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
Drone Industry
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
“Hammer Down”: FCC Moves to Open 50 MHz of Spectrum for Drones
October 29 vote will also consider new restrictions on foreign electronics testing and certification laboratories. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) plans to vote on new rules that would open 50 MHz of low-band spectrum for commercial drone operations. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr announced the upcoming vote in an October 7 blog post titled “Hammer Down.” The … [Read more...] about “Hammer Down”: FCC Moves to Open 50 MHz of Spectrum for Drones
The Drone Industry Is More Global Than You Think
LexisNexis patent analysis finds China leads in patent volume, while U.S. patent strength has caught up and emerging drone IP spans six countries For years, DJI has been the dominant manufacturer in the commercial drone market. Now, U.S. policy is pushing the domestic market toward a broader supply chain. In December 2025, the Federal Communications Commission added … [Read more...] about The Drone Industry Is More Global Than You Think
Guest Post: Why Drones May Change How We Operate in the Atmosphere
Commercial drones have made their name by observing the world below. Now a new class of missions is moving the aircraft up into the atmosphere itself. The Utah Division of Water Resources is exploring drone-based cloud seeding to replace the crewed aircraft it tested from 2022 to 2025. That puts unmanned aircraft at the meeting point of aviation, meteorology, autonomy and water … [Read more...] about Guest Post: Why Drones May Change How We Operate in the Atmosphere
