Drone Rush 2018 State of the Industry Report

We’re nearly halfway through 2018, and it’s been a good year for drones so far. While new equipment from established drone manufacturers like DJI are leading the way, new players like Uvify have entered the scene with a demand for speed.

We’ve seen and done a lot with drones so far this year. Please join us for a brief rundown of some of our favorite drones. But there is no particular order.

Best new drones of 2018

Here are some of our favorite drones released so far in 2018. Not all of the drones are for sale yet, but at least they are coming soon.

DJI wasn’t happy about launching a new drone hidden away at a tech show like CES, so it delayed it for a few weeks. On January 23, a lively event was held in New York to announce the launch of the compact, foldable DJI Mavic Air. This drone is packed with the best features of DJI Mavic Pro and DJI Spark. Size-wise, it’s a perfect fit between the two, too.

Mavic Air features leading Quickshots self-piloting, updated 100Mbps camera data rate, and rear obstacle avoidance sensors. The only thing missing in my opinion is OcuSync to allow wireless connectivity to DJI Goggles.

Announced at CES last January, this little drone actually took pre-orders on the spot. It’s a small machine that fits perfectly in the palm of your hand, but is tuned to go as fast as 60 mph. To fly safely in your living room, leave it in beginner mode, then open it outside and enjoy the high speeds.

This is a racing drone trainer, a fun machine to start with and jump into the Uvify Draco or other great top speed racing drones.

Announced at CES last January, Yuneec Typhoon H Plus is scheduled to be released in July. This is a large foldable drone with six propellers to power it and keep things safe and smooth. The camera is a 1-inch, 20MP sensor that shoots 4K video at 60fps and is mounted on a 3-axis stabilized fully rotating gimbal. According to the spec sheet, this will be one of the best camera drones (consumer level) to hit the market this year.

Yuneec Typhoon H Plus will be available starting July 1st for $1899.99.

Also announced at CES 2018 is the Autel Robotics Evo, a foldable quadcopter that looks set to compete with the DJI Mavic Pro. In a head-to-head match according to the spec sheet, the latest Evo is in the lead, with its cameras shooting 4K video at up to 60fps and rear obstacle avoidance sensors. Secretly confirmed to begin taking orders from June 25th, the Evo is shaping up to be a solid drone for new buyers.

Last month, DJI announced an update to its Phantom drone family. This latest device is an incremental update to the Phantom 4 Pro called Phantom 4 Pro V2.0. We are primarily looking at updated propellers and ESC for quieter, smoother, more efficient flight. You’re also looking at OcuSync, a technology that enables wireless connectivity to DJI Goggles.

To quickly summarize, V2.0 is definitely better than the original, but probably not so much better that you’ll have to park V1.0 and go shopping. If you are purchasing your first Phantom drone now, choose the Phantom 4 Pro V2.0. If you can wait, there’s always something better on the pipe, and the Phantom 5 could be here before the end of the year.

Honorable Mentions:

GDU O2, Parrot Anafi and Skydio R1

GDU first announced the O2 in September of last year, but it began shipping to consumers in the second quarter of 2018. This is one of the most portable drones out there and a serious competitor to DJI’s current favorites. 4K video, 20 minutes of flight time, and several convenient flight features at your fingertips. Check out the GDU O2 for $732.

Parrot announced the new Anafi last June. This new machine packs a 21MP camera with 4K video on a high-end gimbal. This is a foldable drone that is extremely portable. With solid hardware, Parrot utilizes some fun software features that set it apart from the crowd. Pre-orders are currently live and the Parrot Anafi is priced at $699.

Skydio is not a company we’ve seen in the retail market before, and it comes from a fairly recent MIT graduate. The Skydio R1 is the first retail machine and is packed with sensors to deliver the safest autonomous flight we’ve ever seen. Although it is a simple-featured drone that offers a few ‘follow-me’ modes, it is a highly capable self-flying drone. The Skydio R1 costs $2,499.

2018 events

Along with the rest of the AA team we have attended a few events so far this year. In case you missed it, here’s where Drone Rush was:

The year started with drones, lots of drones. CES 2018 in Las Vegas provided as much entertainment as information. A slew of new machines debuted at CES, and the biggest names in the group included three machines from Yuneec, a foldable drone from Autel Robotics, my toddler’s most anticipated quad, and Uvify released a racing drone trainer.

This year’s AUVSI Xponential was held in Denver. This was a week-long convention devoted to all things autonomous and robotics. We have experienced many new drones and other UAVs in the commercial and military markets. Uvify was at the show, sponsoring the IDRA Challenger’s Cup drone racing event. We were a small sponsor.

DJI launched the TX2 thermal imaging camera for the M200 series drones, we learned about all the improvements to Uvify OOri, and the new Insitu ScanEagle III was announced. The final machine is a large fixed-wing aircraft that helps monitor forest fires and survey railroads.

We pulled a few videos from the show, but not many articles. Check it out:

This year was a big one for Intel’s drone business. The Falcon 8+ drone, together with its Insight software package, is transforming the inspection market. Even more exciting is the world record-breaking drone swarm event. The Shooting Star drone team, which creates stunning images in the sky that mimic fireworks, had 1,218 drones in the air at the Olympics.

We met Intel at CES and AUVSI Xponential, but we also met the Shooting Star team at the Girls Who Drone event hosted by The Drone Girl. We learned a lot about the Shooting Star program.

Listen to the Girls Who Drone presentation here:

If you fly for paid or other forms of compensation, you must fly under different rules and must have a commercial drone license. We call it Part 107. It’s not that difficult to get, but it will take some time to learn all the rules. We want to help you learn the rules and get your commercial license. Check out our drone pilot training materials.

DJI Mavic Pro 2

Rumors, folks, all we have are rumors and hopes. We’re sure we’ll see updates to the popular Mavic Pro this year, and we’d like to see a few updates like multi-directional obstacle avoidance sensors and improved cameras. We’d like to see a 1-inch camera sensor with the same 100Mbps data rate that we currently see in the Phantom 4 Pro.

Once we hear the official news, we’ll do big things, but for now we only have hopes and dreams.

DJI Phantom 5

With the release of Phantom 4 Pro V2.0, we are not sure if the Phantom 5 will be released soon. We expect to see new machines with a more compact design, perhaps even some folding propeller arms and the folding propeller itself, before the end of the year. The next step in camera technology doesn’t necessarily have to be larger sensors, but increased data rates could be a good thing. Some camera vendors also offer 10-bit video and 4K 60fps or higher video.

The biggest update expected from the Phantom 5 is the interchangeable lenses. The default single-focus lens on most drone cameras today is fairly wide-angle, but it works well. Choosing a focal length greatly expands the uses of your drone. But we are still working on rumors and hopes.

More drone racing!

This year, along with the desire to cover more commercial drones and Part 107 operations, I also want to get involved in more drone racing. We’ll set off at over 50mph with the Uvify OOri, then have some more fun and ride with you.

In addition to exploring drone racing for our own enjoyment and for you, the racing scene is growing. IDRA is running several races around the world this year and DRL is also going strong. We hope to be able to attend more official events in the future.

What do you want to see in the drone world this year?