Drone as First Responder

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Nov 13

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Three gray Skydio drone docks numbered 01 to 03 on a flat white rooftop under an overcast sky, with two American flags in the background

DFR

Axon Puts $1.2B Into Skydio, and US Police Now Buy Only Through Axon

Axon invests $1.2 billion in Skydio for a 37% stake at a $5.2 billion valuation and becomes Skydio's only public safety channel in the US and Canada.

Haye KestelooNov 6

Flock Safety Alpha police drone in flight against a pink dusk sky, its multi-lens gimbal camera hanging below the body

Industry

Flock Drone Chief Sidhu Quits for a16z, Alpha Still in Early Access

Rahul Sidhu leaves Flock for a16z two years after selling it Aerodome for over $300 million, days after 270 staff took buyouts and with Alpha in early access.

Haye KestelooNov 5

Wildfire

Pano AI Fire Cameras Can Now Alert Seneca and BRINC Drones to Smoke

Pano AI's Drone Partner Program sends wildfire detections and coordinates to Seneca, Rain, BRINC and Censys drones. Its launch graphic adds Skydio.

Haye KestelooNov 4

BRINC Responder drone hovering above its open docking station outside a building at dusk, with police cars parked in the background

Drone as First Responder

St. Louis Clears Police Drones 4-1. Camera Pledge Lives in an FAQ

St. Louis police can fly BRINC drones after a 4-1 vote over the mayor's no. The horizon-camera pledge is in SLMPD's FAQ, not the approved order.

Haye KestelooNov 4

Rain-soaked gray DJI Matrice 5TD drone with folded propellers sitting on the landing pad of DJI Dock 4, lit red by the dock's lights at dusk

Search & Rescue

DJI Docks Put Tatra Rescuers Over Poland's Highest Peak in 6 Minutes

Poland's TOPR tested three DJI Dock 3s and a Dock 4 in the Tatras. A docked drone reaches Rysy in six minutes. US rescue teams can't buy Dock 4.

Haye KestelooNov 4

Rendering of two Starlink satellites above the night side of Earth, each projecting cones of light onto rings of coverage over city lights

FCC Filing

FCC 800 MHz Drone Order Adds a SpaceX Footnote the Draft Lacked

FCC's adopted 800 MHz drone order adds a footnote the draft lacked: SpaceX's bid for the band next door, with drones and Starlink phones told to coexist.

Haye KestelooNov 1

Pilot Institute

Zipline Claims 68% Less Noise, Alibaba Wins Ruling, MI Organ Flights

Zipline says its drones got quieter, Alibaba wins a ruling on a Pentagon lobbying law that also reaches DJI's lobbyists, and Michigan funds organ flights.

Greg ReverdiauOct 30

Skydio X10 drone hovering in the dark with its navigation lights on, the thermal and color camera gimbal facing forward

DFR

Utica Names Axon and Skydio for Drone Trial Flock Pitched in June

Utica, N.Y. police and fire begin a 90-day Drone as First Responder trial with Axon and Skydio. In June the city announced a free six-month Flock pilot.

Haye KestelooOct 28

Drone as First Responder

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