#DroneZone – Vol 1

Welcome to the 1st edition of #DroneZone, a weekly newsletter dedicated to all things drones! Each week we’ll bring you the latest developments, trends, and insights in the world of drones and UAS. From the newest models and accessories to the most innovative uses of drone technology, we've got you covered.

Over the coming weeks we will cover news on a wide range of applications including –

Delivery & Logistics - Medical - Disaster Relief and Search & Rescue - Agriculture - Surveying & Mapping - Inspection - Photography and Videography - Defence

Whether you're an industry professional, thought leader, drone pilot, a hobbyist, or just interested in the possibilities of this exciting technology, our newsletter will keep you informed and inspired. So sit back, relax, and let us take you on a journey into the exciting world of drones!

Company of the Week

Flyby Robotics

Co-Founded by Yale University alum Jason H. Lu and Cat Orman , Flyby Robotics , the end-to-end drone automation company announced on April 6th that they have raised $4M in pre-seed investment funding. The LA based start-up launched their food drone delivery pilot service across the US with food retailers including Nekter Juice Bar , Salad Collective , & other food retailers. The round was led by MaC Venture Capital . This pre-seed will fund product development with the goal of achieving Level 4 autonomy for Flyby’s flight systems, which currently perform at Level 3.

Flyby Robotics ’ CEO Jason H. Lu stated “You don’t have to be a multibillion-dollar corporation or a global military superpower to reap the economic benefits of autonomous drones. Our AI-powered autonomous systems allow any merchant to dramatically reduce the cost of delivery to their customers.”

I’m excited to see their development post funding as there is a clear use case for food delivery via drone and it is an area of the market that, to date, no one business has developed a mature and practical solution to.

Socials -?LinkedIn, Website

Hot Topic

For our first edition of #DroneZone I want to address a lighter subject matter but one that a lot of people in sector have been crying out for some time -

?? “When are we going to get a drone emoji?”

Whilst emoji’s might seem one of the more trivial challenges in the sector, a lack of representative emoji’s in an increasingly digital world has been something discussed for 3+ years now without any resolution. ?In April of 2020, DroneUp submitted a proposal to the Unicode Consortium for a Drone Emoji, even releasing a petition on change.org. Later that year, DJI announced on Twitter that a Drone Emoji was imminently being released, but never materialised.

What emoji do you use as a substitute? And just how important, or otherwise, do you feel this is for the representation of the market in an increasingly digital world??

The Latest in Drones News

?? Verus Technology Group, Inc. was last week acquired by BlueHalo , via its financial sponsor Arlington Capital Partners , through an LBO on April 3, 2023 for an undisclosed amount. The counter unmanned aircraft systems (CUAS) is intended for the US DoD, US IC, and Federal Law Enforcement organizations. The company provides counter unmanned aircraft systems products with long-range detection, alerting, identification and tracking of small UAS (sUAS) that present potential risks to both individuals and facilities. John Abbey , CEO & Founder of Verus Technology Group, Inc. , said joining BlueHalo will allow the company to deliver an expanded set of capabilities and resources to new and existing customers.

?? Last week, Chicago (IL) based advanced drone developer, Socian Technologies (A Techstars Detroit Powered by JP Morgan '22 Portfolio Company) , raised $2m in seed funding. Congratulations to Marc Ward , founder and CEO, and the team! The startups vision is to use drones to create to create safe societies using drone-enhanced public safety technologies. Backed by investors including gener8tor and Techstars , their drones with include facial recognition technology and behavioral algorithms to provide real-time three-dimensional imaging data.

?? Florida has now banned state and local government agencies from using drones from a “foreign country of concern,” which means that thousands of DJI drones being used by public safety departments cannot be used.?The ban took effect on Wednesday, April 5 2023 but does not effect commercial and private drone use. While Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has repeatedly claimed that Chinese drone technology poses a security risk, a recent survey indicates that more than 90% of Florida public safety agencies are currently using DJI drones.

?? UAV manufacturer Velos Rotors , Inc. has announced the completion of a $2 million seed round by Marathon Venture Capital . CEO Michael Seal confirmed the investment will enable the Delaware based business to scale its manufacturing capacity in order to meet the rapidly growing demand for its trailblazing flying machines. Their VelosUAV is a fully redundunt, electric, twin motor UAV helicopter with flying times of more than one hour and up to 12kg payload capacity. The company raised $2 million of seed funding from undisclosed investors on April 7, 2023.

?? Drone manufacturer Autel Robotics has launched a completely redesigned website focused on solutions and case studies that will assist customers in better understanding the benefits of its products. This new website comes in response to an increased need to address customer difficulties and provide solutions with clear and measurable business value.

?? The Drones market was highly represented at the Fast Company’s “The World’s Most Innovative Companies of 2023 list” with four companies featuring including Skydio (Ranked 3rd), Zipline (4th), Epirus (8th) and Flytrex (10th). It’s fantastic to see such a great representation of the UAS market, taking 2 out of the top 5 places! ??

That's all for this week's edition #DroneZone! We hope you enjoyed reading about the latest trends, news, and insights from the world of drones. Don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter and follow the hashtag #DroneZone to receive all the latest updates.

Do you have any feedback, suggestions, or ideas for topics you'd like us to cover?

If you're interested in contributing to our next edition or highlighting the work of a business we haven’t covered, please get in touch!

Until next time, happy flying! ??