We’re also covering a new amendment to add the DJI ban to the Senate NDAA for 2025, a drone residency in Las Vegas, a drone cheating scandal involving the Canadian women’s soccer team, and the FAA’s first ever Category 2 approval for a drone to fly over people.

Now on to the links!

How Drones Protect People from Volcanic Eruptions in Iceland

Most of us have seen epic drone footage of volcanoes erupting in Iceland. But drones are also helping keep people safe during these eruptions. This video from DJI tells the story of the Iceland Civil Protection Drone Unit, which is tasked with monitoring and responding to eruptions in order to protect people from them. Watch the video to learn more about the Unit, and to see how it uses the DJI Dock with the Matrice 30T and the M300 RTK in its work.

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DJI Ban Amendment Submitted for Senate Version of NDAA 2025

Credit: DJI

Last week we reported that the DJI ban might be dead in the water. This was because the Senate version of the NDAA (National Defense Authorization Act) for 2025 didn’t include the Countering CCP Drones Act, the law that calls for banning DJI drones throughout the U.S. Since then, Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) has proposed an amendment that would add that law back in, which means the DJI ban could be back in play. But that doesn’t mean its passage is guaranteed. There is still a long road ahead for the NDAA to get passed, and the ban could be removed from the NDAA well before then.

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First “Drone Residency” Light Show Hits Las Vegas Skies

Want to catch a drone light show? Atomic Golf is hosting what it calls the first ever drone residency show in Las Vegas. The shows take place every Thursday at 9 and 11 p.m. and will be running for 12 weeks. That makes 24 drone light shows total in the residency, which will feature an accumulated total of 5,400 drones.

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Canadian Women’s Soccer Team Used Drones to Spy on Competing Team

This week at the Olympics members of the New Zealand women’s soccer team saw a drone flying over their closed practice session, and complained about this to the Olympic Committee’s integrity unit. New Zealand was scheduled to play Canada, the defending Olympic champion, and that team was a clear suspect as the source of the drone flight. Shortly after the New Zealand team filed the complaint, New Zealand got its proof: a 43-year-old Canadian man was given a suspended sentence by a French court for being the pilot of the spying drone. As a result, two staff members from the Canadian women’s team were sent home. Also, the head coach for Canada has decided to step aside for the New Zealand game voluntarily “with the interests of both teams in mind and to ensure everyone feels that the sportsmanship of this game is upheld.” The Canadian man who flew the drone said he was an independent sports analyst for the Canadian federation.

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First Drone/Parachute Combo Approved to Fly Over People without a Waiver

Credit: AVSS

The FAA has approved the first Category 2 drone for operations over people. This means you can fly it over people without getting a waiver, so long as you’re using the approved technology. That technology is the Matrice 3D (or 3DT) along with the DJI Dock 2 equipped with the AVSS PRS-M3DT parachute system. AVSS (Aerial Vehicle Safety Solutions Inc.) recently announced this news, sharing that the FAA granted the company both the first ever Category 2 and Category 3 Declarations of Compliance (DOCs) for its PRS-M3DT drone parachute. These DOCs are a milestone for the drone industry. Granting permission for specific types of operations based on the drone technology people plan to use rather than on a case-by-case basis, and is required in the waiver process, promises to open up a range of drone operations for commercial purposes, making it easier for people to do work with drones.

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The post Drone News Roundup: How Drones Keep People Safe from Volcanoes in Iceland, DJI Ban Back in Play, and More! appeared first on UAV Coach.

We’re also covering news that the man who shot former President Trump flew a drone over the site of the rally before the shooting, Disney snagging a Guinness World Record for a drone light show, a video from Zipline showing how its drones can fly safely alongside crewed aircraft using a proprietary UTM system, and news that the Blue UAS designation isn’t permanent.

Now let’s get to those links!

Follow Mt. Everest Climbing Route with the Mavic 3 Pro

DJI has shared a lot of great drone footage from Mt. Everest in the last few years. Recently, we saw the first drone delivery made there with the DJI Flycart 30. And last year DJI put out a video featuring footage shot high above the famous mountain. Shot by YouTuber @liulangCooki, this new Everest drone video from DJI follows the route climbers take up this famous mountain. Starting at Base Camp at an elevation of 3.3 miles, you go through four different camps, ending on the top at 5.5 miles in the sky. If you’re curious about what’s required to go up Mt. Everest, and what it looks like along the way, this footage is a great overview of that epic journey.

