Key Points
- A new DJI update enables everyday operators to fly their drones over and into airports, military bases, sensitive infrastructure, wildfires, and national no-fly zones in the United States.
- Hundreds of sensitive-site operators may be forced to deploy counter-drone solutions. The update comes just days after a DJI drone crashed into a firefighting waterbomber over California.
- DJI promises to place “control back in the hands of the drone operators, in line with regulatory principles of the operator bearing final responsibility” — and tells Hunterbrook that it has given “authorities the tools they need to enforce existing rules.”
- DJI, by one estimate, controls 90% of the global consumer drone market. The company currently faces the risk of a total ban in the U.S.
virtually any “bind and fly” or “almost ready to fly” bird will do what you need, if you’re willing to pilot it yourself. if you’re not, check out ardupilot (it’s still around. but stay away fromthe ardupilot module/apm controllers, they’re old and unsupported. it’s based on the arduino family of microcontrollers.)