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Sony unveils first look at its new “Airpeak” drone designed to carry Alpha mirrorless cameras

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Sony’s new Airpeak drone system, first announced in November 2020, sees some new developments coming out of CES 2021 as Sony unveils a first look at the new drone, teasing some of its features and benefits. Sony says that the goal of the Airpeak brand is to further develop today’s drone technology while kicking things up a notch for professional creators.

The initial offering, which Sony describes as “the first phase of this project”, will see Sony launch a new business targeted for professional photography and video production during spring of 2021 to go along with the first new drone. And, perhaps not surprisingly, the drone is designed to carry Sony’s Alpha mirrorless cameras.

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FAA removes always-on Internet from Remote ID requirements when flying drones

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The FAA released its ruling on Monday, December 28th, on Remote Identification (Remote ID) for drones and also a final rule on flights at night and over people. Their proposal was originally published in December 2019 and it appears to have gone through some changes, including removing the requirement that all drones essentially be connected to the Internet whenever they’re in the air.

While it is a long and complex document, an Executive Summary of the Final Rule provided by the FAA does break down the basics of how the system will work and the requirements for drone pilots throughout the USA.

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Drone pilot accidentally discovers woman stranded on the beach, helps saving her life 

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When Josh Hug went to California’s Pacifica Beach to do some drone filming, little did he know that he would save a life. As he got his drone up in the air, he noticed someone lying on the beach, apparently unconscious. He left his controller and rushed to help, but his drone kept filming and the whole situation was caught on camera.

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Cheap $20 GPS jamming devices can make your drone fall out of the sky but solutions are out there

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For years, companies have been working on finding ways to safely (and sometimes not) take out drones doing things they shouldn’t be doing – whether it’s flying too close to crowds or delivering contraband to prisons. The keyword there is “safely”. There are plenty of ways to take down drones these days, but most aren’t safe and they can cause havoc to legitimate drone pilots flying completely legally.

But perhaps the most potentially dangerous are the cheap GPS jammers available online from sites such as Banggood  – which are illegal in much of the world. These devices, which can cost as little as $20, interfere with the GPS signals reaching your drone so it has no idea where it is, causing it to potentially just fall out of the sky. But solutions are out there.

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End of DJI? Company goes under United States blacklist

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Chinese drone manufacturer DJI has been added to the US economic blacklist. According to the US Government’s Commerce Department, DJI is one of four companies that “enabled wide-scale human rights abuses within China through abusive genetic collection and analysis or high-technology surveillance.”

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Photos leak for DJI’s rumored 4K, 60P, 150 km/h cinematic FPV drone

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A while back, DJI made some FPV race drones, goggles, and remote. It had the unimaginative name of  Digital FPV System and cyborg look. This product line opened up DJI to the racing segment of the drone market. It only feels natural that DJI will take a swing at merging their racing drone line with their cinema drone line. And what do you know? Photos of this synergy hybrid just leaked.

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DJI to face serious challenger as Sony officially enters the drone market

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Well, we all suspected it was happening at some point after patents started popping up a few months ago, but now it’s official. Sony is entering the drone market. The announcement comes with the teaser video above as well as a whole new section of their website dedicated to their future “Airpeak” drones  – expected in spring 2021.

While the patent earlier in the year looked like kind of a gimmicky drone, Sony says that “Airpeak will support the creativity of video creators to the fullest extent possible”, suggesting that they’re actually going to be taking filmmakers and content seriously with their new line of products. DJI won’t be happy.

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DJI’s Mavic Mini 2 shoots 4K, flies further and still weighs only 249g

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DJI has announced the update to last year’s Mavic Mini, which addresses a number of complaints users had about the original while retaining its most valuable features. The DJI Mavic Mini 2 is the same size, it still weighs less than the 250g limit imposed in many countries before registration is required, and aside from the name printed on it, it looks virtually identical to its predecessor.

But what has changed are its video capabilities, which now offer 4K recording at up to 30 frames per second. It also uses OcuSync 2.0 for image transmission with better dual-band support and interference resistance for up to 10km transmission. It also has faster motors and an extra minute of battery life, although there’s still no obstacle avoidance.

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Ring’s new “Always Home” camera is actually a drone that flies around your home… shooting video

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This is both cool and super creepy – especially given past stories of Amazon employees being caught (and, thankfully, fired) for spying on Ring customers. But Ring’s newest announcement isn’t just like their regular home security cameras. It’s called the Ring Always Home Cam, and it’s basically a drone that sits there, silently, patiently, creepily waiting to spring into action.

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Teardown reveals the $749 DJI Mavic Air 2 is made from around $135 worth of parts

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This isn’t the first Mavic Air 2 teardown we’ve seen, that honour goes to the folks at iFixit, but a new teardown by Tokyo-based research specialist Fomalhaut Techno Solutions in partnership with Nikkei Asian Review certainly seems to be the most in-depth.

The complete teardown doesn’t appear to have been published publicly, but the Nikkei Asian Review has reported on some of its details. Details like the fact that it is comprised of around 80% off-the-shelf parts, and coming in at a total material cost of around $135.

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