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Trump Shooter Used Drone to Fly Over Rally Site Two Hours Before Assassination Attempt

Credit: Gene J. Puskar / Associated Press

Thomas Matthew Crooks, the shooter who attempted to assassinate former President Trump at a rally on July 13, used a drone to surveil the site beforehand. The rally took place at the Butler fairgrounds in Prospect, Pennsylvania. Around 4 p.m. the day of the rally—just two hours before the shooting—Crooks flew a drone over the fairgrounds, flying about 200 yards from the stage on which Trump would shortly stand. He was in the air for about 11 minutes, and it seems like the goal of the flight was to identify the best position for him to shoot from. It’s now widely acknowledged that the assassination attempt is one of the greatest failures in security that’s ever taken place under the Secret Service’s watch. This drone flight can be seen as part of that failure, since the Secret Service doesn’t seem to have known about it until some time after the shooting. These days, security at high profile outdoor events must include securing the skies. And that means not just during an event but also beforehand, to try and identify those doing this kind of reconnaissance.

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Disney Earns Guinness World Record for Drone Light Show

 

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Disneyland Paris recently broke a Guinness World Record for a drone light show for “Largest aerial display of a fictional character formed by multirotors / drones.” The fictional character in question? Mickey Mouse himself. The giant Mickey was created out of an incredible 1,571 drones in a light show put on to celebrate Bastille Day. The light show was produced in collaboration between Disneyland Paris and global drone light show company Dronisos. Disney is no stranger to drone light shows. It uses them regularly at all of its locations, and has been making some of the biggest and best drone light shows in the world for several years now, with shows that continue to push the boundaries of what the medium can do.

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How Zipline Flies Drones Safely Alongside Other Drones and Crewed Aircraft

UTM (Uncrewed Traffic Management) is air traffic control for drones in the sky. It’s not a new concept—companies have been talking about UTM and making UTM systems for years. And yet actual implementation isn’t so common. But Zipline, the drone delivery company that has made by far the most deliveries in the world, is doing it. This short video explains how Zipline safely gets its delivery drones from one place to another, even in crowded airspace. In Zipline’s approach, its drones break up the flight path into small blocks called “volumes,” then request permission to be in that specific section of airspace at a specific time. UTM reserves the drone’s placement in that airspace at a specific time automatically, allowing it to reroute the path of other drones that may conflict with the original drone’s path.

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Blue UAS Designation May Have Renewal Requirements

The Skydio X2D | Credit: Skydio

Trent Emeneker, DIU Blue UAS program manager, recently shared that getting onto the Blue UAS list doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll stay there. According to Emeneker, there are some Blue UAS platforms that have been on the list for around four years without evolving or remaining competitive in the marketplace. To address the need for innovation and staying current, the DIU (Defense Innovation Unit)—the wing of the DOD that oversees the Blue UAS program—is planning to hold a competitive refresh for Blue UAS this year. The Blue UAS list has continued to expand since launching. Recently, it grew to include three new drones—the Skydio X10D, the Anduril Industries Ghost/Ghost X and the Freefly Systems Astro—as well as growing its list of approved drone components from five to 36.

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The post Drone News Roundup: Full Mt. Everest Climbing Route by Mavic 3 Pro, Trump Shooter Used Drone, and More! appeared first on UAV Coach.

We’re also covering the U.S. Department of Commerce blacklisting Autel, North Carolina’s repeal of its state drone license requirement, DJI’s move into ebikes, and AUVSI’s key takeaways from the FAA Reauthorization bill.

Now let’s get to those links!

July 4th Pyro Drone Light Show

A few weeks back, we covered Sky Elements getting the first authorization from the FAA to launch fireworks from drones—a phenomenon it calls pyro drones—and shared a video of a test the company performed with its new exemption. In this video, Sky Elements puts that permission to use for the first ever public pyro drone display. The show took place to celebrate July 4, featuring a red, white, and blue eagle made of light show drones, which launches fireworks from its wings, making for an incredible spectacle against the backdrop of the night sky.

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Autel Blacklisted by the U.S. Department of Commerce

Credit: Autel

The U.S. Department of Commerce has added Autel Robotics to its entity list, also known as its blacklist. The list contains foreign individuals, companies, and organizations deemed a national security concern. (DJI was added to the list back in 2020.) Being placed on the entity list is not the same as being banned—DJI has continued operating in the U.S. since being placed on the list four years ago. But it will make it harder for Autel to do business in the U.S., requiring the company to jump through more hoops to export its goods. Like DJI, Autel’s addition to the list could signal that it’s the next company to be targeted with bills like the Countering Drones CCP Act, otherwise known as the DJI ban. And that would make sense, given that Autel is the second biggest Chinese drone company operating in the U.S.

