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Over the last few years, the exciting convergence of drones and artificial intelligence (AI) has brought about groundbreaking transformations in multiple industries, from agriculture and surveillance to logistics and disaster relief.

Through its commitment to open-source software, the foundation is driving advancements in aerial robotics, a term that has become synonymous with drones, reflecting their growing capabilities and the blending of robotics communities.

"the prospect of using robotics and related systems in place of human intelligence to perform tasks and solve problems is seen by many as key to increasing efficiency, enhancing safety, and delivering exceptional return on investment in a broad range of commercial operations."

In recent years, the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) with drone technology has ushered in a new era of innovation across diverse industries. This powerful combination is reshaping traditional practices and opening up new possibilities for sectors from energy and utilities to surveillance and weather forecasting and beyond.

According to the World Bank's Food Security Update 2023, food insecurity is on the rise across the globe. Among the more promising solutions being proposed is better data analytics of crops and soil, which is also being tied to the rise in data collection done with drone technology.

Today marks another day of progress for hundreds of software engineers working worldwide on the challenge of how to create reliable and highly-flexible digital infrastructure for the coming eVTOL age.

Better weather sensing could reduce 'weather tax' in the form of delays and cancellations.

AURA Network Systems (AURA)  has closed a $30.9 million Series A funding round. "It is the latest milestone for the company, which operates the nation's only coast- to-coast network designed to solve one of aviation's most pressing problems: How to enable the commercial viability of the Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) market by providing secure and reliable voice and data communications," says the funding announcement.

DRF aims to achieve the full potential of future air mobility through a self-sustaining decentralized ecosystem for data and reasoning service exchange. Data & reasoning service providers, infrastructure providers, and relevant local-to-federal government organizations can participate in DRF to exchange information necessary to support future air mobility.

ANRA Technologies will partner with RI&S and other program participants, including Virginia Tech, SkyGrid and Tomorrow.io, to test technologies that will support scalable, safe and compliant BVLOS drone operations at low altitudes.

The Unmanned Aerial Systems industry has been clear that the #1 factor holding back growth is a lack of clarity. Through FAA programs like Data Exchange and UAS Service Suppliers (USSes), the federal government is meeting its commitments to support the industry with regulations addressing operations in controlled airspace. Now, Virginia is helping to provide clarity at the state and local levels.

Microdrones is pleased to announce the publication of the 2021 Field-Tested Field Proven Journal and the digital edition is now available to download for FREE.
This is the 3rd edition of our Annual Drone Surveying Equipment and Technology Journal where surveying and geospatial professionals can read about drone surveying case studies and user applications. The Journal also explores new drone surveying equipment from Microdrones along with their features and capabilities.

Autonomous inspection leader Percepto has announced that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has approved Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations for Delek US Holdings' refineries in Tyler, Texas and El Dorado, Arkansas. The facilities were inspected by Percepto drones, which provided visual data management and analysis. This BVLOS approval positions Delek US's refineries as the first to receive such an approval, as well as one of the first among US energy companies. This is only the latest of many operational approvals to be received by Percepto customers,such as Florida Power & Light, Verizon Skyward, and other industrial sites in Australia, Italy, Spain, Norway, Portugal and Israel.

UAS (unmanned aerial systems) service providers Soaring Eagle Imaging (SEI) from Brandon, Mississippi and Skynetwest from Chandler, Arizona, today announced a definitive agreement to become a leading drone data collection and processing company with the creation of Soaring Eagle Technologies (Soaring Eagle). The company, owned and operated by Houston-based Iapetus Holdings LLC (Iapetus), will lead the charge in markets such as critical infrastructure inspections and reporting.

The Stearns County Sheriff's Office is asking for public comment on a new statute for its UAV or "Unmanned Aerial Vehicle" program. The department has used UAVs or drones for several years in various ways, but a change in Minnesota State Statute shows that the department now needs to accept public comment on the policy outlining how drones will be used.

A Chattanooga-based company is using satellite technology to help farmers in the Sequatchie Valley.

The U.S. Army has teamed up with experts from academia to develop a 3D-printed device carried on drones that can detect potentially lethal aerosols.

AgEagle Aerial Systems Inc., a provider of UAVs and advanced aerial imagery, data collection and analytics solutions, will locate and expand its manufacturing operations in Wichita, Kansas.

When you hear about people looking at "the big picture" before making a decision, it might mean looking at 21,200 pictures in Dyer, Indiana. That's how many images are compiled using unmanned aerial vehicle technology to give town officials a single clear picture of the lay of the land.

PrecisionHawk has been awarded two patents for technologies it has developed for UAS traffic management (UTM).

A new wide-area motion imagery sensor could make the R1-21A Blackjack an even more powerful tool for the war fighter, allowing the small UAV to simultaneously monitor 5 square miles.

The Department of Homeland Security is warning US police that surveillance drones made by Chinese company DJI are "at risk" of having their data intercepted, The New York Post has learned.

Iris Automation has launched its new Waiver Resource Center, which gives UAS operators access to expertise and tools for managing the complex waiver submission process for all beyond visual line of sight operations.

While we're preparing to launch a six-wheeled robotic rover roughly the size of a car to explore Mars, future planetary exploration and science missions could employ much smaller hardware — including, potentially, swarms of robots the size of insects designed to act in concert with one another autonomously.

