Read or listen to all of the headlines in one place: excerpts from the DRONELIFE drone news of the week, September 23. Click on the titles below for the full story.
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Drone start-up Garuda Aerospace has completed a mapping project of 7,000 villages within Uttar Pradesh under the Svamitva Scheme. The company won the tender from The Survey of India back in September 2021, granting authorization for the deployment of drones for large scale mapping and digitizations of land records in rural areas. This authorization provides land-owners and farmers with precise digital land certificates, as well as an exclusive ID that entitles them to a meticulous layout of their full property. To conduct these mapping operations, Garuda Aerospace deployed 15 fixed-wing drones, each capable of mapping at a speed of 8 to 10 sq kms per hour.
Top Models DJI Drones Ready for Remote ID
Civilian drones and aerial imaging technology leader DJI has become the first drone manufacturer to receive Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approval in compliance with the FAA’s Remote Identification protocol. The Declarations of Compliance granted to DJI pertain to its seven most recent and popular drone models, including the Mini 3 Pro, Avata, Air 2S, Mavic 3, Mavic 3 Cine, M30 and M30T. Newly manufactured models will meet Remote ID requirements, while owners of existing models will have access to a free firmware update, available for download at a later date. The company is also pursuing FAA approval for further drone models, which will be posted on the FAA website upon being approved. Models with Remote ID functionality can be identified by the notation “ASTM F3411-22a-RID-B” included on the drone’s regulatory label.
A Plane in a Backpack? WingXpand Joins Techstars Accelerator Program
St. Louis based drone startup WingXpandhas been chosen from a pool of over 600 international companies to join the world-renowned Techstars LA & Space Accelerator, a three-month program ending with a demo day for the tech and investor communities in December. In partnership with the U.S. Space Force and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the program is working to build the next frontier of aerospace, defense and space technologies.
TS Aerial Media on Dawn of Drones This Week: Training Pilots in Drones as First Responders
Join Dawn and special guest Tonie Smith, CEO TS Aerial Media and Recruiting & Training Manager for Flying Lion, Inc. as we continue Market Use Cases Month on the Dawn of Drones podcast, sponsored by Prestige Air Group / Global Aerial Management Group.
In-Depth Review of the DJI Mini 3 Pro: A Professional Drone for Under $1,000
In May of 2022 DJI released the Mini 3 Pro which started showing up in the wild throughout June and into July. The Mini 3 Pro with DJI RC is a huge upgrade to the Mini 2 which had no obstacle detection and required a cell phone or the expensive DJI Smart Controller to fly. For so many folks the first drone they will ever fly is this miniature “ship” that weighs less than .55 pounds (Yes, this drone weighs just over half a pound and I did call a drone a ship, shoutout to the great Jon McBride). 28 years ago I played EA sports games on my brothers brand new Playstation and 26 years years after releasing the PS1, Sony released the playstation 5 in 2020. DJI released the Phantom in January 2013 and in a little over 9 years the company has reached its “Playstation 5” moment, with the release of the Mini 3 Pro.
Data contribution and app creation platform Navigate has opened its first Data Vault, providing a global audience of drone users with the ability to upload their drone data and gain rewards in the form of Navigate’s native utility token, NVG8. This crowdsourced data will serve to power Navigate Maps, the platform’s constantly-refreshing mapping application.
Airborne Response Acquired by Safe Pro: Mission Critical Drone Services
Miami-based Airborne Response(“Airborne”), a provider of mission critical aerial intelligence drone services, has been acquired by Safe Pro Group Inc, developer of safety and security solutions. Airborne will continue to operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Safe Pro and will consolidate their audited financial reports. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Mayman Aerospace Wins AFWERX Grant for Speeder Air Utility Vehicle, Ultra Compact VTOL
Yesterday, world leader in vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) technology Mayman Aerospace announced its acquisition of US$1.25 million in funding from the AFWERX Agility Prime initiative to aid in the further development of the Speeder AUV (Air Utility Vehicle). Agility Prime puts the U.S. Air Force in contact with companies creating VTOL platforms, and collaborates with them to establish new classes of air mobility systems. AFWERX’s funding demonstrates that the highly adaptable Speeder AUV is a decisive fit for air forces and related military branches.
Optelos Series A Funding: Visual Inspection Data Management and AI Analytics
Leading visual inspection data platform Optelos scores Series A funding. Mitchell Capital, a growth equity investment firm, announced today that it has made an investment in Optelos to fund their growth strategy and to further expand the company’s platform that provides visual inspection data management, AI analytics that transform inspection data into actionable insights.
Introducing the SIRAS UAV: Don’t Miss Teledyne FLIR’s Webinar, September 28
New eVTOL Fixed Wing from DeltaQuad: Expanded Flight Times, Flexible Payloads, and a Lower Cost
Dutch drone manufacturer DeltaQuadhas begun the public beta phase for its Evo model, a new Vertical Takeoff and Landing capable fixed wing electric UAV developed for mapping, inspection, and surveillance. An innovative design built with the latest developments in aerodynamics in mind, the Evo is surpassing previous eVTOL flight times and mission limitations. The aircraft will be made available in configurations for both commercial and military use.
Florida-based startup Undefined Technologies has announced that its Silent Ventus ion propulsion eVTOL drone has cleared an essential test flight. The aircraft met its projected flight time and lifting power, and showcased its flight performance over the course of the 4-1/2 minute flight, demonstrating higher efficiency power delivery systems and noise levels under 75 dB.
Miriam McNabb is the Editor-in-Chief of DRONELIFE and CEO of JobForDrones, a professional drone services marketplace, and a fascinated observer of the emerging drone industry and the regulatory environment for drones. Miriam has penned over 3,000 articles focused on the commercial drone space and is an international speaker and recognized figure in the industry. Miriam has a degree from the University of Chicago and over 20 years of experience in high tech sales and marketing for new technologies.
For drone industry consulting or writing, Email Miriam.
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