Ukrainian Drone Enthusiasts have been volunteering drones and expertise to help repel Russian forces.  I reached out to Denys Sushko, Head of Operations in Kyiv-based DroneUA, to dig deeper into this story.  Denys sent several pictures and videos that document the efforts of the drone industry to support Ukraine during this conflict.  If you want to further support these efforts, Denys provide the following links for anyone that wants to donate drone equipment or help fund humanitarian...

In this episode, we put the newly signed Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act into context for the drone industry.

LIVE from the Commercial UAV Expo Exhibit Hall in Las Vegas!     For this drone conference interview,  I sat down with a long-time friend and drone visionary, Thomas Haun, COO of Turner Mining Group.  I lost count of how many times I giggled like a schoolgirl during this interview.   We talked about how excited we were to be back in person, how the industry is moving forward, and how we can normalize public perception.   Ein Prosit!   You can learn more about Thomas and Turner Mining...

Scientists in the United Arab Emirates are making it rain using electrical charges from drones to manipulate the weather and force rainfall across the desert region.  All the major news outlets are talking about this!   Learn more here: https://www.uaerep.ae/

That’s right!  Flying cars may be here before you know it!  AirCar, a prototype flying car from Slovakia, moved closer to production this week, fulfilling a key development milestone in a 35-minute flight from the international airport in Nitra to the international airport in Bratislava on June 28th, 2021.

In this innovator interview, I was joined by TWO 3D scanning powerhouses:   Jordan Kock, SolidClouds - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordanjjfkock/ Jonathan Stephens, EveryPoint - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanstephens/  In this interview, we explore their collaboration to bring 3D BIM to the masses. Learn more about SolidClouds, EveryPoint, and this Podcast by visiting our LinkedIn pages:   SolidClouds - https://www.linkedin.com/company/solid-clouds/ EveryPoint -...

The dream of rapid residential drone delivery is quickly becoming a reality.  Walmart has invested in drone delivery company DroneUp following a pilot last year with automated deliveries of COVID-19 nasal swab test kits proving that they can deliver select items to customers in minutes versus hours.  According to Tom Ward, Walmart SVP of Last Mile, “this investment is a natural next step, proving that the opportunity to scale drone delivery is within reach.”

These are the Top 5 Drone MIssion Gotchas according to drone professionals on Clubhouse.  Join us in the Commercial Drone Pilot Club.

In this episode, I will share with you where to invest $100 in a scrappy autonomous drone delivery start-up called Skycart.  Invest as little as $100 here on WeFunder:  www.wefunder.com/skycart

Just over 400 years ago the original Mayflower set sail from Plymouth, United Kingdom bound for Plymouth, MA on a voyage of discovery.  This month, a collaboration of maritime innovators aims to launch a second Mayflower to repeat the journey - this time with no humans aboard.

In Christiansburg, Virginia, Girl Scout cookies are falling from the heavens.  Well, not exactly. They are being delivered not by young girls in uniform but by Google-developed Wing drones, a futuristic twist on how to get your fill of Thin Mints.   Wing, a subsidiary of Google’s parent company Alphabet Inc., reached out to the Girl Scouts of Virginia Skyline about making cookie drops to help boost cookie sales, which are still being impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.  What's your favorite...

The turf war of drone operator versus surveyor has been thrust into the light in the form of new legal battles.  The North Carolina Board of Examiners for Engineers and Surveyors are seeking to prosecute any drone pilot that engages in “mapping, surveying and photogrammetry, stating accuracy, providing location and dimension data and producing orthomosaic maps, quantities, and topographic information.”  As a result, many drone pilots in the state have abandoned drone mapping altogether.

Companies of all kinds are turning to drones to cut costs, increase efficiency, decrease workload or simply do what humans cannot.  The $2.3B recreational drone market and the $30B wearables market could come together to produce something very unique in health and wellness: fitness drones.

Join me on YouTube LIVE on Monday morning to watch the coverage of the Mars Ingenuity Helicopter First Flight!

Drones continue to push the limits of what’s possible.  Silicon Valley-based Skyfront flew from sunrise to sunset (that’s over 13 hours!) covering over 205 miles along the California Coastal Range.  The flight was performed by the Skyfront Perimeter 8, a gasoline-electric hybrid multirotor drone designed to exceed the capabilities of most helicopters.

Many students are still connecting to school from home and those in rural communities struggle without reliable internet; 50% have poor connections that don’t support video or many types of educational software.  Students in rural Wisconsin will soon be getting access to the internet by drone.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Friday her government is supporting a new project using drones designed to monitor and protect the Maui dolphin, one of the world's rarest marine mammals.

Mission controllers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California have received the first status report from the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, which landed Feb. 18, 2021, at Jezero Crater attached to the belly of the agency’s Mars 2020 Perseverance rover. The downlink, which arrived at 3:30 p.m. PST (6:30 p.m. EST) via a connection through the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, indicates that both the helicopter, which will remain attached to the rover for 30 to 60 days, and its base...

Drone delivery on golf courses is gaining momentum quickly because of COVID-19 limiting in-person interaction.  Earlier this week, AgEagle and Valqari demonstrated an innovative drone delivery system to officials at the Sun City Country Club about 30 minutes NW of Phoenix, AZ. Even basketball legend, Michael Jordan, has implemented drone delivery on his ultra-exclusive golf course in South Florida, Grove 23.

2021 has already seen a bunch of records for drone delivery company, Zipline.  They expanded from delivering blood to a wide variety of medical supplies in 2020 and have now delivered over 1,000,000 doses of vaccines.  They also hit 10,000,000 km flown in operations and signed a new contract with Nigeria.

Researchers in China have moved one step closer to making the quantum internet a reality. Using two drones and two ground stations, a team of scientists has successfully beamed entangled photons across a distance of 0.6 miles (1 km). The experiment demonstrates the potential of a mobile quantum network, whereby encrypted information could be sent more securely than the internet we know today.

I have questions about drone insurance.  What is it?  How does it work?  What's covered?  Do I need it?  Today, we chat with Yuval Caspi, a Broker with Skywatch.AI, for a deep dive into the mysterious world of drone insurance.

Welcome to Drone Mapping 101 - Orthomosaics   Join me, a Drone Scientist, each week for a new lesson.  We will cover GCPs, Point Clouds, RTK/PPK, NDVI, Thermography, and more fundamentals of GIS and Remote Sensing.   Designed for commercial drone pilots that want to take their service to the next level!   This lesson is sponsored by Skywatch.AI drone insurance (www.skywatch.ai)

One of the advantages of this year's all-digital CES was a whole new level of on-demand exhibitor access.  During the GM Keynote, CEO Mary Barra unveiled some advanced mobility concepts including the Cadillac VTOL - Vertical Takeoff and Landing.  I know that I'm ready for zero emissions, zero congestion, and zero crashes.  What do you think?