Drone News Roundup: Incredible Cinewhoop Featuring U2 at the Las Vegas Sphere, Fire-Spewing Lava Shot on the Mavic 3 Pro, and More!

This week we’re covering an incredible cinewhoop shot at the new Las Vegas Sphere by Jay Christensen, a master of the form.

We’re also covering Mavic 3 Pro footage of an active lava flow captured in Iceland, end-of-life announcements for five DJI products, Flyability’s release of RTH for the Elios 3, and news that 3D Robotics may have reopened its doors.

Now on to the links!

Amazing Cinewhoop of U2 Playing the Las Vegas Sphere

Jay Christensen’s “Right Up Our Alley” helped cinewhoops rocket into popularity back in 2021. Since then, he’s continued to dominate these quick, single-shot fly throughs, releasing dozens of incredible short videos like the one shown above. This recent cinewhoop he made at the new Sphere venue in Las Vegas is one of his best. As U2 plays to a packed arena—the first performance made inside the massive 18,600 seat venue—we get an up-close tour of this incredibly unique place. According to Christensen, this was the first time a drone had ever been flown inside the Sphere.

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Mavic 3 Pro Captures Lava-Spewing Fissure in Iceland

@embrek01 Counting down the days until the next eruption! – Litli Hrútur eruption 2023 #iceland#icelandadventure #volcano#eruption#dji#sony ♬ Aaron Hibell twilight zone – Aaron Hibell

What do you get when you combine the Mavic 3 Pro and a 2.5-mile long fissure of lava in Iceland? Pure magic. In just 25 seconds of footage, this video shares some truly incredible images showing the scale of the volcanic events that took place in Iceland just a few months back. Hope you enjoy it.

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5 Products DJI Will Stop Supporting Next Month, Including the M200 Series

The DJI Matrice 600 | Credit: DJI

DJI will stop offering support for these five products as of February 24, 2024:

• Matrice 600
• D-RTK
• Snail
• Matrice 200 series
• Matrice 100

Here’s what DJI has to say about what end-of-life means for these products: DJI regularly optimizes resource allocations to promote the development and application of new products and technologies. We hereby inform you that we will stop providing support services for certain products and their accessories through periodic assessments. 

The page linked below contains all the products DJI has stopped supporting, including the five listed above.

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Flyability Releases RTH for the Elios 3

Flyability, known for its indoor inspection drones, has released its first autonomy feature for the Elios 3—RTH, or Return to Signal. The Elios 3 is often used in environments that make it almost impossible to retrieve a downed drone—imagine a grain silo as tall as a skyscraper, or a massive pipe that moves wastewater throughout a major city. In these high-stress situations, having a feature that lets the drone return home on its own is a huge relief, especially when the drone costs over $50,000. Using the new RTH feature, the Elios 3 can now fly “back along its flight path in the case of signal loss.”

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Is 3D Robotics Back?

Way back in 2015, there was a moment when 3D Robotics seemed poised to be the first major U.S. consumer drone company ever. (Think Skydio today—er, before it stopped selling drones to consumers.) But things fizzled before 3DR could really start selling its flagship drone, the Solo, at scale, and by 2016 it had closed its doors. 3D Robotics’ implosion became a cautionary tale for American drone companies about what happens when you try to go head-to-head with DJI. Now it looks like 3D Robotics might be back (the screenshot above is from the company’s homepage). Sally French has all the details on what we know and don’t know—follow the link below to learn more.

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