Terra Drone Co., Ltd., a Japanese industrial drone service provider, and KDDI Corporation, a Japanese telecommunications operator succeeded in a fully autonomous flight experiment of “Smart Drone” using “3D map” and “Drone Port.” Continue reading
Category Archives: Non-Military & Commercial UAS
Gas Pipeline Flight in Mexico Monitored in Canada
SkyX Systems Corporation, a Canadian data acquisition company, has just achieved a disruptive accomplishment in Mexico: It successfully flew its SkyOne Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) on an autonomous data mission over more than 100 kilometres of gas pipeline in Mexico. The robotic flight was programmed and monitored remotely from the company’s Greater Toronto Area SkyCenter mission control, with a support crew of engineers on the ground in Mexico. Continue reading
Reducing Global Air Freight Costs by 50% with Drones
Natilus, a startup based out of California, is looking to provide a solution that allows it to transport freight multiple times faster than when it is shipped across the ocean, at half the price of regular air freight. Continue reading
Mercedes Drone Partnership Makes 100 Deliveries
In a global first, online orders were delivered in Zurich between 25 September and 13 October with the aid of Vans & Drones. In partnership with Matternet and siroop.ch, Mercedes-Benz carried out a unique pilot project to test on-demand delivery of e-commerce orders – and it was a resounding success, particularly as unlike comparable systems this trial of a van and drone solution was carried out over an urban area and over a period of three weeks. Continue reading
Homeland Security Claims DJI is Spying for China
A memo from the Los Angeles office of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement bureau (ICE) has been making the rounds and it states some pretty bold claims about drone-maker DJI. Continue reading
World First ASME Code Inspection at US Nuclear Plant
Cyberhawk Innovations, an operator of inspections and surveys using unmanned aerial vehicles, has completed another world first for the drone industry, this time in the nuclear energy sector. Continue reading
Korea Post Makes First Drone Delivery
The Korea Post recently used a drone to deliver a package to a remote southern island, marking South Korea’s first successful aerial delivery. Continue reading
Amazon Drone Would Dismantle itself in Sky

A troubled Amazon delivery drone sheds parts in a patented procedure (U.S.
Patent and Trademark Office)
Amazon has just received a patent outlining a possible plan for “directed fragmentation for unmanned airborne vehicles” used in deliveries. Continue reading






