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

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.


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!