Teams from Swift Tactical Systems, in partnership with its Japanese counterpart, Swift-Xi, both subsidiaries of Swift Engineering, completed a multiphase study, enabling government officials to make critical decisions regarding the ongoing safety of its citizens.

The power industry was an early adopter of drone technology, but in this insider piece Andre Louis-Ferdinand says that the sector continues to find new applications and new uses for drones – especially in these challenging times.

Oklahoma State University researchers, along with Oklahoma City-based Vigilant Aerospace Systems, have been testing detect-and-avoid software to allow for extended unmanned drone flights.

As the coronavirus lockdown stretches on with no certain end in sight, remote technologies, virtual services, and business delivery systems using drones that promote social distancing while sustaining some level of economic activity are experiencing an unsurprising boom.

The Federal Aviation Administration will give nearly $2.6 million in grants to universities for research into drones, including Kansas State University.

To support the growing use of unmanned systems across the agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is establishing a new Unmanned Systems Operations Program. The program will support the "safe, efficient and economical operation" of unmanned systems (UxS) that it uses to collect high-quality environmental data for its science, products and services.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles provide visual and infrared information as they hover above, but researchers at Purdue University say UAVs, or drones, can also help self-driving cars and robots to hear and see.

The FAA is working through more than 53,000 comments on its proposed approach to remote identification for remote aircraft and hopes to issue a final ruling before the end of the year, according to FAA administrator Stephen Dickson — although that timeline will likely be affected by the global coronavirus outbreak.

Drones are becoming critical across precision ag, integrating with other sensors and providing growers with information they didn't have access to before, often in real time. Targeted, automated and varied application possibilities abound, from identifying disease and spotting weeds to recognizing drainage issues to letting farmers know when it's time to harvest.

Unmanned aerial vehicles have found use in agriculture for decades, with unmanned helicopters spraying pesticides on rice fields in Japan back in the 1980s. Now, to have drones reach their full potential in farming, research is increasingly pushing toward beyond visual line of sight operations.

Some small railroad lines that became early adopters of basic drone technology to aid in infrastructure inspections have turned to engineering firms with specialized drone operations to harness the full potential of unmanned aerial vehicles for rail bridge inspections.

Satellite companies have begun launching thousands of low-orbiting spacecraft built to offer internet connections and streaming media to air passengers, maritime travelers, and people in remote and underserved areas. But the advanced connectivity created by these systems and supported by their target markets can also make it possible for drone operators to quickly transmit, process and return data for the still-nascent agricultural drone sector.

A team of researchers at National Tsing Hua University has recently developed an artificial intelligence chip that mimics the optical nerves of the fruit fly, allowing drones to automatically avoid obstacles while remaining in an ultra-power-saving mode.

Under both Soviet and independent governments, the manufacturer now known as Antonov State Enterprise has produced 22,000 cargo, transport and passenger planes—including the An-225 Mriya, likely the world's biggest and heaviest aircraft. So, perhaps it shouldn't have been surprising when a very large UAV crop duster loomed at the entrance to the floor of the Commercial UAV Expo in Las Vegas.

More than 34,000 people have deluged the FAA with comments over a proposed regulation that would require almost every drone in the sky to broadcast its location over the Internet at all times. The comments are overwhelmingly negative.

Eight startup teams for the next Air Force Research Laboratory Commercialization Academy cohort were announced by the Griffiss Institute. The companies, developing innovations in the cyber security, big data analytics, information systems, and theUAS industry, were selected from a pool of applicant submissions.

Drone inspections play a vital role in preventive maintenance of vertical structures, ships, worksites and horizontal infrastructure like railroad tracks and power lines. Therefore, connected drones are the next phase of this technology.

The FAA draft drone remote identification rules are finally out. They're well thought out and implementable, according to Gen. James Poss (Ret), except for a few major exceptions,

A University of Kentucky professor's research is using unamned aerial vehicles to research and monitor the location and health of cows.

Global management consulting powerhouse Accenture in Belgium & Luxembourg (BeLux) is one of the companies that is spearheading the use of drones in construction and engineering. And now, they are working to deliver digital solutions, intelligent capabilities, and deep industry expertise to the property & casualty insurance industry with the goal of making things easier for all those concerned after an auto accident.

A Texas A&M researcher and corn breeder recently called upon the agricultural scientific community to address the lack of plans or infrastructure to catalogue and make agricultural data colleced by drones accessible for future research and synthesis.

The FAA could make better use of the data it collects from the nine test sites as part of its UAS Integration Pilot Program, according to the Government Accountability Office.

RedTail LiDAR Systems of Fairmont, West Virginia, recently demonstrated the value of its precision-ag UAS technology by sharing some UAS Christmas spirit with a near neighbor, the Mt. Zion Nursery.

To advance public safety among recreational drone operators, the Federal Aviation Administration is currently developing an Unmanned Aircraft Systems aeronautical knowledge test. 

Anheuser Busch InBev is turning to drones to ensure the stability of its barley acres. Through a long-term partnership with Minneapolis-based Sentera, AB InBev will utilize the expertise of Sentera and its understanding of drones, weather data, satellite imagery and mobile phone imagery.

 As more unmanned aircraft begin operating, there are four key technologies that will help ensure the safety and security of our airspace.