July 05, 2024

Drone News: Assaulted Drone Pilot, SkyeBrowse Update, and a PSA on Flying Drones Near Wildfires

4 minutes

Welcome to your weekly UAS news update, we have 3 stories for you this week. An assaulted drone pilot wins in court, SkyeBrowse's latest update, and our yearly PSA about flying drones near wildfires! Let's get to it.

A drone pilot won a court case after being assaulted during a property shoot in Tucson, Arizona. Zach Zywiak, a real estate photographer, was attacked by a neighbor while operating his drone.

The court ruled in Zywiak's favor, dismissing the neighbor's claims and focusing on the physical assault. The person who attacked him claimed that Zywiak harrassed him first, but the judge had a hard time believing that someone who was hired to film a million dollar listing would go out of their way to assault a neighbor.

Following the incident, Zywiak said he implemented new safety measures, including wearing a drone operator vest and using a 360-degree camera.

Next up, SkyeBrowse has announced major upgrades to its 3D modeling platform, significantly enhancing speed and quality. The updates include a 40% boost in loading speeds and improved interior mapping capabilities.

With SkyeBrowse, you can quickly process complex interior spaces from short videos rather than hundreds of photos. The platform now supports better 8K, 4K, and 2K textures, depending on the subscription tier.

If you're not familiar, SkyeBrowse is used by multiple verticals, including law enforcement, real estate, and emergency services, by making 3D modeling more efficient and accessible.

And now it's time for our yearly PSA regarding flying drones near wildfires. The shortest was to say this is: don't be that guy. But more seriously, if you fly your drone near firefighting operations, they will stop their operation, potentially leading to more acres burnt, houses burning down, or even lives lost.

Illegal drones disrupted firefighting efforts during a brush fire in Del Mar Heights, California on June 25. These operators forced the delay of three water drops, potentially worsening the fire. Authorities identified an individual lawnching drones during the operation, but it is unclear if charges will be filed. The fire burned 23 acres, forced evacuations, and was only 50% contained by the next morning.

Another similar story was reported out of Oregon at the Upper Applegate Fire in Jackson County 3 days earlier.

Again. Don't be that guy.

And yes, I know, DJI released an e-bike. I love mountain biking but this is not something we will cover on this channel...unless it starts flying. What would you like DJI to make next? An air fryer? An electric laundry basket? Perhaps a speed boat? Let us know in the comments.

And that's it. Hope you had a happy 4th of July, no live on Community today, have a good weekend and we'll see you on Monday for the live!

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By Pilot Institute

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