Latest Drones Headlines
All the headlines from our Drones Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Drones Help Insurance Companies Check Windstorm Damage in Iowa
Aug 31 2020 // Insurance adjusters who descended on Cedar Rapids, Iowa, after the Aug. 10 derecho storm are using drones to check roofs and asking homeowners with less severe damage to take their own photos. Some of this is due to the...
Florida Company Deploys Drones to Sanitize Facilities in Virus Fight
Jul 21 2020 // Upward Drone Solutions was only in business for a few months before the coronavirus pandemic hit and much of its work cleaning the exteriors of buildings dried up. Andy Godfrey, CEO of the Pensacola Beach-based business,...
Smart Cameras at Amazon Provide Real-Time Social Distancing Feedback to Employees
Jun 16 2020 // Amazon Inc. is pairing cameras with artificial intelligence to enforce social distancing among employees in its offices and warehouses. The system gives employees real time feedback on whether they are complying with the...
Software Allows Drones to Monitor Social Distancing, Face Masks
Jun 15 2020 // Airspace Systems, a California startup company that makes drones that can hunt down and capture other drones, last Thursday released new software for monitoring social distancing and face-mask wearing from the air. The...
PAK Programs Expands Drone Risk Assessment Service to Breweries
Jun 4 2020 // PAK Programs, a specialty insurer of alcoholic beverage manufacturers and distributors, has expanded its Insurance Risk Assessment Drone (iRAD) program, previously only available for wineries, to serve the craft beer...
Small Commercial Drones: Overcoming the Misconceptions
Apr 6 2020 // One of the most interesting and rapidly-growing technologies emerging for small business owners is the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, commonly known as drones. In 2019 alone, there were nearly 1.3 million registered...
U.S. Seeks Certificaton Criteria for Civilian Drones
Feb 5 2020 // Government regulators plan to review drone designs in the same way they review other aircraft, a major step toward allowing routine drone deliveries and other flights over congested cities. The Federal Aviation...
Long-Awaited U.S. Drone Safety Rules Call for Extensive Tracking Network
Dec 26 2019 // All but the smallest civilian drones would have to broadcast radio tracking data to ensure greater safety and prevent terrorism under a sweeping proposal unveiled by U.S. regulators Thursday. The long-awaited draft rules...
New Higher-Speed Florida Train has Highest U.S. Death Rate
Dec 4 2019 // After Richard Branson announced his Virgin Group would partner with Brightline, Florida’s new higher-speed passenger rail service, a train whisked the British billionaire, VIPs and journalists from Miami to West Palm...
Imagining How Technology Might Transform Risks and Insurance by 2030
Nov 7 2019 // As 2019 wraps up, many in the insurance industry are likely well into planning for the next year. But what about planning for the next decade? While it can be difficult to predict what’s ahead in 10 years, industry...
UPS Drone Service to Deliver CVS Health Prescriptions to Homes
Oct 22 2019 // United Parcel Service Inc.’s new Flight Forward drone unit will soon start home prescription delivery from CVS Health Corp. The service, which will debut in one or two U.S. cities in the coming weeks, shows how the...
Verifly, Now Thimble, Raises $22M to Fuel On-Demand Insurance Growth
Oct 16 2019 // Thimble, formerly known as Verifly, raised $22 million in new financing designed to fuel further expansion and diversification well beyond its original focus on on-demand drone insurance. Existing investors Slow Ventures,...
How Drones Are Digitally Transforming Insurance Claims Inspections and Workflows
Oct 7 2019 // Somewhere in central Michigan, a pickup truck drives into a sleepy suburban neighborhood. An autonomous drone takes flight off the truck’s flatbed and, nearly silently, heads a half-mile east, slowing above a...
UPS Approved to Operate First U.S. Drone Airline for Non-Residential Deliveries
Oct 2 2019 // United Parcel Service Inc. on Tuesday said it won the U.S. government’s first full approval to operate a drone airline, which gave it a lead in the nascent U.S. drone delivery business over rivals Amazon.com Inc. and...
EagleView Wins $125M Patent Infringement Award, Sales Halt Against Verisk
Sep 30 2019 // A New Jersey jury last week ordered insurance data services firm Verisk to pay $125 million to aerial imaging firm EagleView for lost profits linked to Verisk infringing on various EagleView patents. The jury verdict in...
Travelers Gives Agents Aerial Property Damage Viewer to Expedite Disaster Claims
Sep 24 2019 // Property/casualty insurer Travelers is now providing its insurance agents and brokers with before-and-after photos of areas affected by disasters. The Travelers Catastrophe Map Viewer provides access to searchable,...
Airlift from Drugstore to Doorstep: Walgreens, Google’s Wing Testing Drone Deliveries
Sep 23 2019 // Walgreens and a Google affiliate are testing drone deliveries that can put drugstore products on customer doorsteps minutes after being ordered. Snacks like Goldfish Crackers or gummy bears as well as aspirin for sick kids...
Experts Not Worried About Saudi-Like Drone Attack Knocking Out U.S. Oil Production
Sep 17 2019 // The style of attack used against oil plants in Saudi Arabia that knocked out half of the country’s production on Saturday is unlikely to be a risk in the United States, energy and security experts say. “The...
New Hurricane Response Tools from Munich Re Aim to Improve Claims Experience
Aug 7 2019 // Munich Re has launched a new suite of hurricane response tools designed to help insurance companies assess widespread property damage after a hurricane and improve their customers’ claims experience. Developed by...
First Drone Flight ‘Beyond Line of Sight’ Completed, Says FAA
Aug 5 2019 // The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said on Friday it had approved the first drone flight beyond the operator’s sight line, a major advance for retailers like Amazon.com Inc. seeking to speed up deliveries by...
