Don’t miss this opportunity to hear David Shilliday, VP and GM of Honeywell‘s Advanced Air Mobility unit on the Drone Radio Show with host Randy Goers as they discuss the recent award of $10 billion in AAM related contracts and what this means for the future of advanced air mobility. Drone Radio Show · Honeywell’s […]
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Is 2024 the year of a 3DR return? It seems like the answer is very much “yes.”
3D Robotics, the American drone company known for building the Iris and later Solo consumer drones, spectacularly crashed and burned. It had raised nearly $100 million, only to build an initial flagship drone that received scathing reviews upon its 2014 launch, including a comparison to a “large, mechanical insect” by PC Mag. The supposed new and improved follow-up, the Solo (which came out in 2015), suffered a similar fate that included missed product deadlines and buggy components. By 2016, the company had shut down manufacturing operations to pivot to drones as a service.
Then in 2021, Kitty Hawk (which was an air taxi company backed by Google co-founder Larry Page) purchased the remaining assets. That included bringing on 3D Robotics co-founder Chris Anderson as Kitty Hawk’s chief operating officer. And by September 2022, Kitty Hawk, too, had shut down.
According to his LinkedIn, Anderson is now “working on something new.” Meanwhile, 3D Robotics’ other co-founder, Jordi Muñoz has stated on his LinkedIn page that he is still at 3D Robotics, where he’s been for the past nearly-16 years.
While lots of products and people have left 3D Robotics, it looks like Muñoz never did. In fact, it seems as though Muñoz might be building 3D Robotics into a new type of company. And that very likely means 3DR has returned.
A relatively-new website has popped up over at 3DR.com. At the top in colorful letters is the fact that the company’s products are made in California, with the words “Proudly Californian” in bold letters. The website indicates that the new 3DR is headquartered in a business park in Chula Vista, California, which is the second-largest city in the San Diego metropolitan area located south of downtown San Diego (closer to Tijuana).
The new company also calls itself 3DR Inc, rather than 3D Robotics as the former company was called. The domain is also 3DR.com (as opposed to the old 3DRobotics.com domain). In fact, 3DRobotics.com redirects now to kittyhawk.aero, which today takes you to a simple page stating that Kittyhawk has ceased operations.
As far as 3DR’s homepage, it’s obvious that the 3DR return is official and supposed to be celebrated. In big, bold letters are the words “The Return” which then point to a shop page.
And the 3DR shop is already operational, and most items appear available to ship (with 2-day shipping times, typically). For now, all the products are for the DIY crowd. There are quad frames, brushless motors, sensor and power modules. Unlike companies like DJI that promote ready-to-fly, off-the-shelf drones, the products are very much not that.
It seems as though 3DR’s goal is to embrace those types of products. “We focus on the best known open-source and open hardware-based autopilots,” according to a statement on 3DR’s website.”
The company is also heavily leaning into its made-in-America ties.
“Having the production capabilities in-house allows for keeping the quality at a top level as well as a secured pipeline in US soil from the supply chain all the way to product testing and shipping,” the 3DR website states.
The new 3DR return website has placeholder pages for Instagram and X accounts, as well as for a blog, newsletter and events page, which should all offer information in the future about the 3DR return.
For now, though, the best way to follow along is through the 3D Robotics Discord community server. That server was first created in October 2023, though it doesn’t appear to have begun being advertised and have started accruing members until the tail-end of November 2023. It’s still very small (as of publication, it has fewer than 100 members), but it looks to be a source for resources, announcements, tutorials and random chatter.
3D Robotics was originally co-founded in 2009 by Chris Anderson, who formerly was editor-in-chief of Wired Magazine and founder of DIYDrones.com. Whereas Anderson brought the marketing and communications experience, his co-founder brought engineering expertise. Jordi Muñoz, who studied at CETYS Universidad, was considered an engineering prodigy where he lived in Ensenada, Mexico.
While 3D Robotics was headquartered in Berkeley (near Anderson), the company had engineering facilities in San Diego and manufacturing operations in Tijuana, Mexico, all closer to Muñoz.
