update to go live, but iOS users can update their apps and access the feature right now (or in the near future). In case you'd rather stream via Twitter, though, compatible DJI drones can do live broadcasts via Periscope, as well. Update: It seems Facebook Live integration isn't live for many iOS users just yet. Since our source is a press release from the company itself, we've reached out to DJI to clear things up. We've been told DJI suddenly had to delay the update's roll out. We'll let you know when we hear more. Update 2: A DJI spokesperson told us the iOS update should be out sometime tonight or tomorrow (May 25th).
Periscope users can start broadcasting from DJI drones
You can start streaming videos taken by compatible DJI drones on Periscope. The video streaming team introduced the feature a few days ago, and it's now out on iTunes as part of the app's latest update. You can switch between the drone's camera and your iPhone's anytime, so you can narrate while broadcasting and feature different sights. The latest upgrade also comes with a new Search button that's much easier to use than the app's map interface when looking for videos on specific topics. Now if what you've truly been waiting for is the ability to save your broadcasts forever, which Periscope announced at the same time, don't worry. While it's not officially available yet, you can test it out anytime without even having to update your application.
Periscope will add DJI drone streaming and broadcast saving soon
Today Periscope announced that later this week it will be implementing support for live streaming from DJI drones via iPhones and that it will soon start saving all videos by default. The Twitter-owned service also said that users will be able to search for broadcasts based on topic hashtags like #Travel, #Music and #Food. It will also launch special topics like "GoPros and Drones" and "First Scope."
As drones get smarter, so must their owners
On Sunday, April 17th, British Airways flight BA727 from Geneva to London was coming in for a landing when the pilot saw something -- reportedly a drone -- strike the front of the aircraft. The collision was said to have happened above Richmond Park, an area where drone flying is prohibited (but not because of its proximity to the airport). Perhaps more worrying was that the impact happened at 1,700 feet -- well above the 400-foot height limit for all drone flights in the UK, even in permissible areas. Fortunately, BA727 landed safely and without incident. It was also probably a false alarm. But with more and more amateur drone pilots taking to the skies, how long until it happens for real?
UF researchers let people race drones using their minds
As drone racing gets faster, cheaper and more mainstream, it was only a matter of time before drone pilots ditched the controller and made the leap to an actual brain-computer interface, as these researchers from the University of Florida did last week.
DJI's pro M600 drone adapts to the camera it's carrying
DJI might be most well known for its ubiquitous Phantom series of quadcopters, but the company makes professional drones and camera kit, too. The latest addition to the pro line is the $4,599 Matrice 600 (M600), a hexacopter that adjusts how it flies automatically, depending what it's carrying. The M600 is also joined by and update to the Osmo hand-held rig, and a new version of its popular Ronin gimbal, as the company reveals its latest professional tools at this year's NAB show.
DJI's drones will stream live video over Facebook
Now that Facebook can stream live video through virtually any device, you're going to find those live feeds coming from unusual places... including overhead. DJI is promising an update in late April that will let you stream its drones' video through Facebook Live, making it comparatively easy to share those dramatic skyline shots with your friends. The feature will work for any model that plays nicely with the DJI Go mobile app, which largely includes recent Phantom and Inspire drones. While you could stream to YouTube before, this definitely widens the playing field -- there's a better chance that more of your social circle will witness your aerial exploits.
DJI app helps you find fellow drone lovers
There's a social network for everything. Dog owners, foodies, gamers -- you name it, there's an app that will connect you with like-minded people. So of course, it was inevitable that one would eventually be made for drone owners too. DJI has taken the plunge with DJI+Discover, a major update to its DJI Store app on iOS and Android. It allows anyone to create a profile and connect with fellow drone enthusiasts, whether that's simply to hang out, get tuition or ask which model you should be buying next.
DJI will supply drones for European emergency missions
While aerial drones are opening up a whole new world for consumers, organizations are also quietly working out the best way to deploy them in high-impact situations. The UAE's Drones for Good competition, for example, awarded $1 million to the makers of a rescue UAV that can search buildings, but drone maker DJI now wants to help set the rules for how and when they should be deployed. The company has teamed up with European Emergency Number Association (EENA) to create a set of best practices for response teams all over the globe.
FAA considers rules allowing small drones to fly over people
Late last year the FAA implemented rules on drone registration, and now its working group of experts has submitted another set of recommendations. This time the focus is on rules for unmanned aircraft flights over people (who aren't directly involved in the flight of the aircraft), and just as earlier rumors indicated, the group decided that the best way to set regulations is based on the weight of the machine in question. Small drones weighing under 250g (0.55 pounds) could fly over people, depending on their design, while larger drones up to 4 - 5 pounds (the DJI Phantom 4 pictured above weighs 3 pounds) could do the same, depending on their design, if they stay 20 feet overhead or 10 feet away laterally.