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North Carolina Repeals State Drone License Requirement

Image source

North Carolina has repealed its requirement for commercial drone pilots to pass a state knowledge test offered by the North Carolina Department of Transportation’s (NCDOT) to obtain a permit and operate there. The reason for the repeal is simple: the rule hurt the economy. By making it harder to operate drones for work in North Carolina than in other states, the rule effectively drove commercial drone pilots into opening businesses elsewhere, or simply choosing not to operate at all. But the repeal wasn’t inevitable. It required hard work from AeroX, a North Carolina-based nonprofit focused on pushing forward drones and advanced air mobility, which dedicated itself to educating lawmakers about the benefits of drones and the importance of advanced drone operations to the state economy.

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DJI Is Getting into—Wait for It—Ebikes

Credit: DJI

DJI just announced that it’s getting into e-bikes. According to the company, this is a natural move since it has developed advanced battery and motor technology to power its drones and the gimbals they carry. DJI’s foray into the ebike world comes in the form of the Avinox Drive System for a new bike company called Amflow. As you might expect, the Avinox system leverages technology typically found in drones and smartphones, including a 2″ color OLED touchscreen that displays things like real-time riding data, setup options, and the bike’s remaining range. The first electric bike to feature the system will be the Amflow PL, an e-MTB (electric mountain bike), which will launch later this year.

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AUVSI’s Top Takeaways from FAA Reauthorization Bill

AUVSI recently shared some insights about the 2024 FAA Reauthorization Act, which serves as a roadmap for the agency’s upcoming priorities from now through 2028. The two main areas the Reauthorization Act focuses on are BVLOS  for drones and powered lift aircraft (i.e., large VTOL aircraft like drone taxis and others used for cargo delivery).

Here are the key takeaways:

• Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS). The law requires the FAA to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking within 4 months and a final rule within 16 months that establishes acceptable levels of risk for BVLOS operations and provides an approvals process. The uncrewed systems industry broadly agrees that enabling routine operations BVLOS is critical for high-value uses. Examples include inspections and surveying, package delivery, public safety missions, and disaster response.
• Drone Inspection Grants and Educational Programs. The FAA Reauthorization Act establishes a grant program to support the use of drones when inspecting, repairing, or constructing critical infrastructure. The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) will award grants to state, tribal, and local governments to purchase and use drones to increase efficiency, reduce costs, and improve worker safety. It also directs DOT to establish a grant program for educational institutions conducting UAS workforce training.
• Powered Lift Aircraft. The FAA Reauthorization Act requires the FAA to issue a Special Federal Aviation Regulation (SFAR) for the operations of powered lift aircraft within seven months, which will help to meaningfully move the Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) industry forward. The law supports type-specific training and qualification for pilots, which will support the safety of early AAM operations.
• AAM Infrastructure. The FAA Reauthorization Act makes clear that existing infrastructure, in concert with new infrastructure, is eligible for grants under the previously established AAM Infrastructure Pilot Program. It also extends the Pilot Program for two years, through 2026.

AUVSI will be hosting a Drone and AAM Symposium later this month focused on the future of the integration of drones and AAM into the national airspace system. The symposium will feature talks on drone regulations, UAS detection and mitigation, infrastructure, and complex operations.

The event will take place from July 30-August 1 in Baltimore. Follow the link below to learn more.

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The post Drone News Roundup: First Pyro Drone Light Show, Autel Blacklisted, and More! appeared first on UAV Coach.

But it’s true—Commercial UAV Expo 2024 is less than two months away!

And this year’s a big one, with the conference celebrating its 10th year, which is practically a century in the fast-moving world of drone technology.

After the drone conference shakeup that happened during COVID, Commercial UAV Expo has emerged as the clear front runner in the world of drone events. These days, it’s one of the biggest, best U.S. commercial drone conferences you can find.

Every year we start getting excited around now because we know the conference is coming up.

In this post, we’re going to share all the reasons we’re excited for Commercial UAV Expo 2024. If you’re on the fence about attending, this post may help you make a decision. And if you already know you’re going, we hope this post will serve to get you pumped.

When and Where Is Commercial UAV Expo 2024?