While the new company is maintaining a very similar name to 3D Robotics, the 2024 incarnation is very much distancing itself from the old in its 3DR return. There’s a large disclaimer on the 3DR website, which is copied below here:
Please note that 3DR Inc was a distinct entity before the year 2023. As a result, any products that were sold prior to 2023 under the previous company name are not covered by our present terms of responsibility or warranty. We kindly request your understanding that our business is not providing any support for sold products under the 3DR label prior to 2023.
For any inquiries, concerns, or issues related to products purchased under the former company name before 2023, we recommend referring to the terms and conditions that were applicable at that time. We appreciate your awareness of the distinctions in our company’s history and the implications this may have on product-related matters.
-Disclaimer page on the new 3DR website
Even the distance is clear on the 3DR Community Discord server. When members make posts with words like Solo, it appears there’s a bot ready to respond. For example, a user posted a question in November 2023 referencing the Solo drone, and was instead met with this bot response:
“It seems like you’re asking about the Solo: a product from 3DR’s earlier days. Just a heads up, we discontinued support for the Solo as of 2023. While we’re fond of its legacy, our focus has shifted to newer & exciting developments.”
As for what to expect from the 3DR return, we’ll be following along. The Drone Girl reached out to 3D Robotics through their email form for comment for this story, but did not receive a response.
I’ve also transparently introduced myself over in the Discord, where I was greeted by the Server’s owner, named Toton. Multiple posts on the Discord server indicate that the company intends to formally launch in 2024.
Come 2024, though, the world will be watching. Especially given concerns around Chinese-made drones, customers have sought a drone that’s made in America. Even price-conscious hobbyists demanded American-made consumer drones (though there really is no good consumer camera drone made in the USA).
Skydio was America’s best shot at a home-grown consumer drone. That was, until Skydio announced this summer that it would shut down its consumer drone arm to instead focus on building drones and related products for enterprise and defense industries. These days, the company seems to be mostly focusing on its Skydio X10 drone, which is an enterprise-range drone known for its high-resolution cameras.
So will the 3DR return fill that void in 2024? We’ll be watching. To ensure you don’t miss a beat, enter your email below so you can receive email updates via our daily newsletter.
Meanwhile, what do you think about the 3DR return? Leave your own comments below!
The post Has 3DR returned? Here’s what we know about the American drone company appeared first on The Drone Girl.
Aviation Pioneers Kevin Morris and Huy Tran on the 2023 Highlights in Unmanned Aircraft Systems and Advanced Air Mobility: from the Dawn of Drones interview. By: Akshata 2023 has been an important year for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) and Advanced Air Mobility (AAM), in terms of significant progress. In this exclusive year-in-review with industry experts […]
The post Navigating the Skies: FAA and NASA Unveil Top 3 Breakthroughs in UAS and AAM for 2023 appeared first on DRONELIFE.
Associate Professor Satoshi Suzuki and Team Pioneer Affordable Solutions with Innovative GNSS-Based Drone, Redefining Precision in Close-Range Powerline Inspection by DRONELIFE Staff Writer Ian J. McNabb A team of researchers led by Associate Professor Satoshi Suzuki from Chiba University recently announced that they had developed an innovative new low-cost UAV designed for powerline inspection. While […]
The post Cheaper Sensors for Drone Powerline Inspections: Chiba University Researchers Unveil Breakthrough Low-Cost UAV Technology appeared first on DRONELIFE.
One of the major barriers to the adoption of advanced air mobility technology is public perception. Volocopter continues to demonstrate its eVTOLS around the world, winning over hearts and minds of the next generation. by DRONELIFE Staff Writer Ian J. McNabb German advanced air mobility company Volocopter recently announced successful crewed missions in Osaka and […]
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2023 was a huge year for drones, which have certainly matured away from chaotic robots that people fear will spy on them, into tools for light shows, mapping and even deliveries. In fact, it was a decade ago when then-Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos took to TV to announce his company’s vision for drone delivery.
That was Black Friday of 2013, when Bezos joined the CBS television program “60 Minutes” and changed the world. Because while his company has yet to run wide-scale drone deliveries, he incited a vision of drones in the skies. Whether it’s Amazon competitors like Google spinoff Wing or Zipline running drone deliveries, or it’s drones doing something else entirely, 2023 has proven that drones are here to stay.