Drone makers form their own political lobbying group
Big drone makers aren't satisfied with existing efforts to get in the US government's good books, apparently. DJI, 3D Robotics, GoPro and Parrot have forged the Drone Manufacturers Alliance to lobby for a "carefully balanced regulatory framework" that makes sure drones are "safely integrated" into American skies. In plainer language, they want to make sure that regulation doesn't run counter to their interests -- they don't want their business to fizzle out because of a future law.
DJI goes after Yuneec with patent infringement suit
Drones are a mainstream item in today's tech world, and two rival UAV makers are heading to court. DJI filed a patent infringement lawsuit in California against Yuneec for violating two of its patents. The company claims that Yuneec is selling products that infringe on one or more patents it holds regarding target tracking and an "interchangeable mounting platform." DJI seeks stop any sales of products that make use of its intellectual property.
Watch an autonomous drone deftly avoid obstacles
Skydio, an aerial drone startup, recently released an impressive highlight reel of its first UAV nimbly avoiding obstacles as it followed a group of cyclists during their ride through Menlo Park, California. Unlike the new DJI Phantom 4, which will simply halt its forward progress and try to fly over an obstruction, Skydio's unnamed prototype barrels right through them.
DJI's Phantom 4 comes with obstacle avoidance and 'speed' mode
Smarter, leaner, faster, stronger? That's the promise with DJI's Phantom 4, announced today, in what appears to be the most significant upgrade to the range yet. DJI's flagship consumer drone doesn't just get an aesthetic make over (though it did finally get one, of sorts), it also sports some new technology not even found on many pro craft: obstacle avoidance. There's also a new vision-based smart follow feature and a bevy of other upgrades. Let's get right into it.
DJI offers crash insurance for drones
What often gets lost in the excitement of buying a drone is that there's a solid chance you're going to crash and destroy it. Since that would be $500-plus down the drain, DJI has launched DJI Care, an insurance program for its Phantom 3 and Inspire 1 drones. One year of coverage costs $129 for the $499 Phantom 3 Standard and maxes out at $699 for the $3,099 Inspire 1 v2.0 drone. For that sum, you'll be covered for "dropping, squeezing or crashing caused by operator error or other accidents," according to DJI. The coverage extends to the aircraft, gimbal or camera, but not to accessories like the propellers, battery or remote control.
Watch DARPA's tiny drone do 45 MPH indoors, autonomously
It's been a bit since we last saw DARPA's bird-of-prey inspired drone system, but the government's mad science wing hasn't been sitting idle. The Fast Lightweight Autonomy program recently took one of its drones on an indoor test flight where there little quadrocopter that could zoomed around a cluttered warehouse in a Cape Cod Air Force base at 45 MPH -- the target speed and environment the outfit was aiming for back in 2014.
Confusion over FAA drone registry results in privacy problems
Correction: This story states that the FAA's new drone registry database is searchable and exposes the private data of citizens and hobbyists. Currently, this is incorrect. The drone registry is not searchable at this time, as stated by the FAA's website -- though the agency has also said it will be searchable in the future. What is searchable is the registry for commercial plane operators, which can be easily confused with the new drone database. The results for private citizens that turned up in searches were found due to drone owners mistakenly registering their aircraft in the wrong database -- one intended for tracking commercial craft -- which left their information exposed.
DJI and Ford want to launch drones from moving vehicles
Ford and DJI, best known as Phantom drones' creator, want to help the United Nations with their search-and-rescue missions. In particular, they want to provide UN's first responders with UAVs that can take off from moving vehicles -- and they need your help to make that a reality. The two companies have teamed up for this year's DJI Developers Challenge, wherein participants will have to create an app that gives drones the capability to take off from and return to moving Ford F-150 trucks.
DJI's latest drones are made for 4K video pros
Now that there's a budding market for movie-making drones, DJI is determined to seize the moment. It's releasing a trio of camera drones that cater to pros wanting the best possible aerial shots. The Phantom 3 4K upgrades the regular Phantom 3 with shooting in official DCI 4K formats, and rolls in a range-extended WiFi link that lets you control the drone from much further away -- 3,937 feet, to be exact. The black Inspire 1 Pro, meanwhile, gives you a high-quality 16-megapixel camera in a stealthier, more sinister-looking design. The Phantom 3 4K is relatively affordable for personal at $999, but you'll likely have to be a full-on filmmaker to justify the Inspire 1 Pro's $4,499 price tag.
Drone-maker DJI starts testing GPS-based flight restrictions
After some rather high-profile incidents of drones ending up where they don't belong, manufacturers rushed to find a solution. Otherwise they might have found themselves on the wrong side of some very tough legislation. DJI just launched its solution, Geospatial Environment Online or GEO. It's a geofencing system that keeps your drone from taking off in restricted areas... unless you have a verified DJI account and a credit card on file that is. See, while you can't just go out and fly through Washington DC willy nilly, you can promise to be financially accountable and DJI will turn off the restrictions temporarily.Right now GEO is in beta, so you'll have to either request access to the app on iOS by emailing flysafe@dji.com or you can download the Android APK directly. You'll also need to update the firmware on your drone. If you're not the type to mess with potentially unstable software, don't worry, the final version shouldn't be too far behind.