As it has been for several years, the conference will be held at Caesars Forum in Las Vegas, NV. The dates this year are September 3 to 5.

Right now you can get early bird pricing for $300 off. This deal is good until July 19.

Learn more about attending, or keep reading for our nine reasons to attend.

9 Reasons to Attend Commercial UAV Expo 2024

Here are the reasons we’re getting excited for the conference this year.

1. Best-in-Class Technology

The exhibition hall is always one of the best parts of any tech-focused conference. And the hall at Commercial UAV Expo is a standout, because all the heavy hitters in the drone industry are there.

This year, the expo will feature over 300 exhibitors showcasing the latest in commercial UAS technology.

The Elios 3 in flight inside a trailer at Commercial UAV Expo 2022

And if this year is like the last few, you can even fly Flyability’s Elios 3 on the exhibition floor—because they bring in a trailer where they literally let you fly right at the booth. That’s pretty cool.

2. Vertical-Specific Drone Deep Dives

Want to learn more about a specific section of the drone industry? Or learn a little about a lot of different commercial drone applications?

Whether you want to go deep on one application or just get a lay of the land for how drones are being used in work, Commercial UAV Expo is a great place to learn.

The conference program this year will offer talks in five key drone verticals:

• Construction
• Drone Pilot Program
• Energy and Utilities
• Infrastructure and Transportation
• Policy

View the full 2024 conference program.

3. Innovative Hydrogen Track

In addition to the five core tracks above, this year there will again be a track put on by the HYSKY Society.

This event does cost extra. But it’s a really unique offering. The HYSKY Society Hydrogen Aviation Course brings together all pieces of the hydrogen aviation ecosystem: hydrogen production, hydrogen logistics, hydrogen infrastructure, hydrogen fuel cells, and engines, and hydrogen aircraft.

The course offers participants the opportunity to gain in-depth knowledge about the latest advancements, technologies, and applications in the field of hydrogen aviation, designed to provide a solid foundation for understanding the principles, challenges, and opportunities associated with hydrogen-powered aircraft.

Learn more about the HYSKY Course.

4. The Keynotes

Commercial UAV Expo 2024 brings in top talent to speak every year, and this year’s shaping up to be no different.

Keynotes are a great opportunity to get personal perspectives from the top thought leaders, visionaries, and innovators in commercial drones operations.

Hear from industry experts about where the drone industry is headed from a regulatory perspective, how AI is impacting drone operations right now, and more.

5. Special Workshops and Events

Every year, Commercial UAV Expo puts on special events in addition to the main lineup of talks and panels.

Here are this year’s top workshops and events:

• Photogrammetric Mapping with UAS—led by ASPRS.
• LiDAR Mapping with UAS—led by ASPRS.
• From Air to Ground: Comprehensive Lidar Mapping Solutions—led by GeoCUE.
• Transforming UAVs into Real-World Mapping and Surveying Solutions—led by Trimble.
• From Drone Data to Survey Deliverable—led by Virtual Surveyor.

Learn more about special workshops and events at the 2024 conference.

6. Almost 4,000 Attendees Anticipated

Last year about 3,750 people attended Commercial UAV Expo. And this year the number may be even higher, if you can believe it.

Pulling people in from over 70 different countries, the event will truly be a global meeting place for all things drone-related.

7. The DRONERESPONDERS Public Safety Summit

Presented by AIRT, the Public Safety Summit is a co-located event that takes place over two days during Commercial UAV Expo.

Credit: DRONERESPONDERS

The Summit features programming designed to educate and prepare first responder UAS program managers and remote pilots at every experience level for public safety UAS operations.

If you work for a public safety agency and have been wanting to get up to speed with how to use drones, this event is a great opportunity to jump start your knowledge for using drones in your work.

Learn more about the Summit here.

8. Networking

Attendees at Commercial UAV Expo this year include people from top drone-related companies, government agencies, and some of the biggest companies in the world.

Where else can you rub shoulders with thousands of people who work with drones?

If you’re looking for work, to hire a drone pilot, to partner with another drone hardware or software company, or just to grow the list of contacts you have in the drone industry, Commercial UAV Expo is a great place to do it.

9. Live Outdoor Flying Demonstrations

Want to see the latest drone technology on display—not just in an exhibit hall, but actually in the air? Commercial UAV Expo’s live demos are the place to do it.

