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An international non-governmental organization is using drone technology to help eradicate invasive species, reinvigorate reef systems, reduce coastal erosion and reintroduce native species whose populations have dwindled.

As the demand for skilled drone pilots continues to soar, opportunities for success continue to expand, and, in this article, we'll explore five key opportunities to build drone pilot success. However, before we dive into those opportunities, there are a few topics that need discussion.

NASA Langley Research Center's Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) High Density Vertiplex (HDV) sub-project recently hosted a live flight test event for guests that successfully showcased scalable autonomous operations.

uAvionix, a leading provider of command, navigation, and surveillance technologies for crewed and uncrewed aircraft, announced today that it has received FCC approval, coordinated with the FAA, to operate its SkyLink C-Band Command and Control (C2) radios for Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations at the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma Emerging Technology test site. 

Flying BVLOS is still an exception, but enabling technologies are paving the way for routine BVLOS operations. The number of Part 107 BVLOS waivers issued by the FAA more than doubled in 2022 and increased 17% from January to March of this year.

Space Park Leicester has announced the successful launch of a drone making use of revolutionary AI equipment for use in spacecraft.

Pearland Police Department has been awarded a certificate of authorization (COA) to operate its drone as first responder (DFR) program beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operation, eliminating the need for human visual observers (VOs). This was achieved using Iris Automation's Casia G ground-based air surveillance system. 

The technology is already out in force in some cities, but the true debate on privacy and policies is lagging behind.

Drone Reality Show Follows Surveying of the Pearl River by Land, Water, and Air

SKIRON-X is a Group 2 sUAS that combines simple operation with flight endurance and payload flexibility.
Aurora Flight Sciences, a Boeing Company, has released its latest small UAS product, the Skiron
Expeditionary sUAS, or SKIRON-X. This Group 2 unmanned aircraft system (UAS) combines the simple
operation of an electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) configuration with the longer range and
endurance of a fixed-wing design. SKIRON-X is a flexible solution for effective deployment across a wide
variety of environments.

Global Mapper Pro is a powerful geospatial data analysis program that contains tools for everything from raster image processing to photogrammetric point cloud creation with the Pixels to Points tool. Designed to work alongside Global Mapper Pro, the free iOS and Android Global Mapper Mobile app makes it easy for users to bring GIS data into the field for reference and GNSS data collection.

The Air Force Research Laboratory requested information from businesses for small unmanned aerial systems to be used for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and supplement kinetic strike, according to an online posting Monday.

Working with safety innovator Iris Automation, Florida-based Overhead Intelligence has commenced its first major EVLOS (extended visual line of sight) plus BVLOS flight (with 50/50 split) operation using Casia I for the entire province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The mission is for UAV magnetometer surveys in partnership with GroundTruth Exploration.

Drone capabilities are set to expand at Westcott Space Cluster as leading drone services provider Skyports selects the south of England site as its European headquarters and centre of excellence.

Discussions around UAV technology tend to focus on the drones themselves and the accessories and software that enable them to make a difference in industries such as construction, public safety, and package delivery. But there's another critical element of the drone ecosystem that deserves attention: drone ports and docking systems.

Safety avionics specialist Iris Automation has made a meteorological enhancement to its Casia G ground-based surveillance system with the integration of TruWeather Solutions sensors and services – a move aiming to add climate security to the company's aerial detect-and-avoid protection.

On March 24th, His Royal Highness, Prince Charles traveled to Ireland, where he met with experts in agricultural innovation, with representatives from Teagasc, Glanbia PLC, Bord Bia & GeoAerospace.

Drones are increasingly being incorporated into workflows to help gather high-quality data about assets. Over time, developers have needed to push drone technology to meet end users' demands for more intuitive and responsive flight, data collection, processing, and analysis. In the "Drones and AI: Improving Workflows" webinar, Commercial UAV News connected with Yariv Geller from vHive, Toomas Välja from Hepta Airborne, Kabe Termes from Skydio, and Eric Wittner from Intel Geospatial, to discuss how AI and ML improve workflows from data collection, processing, and analysis to the final deliverable.

Real-Time Kinematic (RTK) is a buzz term in the UA industry, one many pilots may not understand, even though they may be "mapping" with an uncrewed aircraft (drone).   When it comes to RTK and drone mapping, how necessary is the technology to a drone services provider?  Will it earn a services provider more money?
The following is a guest post by drone industry veteran Douglas Spotted Eagle, Production and Education Director at Sundance Media Group.  DRONELIFE neither accepts nor makes payment for guest posts.

Zena Drone has helped revolutionize the burgeoning hemp industry.  In this guest post, Leah Jacobe outlines five ways that intelligent drones in the agriculture sector are helping growers to meet the demands of global food production.

The owner of Allen Geomatics, P.C., in Advance, North Carolina, Allen was curious about
whether drone surveying methods could enhance the practices of his land surveying services and consulting firm. The company prides itself on paying attention to details in order to provide accurate data and avoid expensive mistakes.

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.

The entire country of Lebanon was changed forever when a large amount of ammonium nitrate stored at the Port of Beirut exploded on August 4th, 2020. The $15 billion in property destruction that it caused was the least of that damage, as the hundreds dead, over 7,000 injured and the estimated 300,000 people that were rendered homeless signify the true catastrophic nature of the event.

The entire country of Lebanon was changed forever when a large amount of ammonium nitrate stored at the Port of Beirut exploded on August 4th, 2020. The $15 billion in property destruction that it caused was the least of that damage, as the hundreds dead, over 7,000 injured and the estimated 300,000 people that were rendered homeless signify the true catastrophic nature of the event.
In the midst of this tragedy, experts from a handful of companies came together to use data captured by drones to create a 3D map of the area most affected by the explosion. Developed on a "Pro Bono" basis that have made these assets available to anyone, these 3D models of the area allowed first responders to take decisive action and literally save lives. The detailed and accurate open-access map of the blast area and surrounding damage to the city bolstered rescue and recovery efforts on multiple levels.

