Drone News: Autel Alpha, FlyCart 30, KY Bill on Drones, Walmart Adds Wing, and Drone Surveillance.

Welcome to your weekly news update, we have 5 stories for you
this week; Autel Alpha hits FCC database, DIJ FlyCart 30
released outside of China, KY bill could limit drone operations,
Walmart partners with Wing, and a filmmaker’s plan to curb crime
using drones.


First up this week is the Autel Alpha, which hit FCC
databases!  It’s been a long time since we discussed the
Alpha rumors and many folks have likely forgotten about the
drone. Alpha specs supposedly include IP55, 45-minute flight
times, 50MP cameras, 25X Zoom camera, 640x512 Thermal, laser
range finder, multiple payload options, autonomous missions,
multi-aircraft operations, and 360 degree obstacle avoidance.
We’ll keep you updated if we see anything else! Second up this
week is the FlyCart 30, DJI's delivery drone! The FlyCart 30 has
been released outside of China! If you aren't familiar with the
FlyCart 30, the heavy lift drone has a capacity of 30kg with the
dual battery setup and 40kg with the single battery set up.
Safety features include IP55, active radar, binocular vision,
obstacle avoidance, dual batteries, a parachute, weight/center of
gravity detection, and swing stability. The FlyCart uses the DJI
Pilot 2 App, the RC Plus, and O3 for a 9.9-mile range. The drone
uses a 38,000 mAh battery which is rated to 1500 charge cycles.
We'll see if anyone currently doing drone delivery picks this up
for testing! Next up this week is a Kentucky bill that could
limit the use of drones.  Kentucky house Bill 45 would
prohibit use of an unmanned aircraft system for surveillance,
which the bill goes on to define as  “1. With respect to an
owner, tenant, occupant, invitee, or licensee of privately owned
real property, the observation of such persons with sufficient
visual clarity to be able to obtain information about their
identity, habits, conduct, movements, or location; or  2.
With respect to privately owned real property, the observation of
such property’s physical improvements with sufficient visual
clarity to be able to determine unique identifying features or
its occupancy by one or more persons” The bill goes on to say;
"For purposes of this section, a person is presumed to have a
reasonable expectation of privacy on his or her privately owned
real property if he or she is not observable by persons located
at ground level in a place where they have a legal right to be,
regardless of whether he or she is observable from the air with
the use of an unmanned aircraft system.” Fourth this week is
Walmart who is expanding deliveries in the Dallas area. Walmart
has partnered with Wing and Zipline to expand their deliveries in
Dallas beyond the current 60,000 people coverage. By the end of
2024, they hope to cover 1.8 million people using both Wing and
Zipline’s Part 135 certificates with BVLOS waivers.  So far,
Walmart has completed over 20,000 successful deliveries from two
stores. Last up this week is a bit of a weird one; a business
owner from Washington DC, hopes to curb crime by live-streaming a
drone’s camera over a neighborhood. The idea is that drones
equipped with loudspeakers, cameras, and spotlights would fly
over this neighborhood and live stream the camera to
residents. The program would have a two-week test period,
after which the neighborhood would be able to book the service
for $60 - $125 per hour.  What do you think about this use
of drones - Let us know in the comments!
https://fox2now.com/news/missouri/neighbors-local-leaders-react-to-proposed-south-city-drone-patrols/
https://dronexl.co/2024/01/02/walmart-drone-delivery-lewisville/
https://dronexl.co/2023/04/30/autel-alpha-drone/
https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/record/24rs/hb45.html