Here’s what Commercial UAV Expo has to say about this year’s live demos:

Leading vendors will demonstrate a range of drone applications. Not only will airframe and sensor capabilities be showcased, but a sophisticated AV set up will allow users to view resulting data sets and processing solutions for the full end-to-end view of the technology. Drone experts will be on-hand to narrate live scenarios and field questions from the audience.

Here are the companies participating in the live demos this year:

• Autel Robotics
• Event 38 Unmanned Systems
• Frontier Precision Unmanned
• ideaForge
• Skyfish

Learn more about this year’s live demos.

Want to Attend Commercial UAV Expo 2024?

Take advantage of early bird pricing, which gets you $300 off from now until July 19. Register here.

Hope to see you there!

The post 9 Reasons to Attend Commercial UAV Expo 2024 appeared first on UAV Coach.

This week we’re covering a hydrofoil powered by a drone—you have to see this to believe it.

We’re also covering a fun FPV freestyle video shot at an active conveyor belt in the desert, a Florida man shooting down a Walmart delivery drone, a drone patent to support off-road driving from General Motors, and a letter from lawmakers asking for proof that DJI is spying to be declassified.

Now on to the links!

Can You Power a Hydrofoil with a Drone?

As YouTuber Daniel Riley of @rctestflight points out at the start of this video a hydrofoil—also called a wakefoil—is basically a small aircraft on a stick. But they’re really unstable, which makes them really hard to ride. Drones are similarly hard to stabilize, a problem that gyroscopes help solve by measuring displacement, allowing the drone’s electronics to correct and stabilize it while in flight. Riley wondered if these same electronics could help stabilize a wakefoil, and he began experimenting with different ways of attaching a drone to one—watch the video to see the results.

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FPV Freestyle at Moving Conveyor Belt—2 Drones Lost!

2019 DRL World Champion and FPV master Alex Vanover met up with a few FPV pilots to do some risky freestyle flying around an active conveyor belt in this fun video from Rotor Riot. They got some amazing shots, including continuous barrel rolls around the moving belt and shots inside the conveyor belt’s metal structure, following the belt as it transported earth. But the footage came at a cost. At 2:14 Vanover loses a drone and at 6:44 Bubby, a Rotor Riot FPV pilot, loses another one. Do you think the footage was worth it? We do. Check out the video to see for yourself.

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Florida Man Shoots Walmart Delivery Drone

A 72-year-old Florida man recently shot a Walmart delivery drone, punching a hole through its payload. The delivery was being made by DroneUp, which has pivoted to focusing exclusively on drone delivery. According to the shooter’s arrest affidavit, a two-person crew from the company was at a delivery point in the Lake County neighborhood conducting a demonstration delivery when the drone was shot. The man faces charges of shooting or throwing a deadly missile into dwellings, vessels, or vehicles; criminal mischief above $1,000; and discharging a firearm in public or on residential property.

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General Motors Off-Road Drone Idea

Credit: General Motors

Imagine you’re off-roading and you get to a pretty wild spot in the road, where you can’t see which route forward is the best one to take. What do you do? You may get out, walk a ways from your truck, and determine the best way on foot. Or maybe you’ll drive forward only to have to reverse and start over. General Motors has a better idea—using a drone to scan the area and choose the best way for you. GM recently patented a system that includes a car dock for a drone, allowing it to deploy so it can scan the road ahead using what it calls AI Scout Drone mode. The AI piece is key. Not only will the drone scout possible off-road routes, it will also collect data like incline, rocks or obstacles, and soil conditions, then process this data using specialized software to give you an informed recommendation for which way to go.

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House Leaders Call for Declassification of DJI Drone Threat Data

Credit: DJI

Despite calls to ban DJI, and a law passed by the House that may actually do it (the law is awaiting a vote from the Senate), the truth is that we’ve never seen proof that DJI is using its drones to spy on the American people. Spying concerns are at the heart of the push to ban DJI, with proponents claiming the company is illicitly sending data its drones collect to the Chinese government. Now, House lawmakers have written an open letter to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Department of Energy (DOE) asking them to declassify information “relating to potential national security risks posed by” drones from China. DJI has obtained several third party security certifications and paid for several third party security audits, none of which have found proof of its drones sending data to China or anywhere else. It will be interesting to see whether this letter results in the release of actual proof backing up the allegations that have been made against DJI for years—but we’ll be honest, we’re not holding our breath.

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Make sure to sign up for our free weekly newsletter using the button below so you can get our weekly newsletter every Saturday, with this roundup and our other featured stories from the week.

