Rafael Suárez is a drone journalist and content creator with more than 20 years behind the lens. He began in film photography in 1998, moved to digital in 2005, and has been flying and filming with drones since 2016. As a commercial videographer he has produced work for premium brands including BMW, Porsche, and MINI, and his documentary work champions a #flysafe mentality across the industry. Based in Quito, Ecuador, he covers drone news, hardware, and the policy and business shaping the industry for DroneXL, and shares reviews and cinematic flight on his YouTube channel. A dad and a lifelong aviation nerd, he's happiest when something is in the air.
Orlando International Airport approved development of an eVTOL vertistop near its train station, putting demonstration air taxi flights within reach if the FAA signs off and construction stays on track.
Axon Vision says its new ForceField system detected, tracked and destroyed FPV drone targets in live-fire trials, but the public footage raises a harder question: were the targets really fast FPV drones or slower camera aircraft?
Intelligent Energy unveiled a 120 kW hydrogen fuel cell powertrain for heavy-lift fixed-wing drones while announcing the largest commercial UAV order in its history. The new IE-FLIGHT 120 targets aircraft carrying payloads from 331 to 1,653 pounds.
DJI promoted its Mic Mini wireless microphone on TikTok with an AI-generated presenter, then deleted the ad after creators pushed back. The campaign turned a product promotion aimed at creators into a debate about trust and whether the demonstration itself could be believed.
Campus Guardian Angel pitched its non-lethal school-defense drones to hundreds of officers and administrators at the Arkansas Safe Schools Conference, arguing that a five-second launch and 15-second intercept can buy the minutes police usually do not have in an active shooter attack.
Keio University researchers working with collaborators including the MIT Media Lab have built Cuddle-Fish, a soft helium floating robot that hovers silently indoors for hours, nudges users awake, delivers reminders, and invites touch instead of fear.
A DJI FlyCart 100 spent the 2026 Everest season hauling more than 22,000 pounds of oxygen, rope, ladders and trash across the Khumbu Icefall, cutting a deadly six-to-eight-hour Sherpa trek to an eight-minute drone flight.
The Seattle Fire Department wants up to three drones for structure fires, water rescues, hazmat calls and mass-casualty scenes, but the rescue program still has to pass through the city's surveillance-technology review process.
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