Most small autonomous fixed-wing aircraft are guided by a commercial controller, which works well for simple paths. But high winds, for instance, can cause a pilotless aircraft to go off course and crash. Demanding paths for demanding applications require new innovations for suitable performance to expand uses of such drones.

While some reports have gotten caught up with the potential of the drone market, the team at Drone Analyst has always been committed to sorting out the hype versus the reality. Their fifth annual market report provides our most comprehensive look at drone buyers, service providers, business and public agency users, and software services.

Traditionally, the documentation of As-Built construction surveys relied on conventional methods such as total stations and digital photogrammetry. However, the team at Spatial Data Consultants (SDC), an expert geospatial consulting firm in High Point, North Carolina, is using drone LiDAR technology to more efficiently create accurate and precise As-Built Surveys.

VETAL The new generation of VTOL drone for your survey business

Allen Geomatics helps compare the differences between traditional and Drone LiDAR surveying methods

Residential solar surveys are a great opportunity for commercial drone service providers.  Here, an expert gives advice on getting the very best output.

The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International and Longbow Group hosted an event to showcase how drone technology — such as air taxis and other unmanned cargo transport — can be incorporated into society.

Delivery of goods by drone could take off if the U.S. relaxes rules

Five startups in the unmanned systems industry have been chosen from among more than 600 applicants to compete for $3 million in investments in the state-funded Genius NY business accelerator program.

The Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) concept enables the warfighter — and/or another aircraft — to instantly determine if an entity encountered is friendly or hostile. With aircraft, the specific technology employed is an IFF transponder, that listens for an interrogation signal and then sends a response that identifies the broadcaster. 

A U.S. drone survey startup has opened an office in Sudbury to better serve mining operations in Northern Ontario and across Canada.

The rising accessibility of Drones has made many dangerous labor-intensive jobs within a spectrum of industrial sectors ripe for displacement. Drones are not only safe to operate, but they are cost-effective solutions that deliver a range of added utilities such as in-depth data collection – which otherwise done manually would cost countless man-hours risking human lives. The emerging Drone market is valued to be around 127 Billion USD, according to PwC. Government Agencies, Specific Industries such as Oil & Gas, Mining and Power industry, to name a few, have been heavily utilizing Drone Technology for the great deal of benefits it brings to the table. Today, Drones are tackling several issues ranging from monitoring disease, border petrol to even delivering Pizza!
Here is a more in-depth segmented view of some of the great positive impact Drone Technology can offer to the human society:

A partnered state effort announced earlier this month is leveraging new drone technology and magnetic surveillance to spot abandoned oil and gas wells statewide.

University at Buffalo consultants first approached Gorilla Netting in early 2019. For over a year, the team at Gorilla Netting worked with consultants and representatives of SUNY, University at Buffalo (UB), to design, engineer, and install a large netted drone enclosure system for unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) testing and research.

Betla National Park under the Palamau Tiger Reserve is using drones with an aim to keep poachers and hunters away from the park. The drone is being flown mostly before the sunset. This operation is overseen by N Kumar, a 2018 batch Indian Forests Service officer, who is on his probation here.

RICE farming in the country has started to be revolutionized following the introduction of "drone seeding" through the use of an artificial intelligence-driven drone made by Bayer Crop Science (BCS) in Paniqui, Tarlac, which eliminates costly and time-consuming labor in rice planting.

Aerodyne Group, a Malaysia-headquartered international DT3 (Drone Tech, Data Tech, and Digital Transformation) solutions provider has signed an agreement to acquire a principal stake in Australia-based drone surveying and advanced asset inspection company, Sensorem Pty Ltd ("Sensorem").

National energy company Eesti Energia is relying on drones to help map and measure its mines with the aim of saving time and creating safer working conditions for staff.

Using drones to help in the detection, containment, and extinguishing of fires is rapidly becoming a widely adopted solution by first responders. While many find drones to be a helpful tool to keep overwatch of teams on the ground for improved situational awareness, or to put out fires, the Fire Weather Research Laboratory (FWRL) at San Jose State University is looking into a subject most people neglect: the vertical profile in the wind.

A multi-agency task force of public safety drone teams has been supporting local agencies and residents impacted by California wildfires with high-resolution aerial imagery of damaged areas.

The potential uses for drones or unmanned aircraft systems in agriculture have been discussed extensively in the past 10 years. One of the potential uses that hasn't been fully fleshed out in the U.S. is pesticide applications.

 A pair of environmental consulting firms located in North Carolina and Kentucky conducted bat surveys using Unmanned Aerial Systems.

Whether it's for examining high-voltage power lines and natural gas pipelines, or seeding and spraying crops in a field, drones are getting a lot of attention, in Iowa and elsewhere.

As industry and society in general come back on line after months of interruption due to the threat of COVID- 19, Garrett Scott, UAS coordinator for Duke Energy, said he believes "a lot of the things we're seeing right now, whether because of social distancing or the financial [aspect], are going to be around for quite a while after we move out of this mandated period."

What began as a project to improve land surveying, floodplain mapping, vegetation classification and endangered species management at Joint Base San Antonio-Camp Bullis has become a revolutionary innovation that could save the Air Force millions of dollars and countless hours of labor.

AiRXOS CEO Ken Stewart, who has more than 25 year of leadership in the tech space, recently sat down virtually with Inside Unmanned Systems to discuss the evolution of next-generation unmanned traffic management and drone certification.