So with that, here’s a look at the 11 biggest drone news stories of 2023:
Remote ID is arguably the biggest of the drone news stories of 2023. Remote ID rules for drones went into effect on Sept. 16, 2023, bringing a mandate for a sort of electronic licensing plate system for drones with a built-in layer of location information.
But for a number of reasons — including Remote ID modules out of stock, making it impossible to be compliant — the FAA decided to offer a Remote ID extension. Drone pilots now have until March 16, 2024 to make their drones Remote ID compliant.
In an exclusive interview with The Drone Girl, the FAA shed light on some reasons why.
March 2024 isn’t that far away, so if your drone isn’t already equipped with a built-in Remote ID module, you’ll need one. Check out The Drone Girl’s guide to the best Remote ID modules, such as the U.S.- made Z-RID broadcast module from Zing.
Though DJI has far and away been the heavy-hitter in the drone space, in 2023 it did lose some market share. Still, it’s easily the biggest drone maker out there, and DJI has solidified that stance by new product launches in 2023.
Among its new drones for 2023 included the DJI Mini 4 Pro and the DJI Air 3, both excellent options for the consumer drone market. For commercial users (or wealthy prosumers), DJI launched the DJI Mavic 3 Pro, which is the world’s first three optical camera drone.
And then the biggest of the bunch is the DJI Inspire 3, which launched in April 2023 with all sorts of features including a full-frame 8K imaging system, Tilt Boost and 360° Pan dual configurations and dual-control for operators.
But DJI didn’t stop with the drone gear. It also has been leaning heavily into other products for audio and video recording. For action sports enthusiasts, 2023 gave us the DJI Osmo Action 4 as DJI’s competitor to the American-made GoPro’s HERO11 Black action camera.
Filmmakers have turned to the DJI RS 3 Mini, which launched in January 2023 as a lightweight, handheld travel stabilizer developed specifically to support today’s mainstream brands of mirrorless cameras and lenses.
And for all sorts of video makers, whether TikTok influencers or pro videographers, the DJI Mic is a popular tool for mono and stereo recording at distances of up to 250 meters.
While DJI has always dominated the consumer drone space, folks seeking out an American-made consumer drone had high hopes for California-based DJI. Those dreams were squashed this summer when Skydio announced it would shut down its consumer drone arm to instead focus on building drones and related products for enterprise and defense industries.
But that hardly meant Skydio got smaller. Shortly after, Skydio hosted a mega press event that included the launch of its Skydio X10 drone, an enterprise-range drone that stands out for its high-resolution cameras.
Skydio is not the only drone maker shying away from consumers or film use cases to instead look toward enterprise use cases like energy, public safety, transportation, construction and communications.
Sony, which first announced its Sony Airpeak S1 drone in 2021, has certainly seen adoption by filmmakers. But in 2023, it formally announced its emphasis on the industrial side by rolling out a range of enterprise-focused updates. That included a more powerful battery, a RTK kit and a better gimbal — all critical for use cases like photogrammetry.
Both Sony and Skydio’s pivots suggest that the drone industry is hardly shrinking, but rather the focus is on enterprise use cases (which is where the money is at, anyway).
Another compelling drone company is less so about enterprise use cases, but it’s certainly not about consumer use cases. Red Cat is going all in on military drones.
That was made clear in March 2023, when Red Cat launched the Teal 2, a drone designed to fly at night (which is critical for military operations). Teal 2 claims the title of the first drone to be equipped with Teledyne FLIR’s new Hadron 640R sensor.
In June, the Teal 2 drone was added to the Blue UAS Cleared List, a highly-selective list of drones that the Department of Defense has approved. The company has drawn major interest, and it even received a visit from Republican Senator Mitt Romney who is co-sponsoring the American Security Drone Act of 2023.
Given all that, it’s no surprise that Red Cat expects major growth in 2024. We’ll be watching to see whether the latest Red Cat management shakeup was the right move for the company to achieve that.
2023 gave us an onslaught of companies that make light show drones. Having so many ready-to-fly drone light show options has made it easier for small businesses to launch their own light show companies — no robust manufacturing needed to actually build the light-up drones.
Perhaps it’s no surprise then that we saw so many drone light shows in 2023, including Serena Williams’ baby gender reveal party, a Marvel drone show at Disneyland Paris and a show to inaugurate World of Frozen at Hong Kong Disneyland.
