Drone News Roundup: Mavic 4 Pro Animation Leaked, The Amazon by FPV Drone, and More!

This week we’re covering a leaked animation of the DJI Mavic 4 Pro, giving us a little more information about what it will look like.

We’re also covering an FPV drone video shot over the Amazon in Ecuador, thoughts on why DJI recently stopped enforcing geofencing, a hybrid drone-land vehicle made with a 3D printer, and a new drone designed with bionic morphing wings.

Now on to the links!

Leaked DJI Mavic 4 Pro Animation

My friend YueYue who send me the #DJIFlip video now send me this exclusive #Mavic4Pro video animation. Meanwhile it is a strong rumor the #delayed #RCTRACK finally be introduced with the M4P. More leaks on that later. Cheers! Jasper pic.twitter.com/WCQP9BfSI3

— Jasper Ellens | X27 (@JasperEllens) January 19, 2025

The Mavic 4 Pro leaks just keep on coming. In this animation, which is one of the most recent leaks, you can see the DJI RC Track, a voice control tracking module that was launched with the DJI Air 3S. Jasper Ellens—the industry insider who shared this post—also recently shared some behind-the-scenes photos of the Mavic 4 Pro. Follow the link below to see them.

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The Amazon by FPV Drone

Drone pilot Joshua Turner recently shared this beautiful footage from an FPV flight he made at sunrise over the Amazon in Ecuador. In the clips you can see the serpentine Ishpingo River, which Turner flew over from a motor-powered canoe while traveling upriver. About capturing this footage, Turner said: “It’s a special feeling being in such untouched wilderness with nothing but thick jungle stretching endlessly in all directions.” The video was shot with an Iflight Nazgul F5 V2 and GoPro 11 Mini.

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Why Did DJI Drop Geofencing?

The Matrice 4 | Credit: DJI

DJI recently announced that it would no longer prevent drone pilots from flying in restricted airspace by blocking flights with geofencing, instead allowing them to make that decision for themselves. DJI has been preventing pilots from flying in restricted airspace for over a decade—so why did it make this change?

In a blog post, the company claims that politics had nothing to do with the decision. Yet some speculate that removing no-fly zones could be a retaliatory measure taken as a way to fire back against attempts to ban DJI from operating in the U.S. For its part, DJI says that it has taken similar measures in Europe, and that removing automatic restrictions aligns with FAA regulations and the goals of Remote ID. But given the strong pressure campaign against the company, it’s hard not to see such a measure as somehow related to what’s happening in Congress.

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YouTuber Makes Hybrid Drone-Land Vehicle with a 3D Printer

Is it a drone? Is it a toy tank? It’s—both! Using a 3D printer and a lot of ingenuity, YouTuber Michael Rechtin recently created a hybrid drone-ground vehicle machine that can both fly and drive. Clicking a button, the vehicle’s axles can rotate 90 degrees, turning the wheels into the propellers of a quadcopter. This means the props are naturally protected by the rubber tires, just like the props on a cinewhoop. Watch the video to see this impressive hybrid vehicle in action, and to learn how Rechtin pulled this off from a design perspective.

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Researchers Create Drone with Bionic Morphing Wings

Engineers have been using biomimetics—that is, engineering that mimics the natural world—for a long time. In this new drone design that features bionic morphing wings, researchers have “massively improved the efficiency of drones” by using a design that mimics real bird wings. The drone is called the LIS Raptor, and it was created by students at the EPFL, a prestigious public research university in Lausanne, Switzerland. The EPFL is also where notable drone companies Flyability and senseFly got their start. According to its creators, these morphing-wing drones could be especially useful for search-and-rescue missions, environmental monitoring, and disaster response.

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