Drones

Breitling Exospace B55 Connected. A stylish aviator’s smartwatch: Breitling’s new Exospace B55 connected chronograph has the coolest name of any watch we’ve seen lately to go along with a great look and some amazing new features. Unlike other smartwatches, the Exospace line keeps a firm grip on its traditional timepiece roots. The companion smartphone app […]

FAA Administrator Michael Huerta and Sally French, “the Drone Girl,” led a panel discussion about the future of small unmanned aircraft at South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin on Monday. In his opening remarks, Huerta outlined recent progress on the FAA’s UAS registration program that is expected to pass 400,000 registrations this week, as well […]

The FAA says it’s receiving more than 100 reports a month from pilots and others who spot unmanned aircraft flying close to airports or airplanes. The agency has partnered with CACI International to explore how the company’s prototype detection technology could help detect UAS in the vicinity of airports. CACI’s proof-of-concept system uses radio frequency […]

A video has just been released of a Guinness Record-breaking flight for the most drones airborne simultaneously, set in November at Flugplatz Ahrenlohe in Tornesch, Germany, a few miles northwest of Hamburg. “Drone 100” coordinated 100 UAS and provided a terrific show with multicolored aircraft creating patterns in the night skies. The patterned flight took […]

At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES 2016) this week in Las Vegas, a Chinese company named EHang introduced the first publicly announced unmanned aircraft designed to carry a passenger. The company calls its Ehang 184 an Autonomous Aerial Vehicle, or AAV for short, and it is designed for short hops at low altitudes. The all-electric […]

I’m not sure how many people I expected would actually sign up for the FAA’s new UAS registry program that went live just before Christmas. Since the agency is waiving the $5 registration fee for the first month, I figured many would take advantage and fill out the online form. But I was surprised when […]

The FAA has completed the beta test phase of its UAS operations app B4UFLY, which aims to educate operators about where they can and cannot fly their unmanned aircraft. The app can now be downloaded from the iTunes store and Google for use on a variety of smartphones and tablets. While any mode of the […]

In September, the FAA projected that one million drones would be sold around the holidays. If the estimations are correct, there are a lot of unmanned aerospace systems (UASs) taking to the skies with inexperienced pilots. But fear not; Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University – Worldwide is offering a free online course for new UAS users this […]

The drone industry is booming and small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) may become one of the most popular Christmas presents this year. Yesterday the FAA’s new drone registration rules kicked in, requiring all people flying an sUAS between 0.55 lbs and 55 lbs to register their aircraft. If you are flying a heavier drone or […]

I’m contemplating taking a hammer to my toy quadcopter and smashing it to pieces after the FAA on Monday announced new rules requiring most drone owners to register their UAVs in a national database and pay a $5 fee every three years. It’s not that I disagree with the registration requirement. I’m fine with the […]