Small drone manufacturer finds its market niche By DRONELIFE Features Editor Jim Magill In business, sometimes getting in on the ground floor of an emerging trend is the key to success – even for a company whose business is manufacturing flying vehicles. For Ben Harris, founder and CEO of Casselberry, Florida-based Harris Aerial, getting in on the ground floor meant … [Read more...] about Finding a Niche in American Drone Manufacturing: The Harris Aerial Story
Cleaning, Painting, and Beyond: Lucid Bots Expands Its Drone Platform
Student’s vision turns into drone cleaning startup By DRONELIFE Features Editor Jim Magill The inspiration needed to start a successful company can come in many forms. For Andrew Ashur, CEO of Lucid Bots, a manufacturer of cleaning drones and related equipment, inspiration struck when as a junior at Davidson College in North Carolina, he spotted a crew of window washers … [Read more...] about Cleaning, Painting, and Beyond: Lucid Bots Expands Its Drone Platform
Drone Incursions at Wildfires Surge as Aircraft Face More Groundings
Unauthorized drone flights are rising sharply in 2026, disrupting aerial firefighting operations and increasing enforcement efforts. By DRONELIFE Features Editor Jim Magill As the unusually severe wildfire season in the western U.S. continues unabated, the number of incidents of drone incursions interrupting aerial firefighting operations continues to rise. According to data … [Read more...] about Drone Incursions at Wildfires Surge as Aircraft Face More Groundings
Defense-Proven Drone Technology Moves Into the Commercial Market
Utopia Compression brings AI-based passive sensing, navigation and autonomy solutions developed for defense applications to BVLOS, counter-UAS and other commercial drone operations By DRONELIFE Features Editor Jim Magill Utopia Compression, an advanced technology company with more than two decades of experience providing services to the defense sector, is looking to branch … [Read more...] about Defense-Proven Drone Technology Moves Into the Commercial Market
Helping Drones Navigate without GPS
Massachusetts company Skyline Nav AI uses cameras and sensors to guide aircraft when GPS signals are blocked or disrupted By DRONELIFE Features Editor Jim Magill Since it first began to be widely adopted for commercial use in the 1980s, GPS technology has become ubiquitous, helping to facilitate the transportation of everything from passenger cars, to oceangoing ships, to … [Read more...] about Helping Drones Navigate without GPS