The post Drone News Roundup: Drone-Powered Hydrofoil, FPV Freestyle Flying Around an Active Conveyor Belt, and More! appeared first on UAV Coach.

We’re also covering a webinar we’re hosting on how to build a drone business, a new massive drone light show from Disney, drones and AI protecting people from shark attacks in Australia, a big win for drone pilots in Hollywood, and the appointment of Johan Mlouka as VP of Sales for Voliro.

Now on to the links!

First DJI Mavic 4 Leak

Public beta tester left his #mavic4 on the streets to be caught on video by a bystander. We see a air 3 like design but with a larger camera we recognize from the Mavic 3 pro. Could this be the widely desired 1 inch? I’ll take a long shot: August 1st pic.twitter.com/OikebTGbMK

— Jasper Ellens | X27 (@JasperEllens) June 12, 2024

Drone insider Jasper Ellens seems has gotten his hands on what looks like a snapshot of a Mavic 4 prototype. The drone in the photo seems to have an airframe like the Air 3, but with a larger camera, like the kind we’d expect on a Mavic 3 Pro. If you recall, there was a debunked Air 3S leak a few weeks back—now it’s looking like that leak may have had some truth to it. Ellens predicts an August 1 launch date for the Mavic 4—if that’s right, we’re sure to see a lot more leaks in the coming weeks.

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Webinar: How to Build a Drone Business

Need help starting a drone business? Or already have one, and looking for tips to help it grow? Join us next Friday, June 28 at 3pm ET for a webinar focused on “Drone Business Foundations: The Essential Building Blocks for a Successful Drone Venture.”

• Market opportunities and growth trends in the drone industry
• What you should do post-Part 107 to start your drone business
• How to identify the ideal drone services customer
• Real-world insights from successful drone business coach Eno Umoh

SIGN UP NOW

Disney Debuts 800-Drone Light Show

Disney’s latest drone light show uses an impressive 800 drones to create classic Disney characters in the night sky, including Buzz Lightyear and Peter Pan. Called “Disney Dreams That Soar,” the show features some seriously big creations, including a 213-foot tall Death Star, from Star Wars, and a 328-foot tall Big Ben, from Peter Pan. The show itself spans 524 feet, making it one of the biggest drone light shows on record, both in terms of the number of drones used and in terms of the sheer amount of space covered. “Disney Dreams That Soar” is currently being shown for free at the Disney Springs resort mall district—but you can catch it right here, in this video.

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Drones and AI Help Prevent Shark Attacks in Australia

Credit: Department of Primary Industries

Australia has 100,000 beaches, and most of its population lives near the coast. The country is also a global hotspot for shark attacks—last year, it had 40% of the shark-related deaths in the world, an increase from previous years. To prevent these attacks, the country is turning to drones. At the moment, Australia has the largest coastal drone-surveillance operation in the world. The operation uses drones flown by pilots who can see the UAV, as well as using remotely operated drones and drones that can cover long distances, with the incorporation of AI to automatically spot sharks in aerial footage. The drones are part of a larger effort that includes nets, tracking devices, and new buoys made to identify the presence of sharks in real time.

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Hollywood Drone Pilots Score Major Union Win

Image source

Drone pilots in Hollywood scored a major win recently: They’ll now be covered under union contracts that previously only applied to those working cameras on the ground. The International Cinematographers Guild (IATSE Local 600) announced the change recently as the outcome of a dispute with major studios that began over whether specific drone pilots were covered under its contract. Moving forward, union films and T.V. productions made with major studios will have to cover drone camera crews and pay union benefits to drone crew members.

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Johan Mlouka Joins Voliro as VP of Sales

Credit: Voliro

Johan Mlouka, former head of North America and LATAM sales for Flyability, has joined Voliro as its VP of Sales. Mlouka brings with him over a decade of experience working with drones and robotics for inspections. At Flyability, he helped build the company’s market in North America to become the company’s largest in the world, leading the way in establishing the use of drones in inspections throughout the drone industry. Voliro makes drones specifically for outdoor inspections, with a special focus on using drones for ultrasonic thickness (UT) testing. In the new role, Mlouka will oversee global sales efforts for Voliro, with a particular focus on expanding the company’s footprint in the North American market.

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Make sure to sign up for our free weekly newsletter using the button below so you can get our weekly newsletter every Saturday, with this roundup and our other featured stories from the week.

The post Drone News Roundup: First DJI Mavic 4 Leak, Tips for Starting a Drone Business, and More! appeared first on UAV Coach.