drone
Close to a decade ago, brothers Aviv and Matteo Shapira co-founded a company, Replay, that created a video format for 360-degree replays — the sorts of replays that have become…
Amazon confirmed it is ending Prime Air drone delivery operations in Lockeford, California. The Central California town of 3,500 was the company’s second U.S. drone delivery site, after College Station,…
Cypher’s inventory drone launches from an autonomous mobile robot base
Doing inventory sucks. I feel the need to reiterate this any time I discuss the topic here. Having performed a bit of it during my years of retail work, I…
AALTO seeks to democratize high-speed internet access through solar-powered drones
In the beginning of 2021, Alphabet shuttered Loon. It was a familiar story within the annals of Google X history: an ambitious moonshot with tremendous upside that sputtered out prior…
Amazon is bringing drone deliveries to the UK and Italy next year
Amazon today announced that it will be bringing its drone delivery offerings to the U.K. and Italy by the end of 2024. The news also includes a third U.S. location,…
Last month, Skydio announced that it was shutting down its consumer drone business. DJI continues to dominate the category globally, but when the Shenzhen-based firm found itself on the wrong…
Walmart is adding Wing drone deliveries to limited Superstores this year
Wing is expanding drone deliveries to a pair of Texas-area Walmart Superstores later this year. The Alphabet-owned drone firm says the two offerings will cover a combined 60,000 homes in…
Skydio today announced that it will be shutting down its consumer drone business. Beginning today, the firm will no longer be selling its Skydio 2+ Starter, Sports, Cinema or Pro…
Seems we’re in the middle of drone-delivery summer. A few weeks back, Gather AI snapped up competitor Ware following an executive shake-up, and soon after, San Jose-based B Garage brought…
The M4 robot transforms to roll, fly and walk across various terrains
If you’ve followed robots with any frequency, you’ve no doubt encountered the wheel versus leg debate. Why, for instance, should a warehouse opt for a legged Digit robot instead of…
It’s always a bit of a bummer when an exhibitor pays for booth space at an event, but ultimately fails to show. The empty table, the photocopied bit of signage…
This week, ten-year-old drone company ACSL announced plans to enter the U.S. commercial drone market. The firm has already taken a sizable bite out of the market in its native…
DJI has spent the last several years doubling down on its imagining prowess — tripling down as it were, in this case. Makes sense. Aside from the underlying fun of…
Mapping drone startup Wingtra is charting a new future after landing $22M
Mapping drone startup Wingtra has raised a $22 million Series B to improve its current tech and add new features.
Skydio soars to a $2.2 billion valuation after raising $230M Series E
Drones are quickly becoming more than flying selfie cameras. Amid growing geopolitical tensions, drone makers are seeing increased demand and acceptance as drones move farther from consumers’ hands. Skydio today…
Following this morning’s debut of the Sparrow bin-picking robot, Amazon just unveiled MK30, the latest iteration of its delivery drone. The system is the successor to the MK27-2, which is…
Affordability is fairly malleable concept when it comes to consumer drones. We’ve seen plenty of systems positioned as affordable — or even cheap — over the years, but lowering the…
Snap may have flown a bit too close to the sun in its development of the palm-sized selfie drone, Pixy. Following a late-April announcement, the social media firm has already…
Drone delivery deployment happens in fits and starts. There are, after all, a number of hurdles — both regulatory and residential — a company has to clear. That’s why all…
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One size doesn’t fit all for Wing’s drone deliveries
For many, drone delivery has understandably felt like a fool’s errand. It’s a category clouded by regulator and logistical concerns, and one that’s often felt — at best — a long ways down the road. Wing has been among the leading lights in a space that’s seen its share of setbacks — including its chief…
Any given year, the real unsung highlight of re:Mars are the dozen or so startups and researchers who show off their wares on the show floor. There are always a…
Wingcopter raises another $42M ahead of ambitious Africa deployment
In mid-May, Wingcopter announced an extremely ambitious plan to deploy some 12,000 of its fixed-wing UAVs in Sub-Saharan Africa over the next half decade. As far as drone delivery markets…
Impossible Mining CEO Oliver Gunasekara pulled me aside at last week’s TechCrunch Climate event with a fascinating pitch. Turns out there are a lot of valuable metals on the ocean…
Way back in August of last year, we highlighted the launch of Corvus Robotics in the Actuator newsletter. The Boston-based firm is one of a handful of startups looking to…
Amazon starting drone deliveries in California town later this year
Amazon today announced that Lockeford, California will be “among the first” locations in the U.S. getting access to the company’s burgeoning drone delivery, Prime Air. Lockeford is a small, census-designation…
Drone delivery has been a long time coming, but its actual implementation has largely arrived in fits and starts. Some companies (Alphabet’s Wing) have made decent headway, while others (Amazon)…
Born as the Mavic Mini, back in late-2019, the Mini hits a nice sweet spot for casual drone flyers. It’s far more capable that the Spark — which, while fun,…
The Russia-Ukraine war is far from the first time DJI has has come under fire for policy decisions. But the Shenzhen-based drone giant is trying its best to stay away…
Meet Pixy, Snap’s little flying companion. Pixy is a mini drone that can act as a camera sidekick when you can’t ask someone to take a video of you. It’s…
Wing this morning announced that it is adding Texas to its list of drone delivery markets. On April 7, the Alphabet-owned operation will be arriving in Frisco and Little Elm,…
