Researchers from Australia have reverse engineered the visual system of hoverflies, an insect that feeds on nectar, to detect the acoustic signature of drones from as far as four kilometers away (about 2.5 miles) even in noisy environments.
If you're a recreational drone user in the United States, there's cause to celebrate. Yesterday, the FAA announced that they have expanded their LAANC system to include recreational drone pilots, allowing users to get "near-real time" approval to fly in controlled airspace, as long as you stay below 400ft.
DJI now has the US government's permission to authorize drone flights in controlled airspace near airports.
On July 2nd, 2017, Gatwick Airport in the UK was forced to suspend its runways for a total of 14 minutes because a drone was flown in restricted airspace. This 2-minute visualization released by NATS shows the chaos that ensued.
As camera drone sightings near airports continues to rise, the US government exploring new technologies that could help automatically detect and identify photographers and other drone operators who are flying illegally near airports.
If you're getting into drone photography, it's important to know where you can and can't fly -- otherwise you could find your activities in the news for all the wrong reasons. AirMap is a new free, comprehensive, and interactive digital map that's designed specifically to help drone users find safe and legal airspace around them.
Yesterday we reported that a DJI Phantom quadcopter operator had accidentally crashed his camera drone onto the lawn of the White House at 3 in the morning, causing a security panic among those tasked with ensuring the President's safety (later reports suggest the man was drunk).
DJI wants to make sure this type of incident never happens again: the company is issuing a mandatory firmware update that will disable its camera drones in Washington DC's no fly zone.