In fact, 2023 is the year that I saw my own, first in-person drone light show.
In October 2023, the U.S. Senate unanimously confirmed Michael Whitaker to serve as administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). He’s set to serve a five year term.
Given his background (including an executive role at Supernal, which is a Hyundai Motor Group company designing an electric advanced air mobility vehicle), Whitaker should be a compelling figure for the drone industry.
Concerns about national security and intellectual property theft have led to increased scrutiny of Chinese-made drones in 2023. The U.S. government has considered a ban on the use of Chinese drones by federal agencies, such as the American Security Drone Act. That bill was proposed in February 2023 by Republican Senator Rick Scott of Florida, and it would prohibit most federal agencies from using drones manufactured in China (which includes DJI drones).
That’s perhaps unsurprisingly particularly given the widespread, anti-drone sentiment that’s been stoked largely by politicians for years.
What was less likely to be on anyone’s 2023 bingo card, though, was the fact that China would impose its own restrictions on exports of certain drones. That move was in response to Russia’s war in Ukraine, stemming from concern that its drones were being used for military purposes (and China has stated it wants to remain neutral in the war).
Of course, China and the U.S. aren’t the only ones playing with bans on drones from certain countries. The Indian government has also banned imported drones in an effort to prop up homegrown drone makers.
While drone delivery is still in its early stages (yes, even a decade past Bezos’ 2013 announcement), 2023 saw significant progress in drone delivery technology and infrastructure. Companies are working on long-range drones, autonomous landing systems, and secure delivery hubs.
Some of the major drone delivery companies also launched significant overhauls to the way they executed drone deliveries. It started with Wing (the sister company of Google), which in March 2023 launched a new piece of hardware called Autoloader, which supports the Wing Delivery Network. With the new, more advanced Wing Delivery Network, drones linked through the Wing Delivery Network will be able pick up, drop off, travel, and charge in whatever pattern makes the most sense for the entire system.
That same month, Zipline launched an all new drone delivery platform called Platform 2 (P2), which makes the drones easier to load, and keeps them farther away from people (also allowing them to be quieter).
And not to be outdone, Flytrex in September 2023 launched ‘Autonomous Pickup,’ a new capability designed to allow drones to pick up orders from restaurants and retailers via dropdown wire. That’s a pivot from its old system where orders were loaded onto the drone by the drone’s operator.
All those new systems have made retailers more in tune with drone delivery. For example, Wing in August added Walmart to its list of clients. And drone delivery has gotten so easy, some people use it on a practically daily basis. That includes 84-year-old Susie Sensmeier, who is believed to hold the record for most drone deliveries ordered. Within four years, she had placed more than 1,200 orders for drone delivery through Wing.
Those three companies use their own, in-house drones to make the delivery. But in 2023, there’s been an uptick in companies manufacturing delivery drones with the sole purpose of being purchased by others (perhaps retailers themselves) to conduct drone deliveries.
Most notably is DJI, which in August launched its ready-to-fly FlyCart 30 delivery drone. Though, it’s only available in China. U.S. customers might instead consider the RDSX Pelican, which is a new, flagship product from California-based A2Z Drone Delivery.
So what’s next for the drone industry? You’ll have to tune in to Drone Girl’s predictions, hopes and visions for 2024. Check back with Drone Girl next week (or enter your email in the right side of this website to subscribe to email alerts) to see what I’m looking forward to and expecting most of all from drones in 2024.
What were your top drone news stories of 2023? Post them in the comments below!
The post The 11 biggest drone news stories of 2023 appeared first on The Drone Girl.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
2023 has been a busy year for Drone-Pictures Marseille, and it’s time to take a step back, with this little visual from our harvest of images in Namibia for sale on HOsiHO.
A little sun and warmth won’t hurt.
A little dreaming and escapism won’t either!
We wish you all the best, and thank you 1000 times over for following us and trusting us with your audiovisual projects.
Our 1st stockshots from Namibia is already available here (in progress).
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https://www.dronestagr.am/drone-directory/drone-pilots/vannes/brittany/france/flyup-drone/The post Featured Drone Pilot of the Day – FlyUp Drone from Vannes, Brittany, France, appeared first on DRONESTAG.