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The U.S. Congress presented a bipartisan bill that will prevent DJI from selling new drones - effectively banning them in the consumer and commercial space - citing national security and CCP sponsorship reasons. View the full article

Drone brand DJI could soon be banned from operating in the United States. According to a report from The New York Times (NYT), a bill called the Countering CCP Drones Act “passed unanimously by the House Energy and Commerce Committee” last month. The legislation will move on to a floor vote in the House of Representatives within the next two months. If it passes there, it’ll continue onward to the Senate and potentially the President of the United State’s desk. There seem to be two main motivations behind this ban. One of the bill’s sponsors, Representative Elise Stefanik of New York, claims “DJI presents an unacceptable security risk” pointing to the company’s connection to the Chinese government. The NYT mentions how vulnerabilities were discovered back in 2020 that CCP officials could’ve utilized to access the personal information of American users. Although these vulnerabilities have since been patched, that hasn’t stopped the US Department of Defense from prohibiting its armed forces from buying the drones. The other reason is an economic one. Representative John Moolenaar of Michigan said he wants to foster a “competitive… drone industry” in the United States. DJI drones, as you can imagine, are popular in the US making up “58 percent of the commercial market in 2022.” Kicking out the brand would, in theory, allow other brands to grow. Cracking down This isn’t the first time DJI has been caught in the crosshairs of the American government. Back in 2021, the company was placed on the Department of Commerce’s Entity List restricting access to key “US technologies”. It's important to mention the Countering CCP Drones Act was introduced last spring. If you look through the bill’s summary, you’ll learn that it’ll place DJI drones under the purview of the Secure and Trusted Communication Networks Act. TheVerge in the coverage explains doing so will prevent the devices from accessing US networks, and place heavy limits on a drone's features. You may be wondering why the bill is gaining traction now. Well, it may have something to do with TikTok. Scrutiny on Chinese tech has ramped up in recent months. President Joe Biden branded Chinese electric vehicles as a national security threat in March. Then the president signed a bill possibly banning TikTok. It forces parent company ByteDance to sell the platform within a year or get kicked out (or possibly get an extension). Perhaps seeing blood in the water, the DJI ban bill's sponsors are pushing it as another crackdown on China-based tech companies. Counterarguments DJI isn’t too happy about this. Early last month, they posted a facts sheet on their official Viewpoint blog criticizing and countering the arguments in the Countering CCP Drones Act. The company states they don’t help any government in espionage, support human rights abuses, or collect data without user consent. The NYT also revealed DJI is working behind the scenes with lobbyists to remain in the States. Even if the company is banned, the technology powering its products may survive. Anzu Robotics is the new kid in the American drone industry and they launched the Raptor earlier this month which utilizes licensed DJI tech, the same kind found on the Mavic 3. The difference is that Anzu is from Malaysia and they employ domestically made software in their device. With free range to operate, the Raptor could take the throne away from the Mavic 3 although this remains to be seen as it's pretty expensive. Prices for the Raptor start at $5,000; more than double of the Mavic. If you want something more budget-friendly, check out TechRadar's list of the best drones for 2024. You might also like DJI Mini 4K release date confirmed: here's what to expect from DJI's cheapest-ever 4K droneDJI launches its own power stations to charge your drones when far from homeDJI Avata 2 review – FPV flight has never felt more immersive View the full article

OpenAI's new Sora text-to-video generation tool won't be publicly available until later this year, but in the meantime it's serving up some tantalizing glimpses of what it can do – including a mind-bending new video (below) showing what TED Talks might look like in 40 years. To create the FPV drone-style video, TED Talks worked with OpenAI and the filmmaker Paul Trillo, who's been using Sora since February. The result is an impressive, if slightly bewildering, fly-through of futuristic conference talks, weird laboratories and underwater tunnels. The video again shows both the incredible potential of OpenAI Sora and its limitations. The FPV drone-style effect has become a popular one for hard-hitting social media videos, but it traditionally requires advanced drone piloting skills and expensive kit that goes way beyond the new DJI Avata 2. Sora's new video shows that these kind of effects could be opened up to new creators, potentially at a vastly lower cost – although that comes with the caveat that we don't yet know how much OpenAI's new tool itself will cost and who it'll be available to. What will TED look like in 40 years? For #TED2024, we worked with artist @PaulTrillo and @OpenAI to create this exclusive video using Sora, their unreleased text-to-video model. Stay tuned for more groundbreaking AI — coming soon to https://t.co/YLcO5Ju923! pic.twitter.com/lTHhcUm4FiApril 19, 2024 See more But the video (above) also shows that Sora is still quite far short of being a reliable tool for full-blown movies. The people in the shots are on-screen for only a couple of seconds and there's plenty of uncanny valley nightmare fuel in the background. The result is an experience that's exhilarating, while also leaving you feeling strangely off-kilter – like touching down again after a sky dive. Still, I'm definitely keen to see more samples as we hurtle towards Sora's public launch later in 2024. How was the video made? (Image credit: OpenAI / TED Talks) OpenAI and TED Talks didn't go into detail about how this specific video was made, but its creator Paul Trillo recently talked more broadly about his experiences of being one of Sora's alpha tester. Trillo told Business Insider about the kinds of prompts he uses, including "a cocktail of words that I use to make sure that it feels less like a video game and something more filmic". Apparently these include prompts like "35 millimeter", "anamorphic lens", and "depth of field lens vignette", which are needed or else Sora will "kind of default to this very digital-looking output". Right now, every prompt has to go through OpenAI so it can be run through its strict safeguards around issues like copyright. One of Trillo's most interesting observations is that Sora is currently "like a slot machine where you ask for something, and it jumbles ideas together, and it doesn't have a real physics engine to it". This means that it's still a long way way off from being truly consistent with people and object states, something that OpenAI admitted in an earlier blog post. OpenAI said that Sora "currently exhibits numerous limitations as a simulator", including the fact that "it does not accurately model the physics of many basic interactions, like glass shattering". These incoherencies will likely limit Sora to being a short-form video tool for some time, but it's still one I can't wait to try out. You might also like OpenAI just gave artists access to Sora and proved the AI video tool is weirder and more powerful than we thoughtOpenAI's new voice synthesizer can copy your voice from just 15 seconds of audioElon Musk might be right about OpenAI — but that doesn't mean he should win View the full article

Seii-FPV is using a Raspberry Pi to power this FPV drone monitor that plays footage from drones for anyone nearby to see. View the full article

DJI is scheduled to announce its new Avata 2 on April 11 yet that hasn’t stopped a flood of information about it leaking onto the internet. We even saw the drone itself being unboxed out in public late last month in a low-quality video. This new leak saw a series of hi-res images and specifications for the Avata 2 as well as the Goggles 3 headset and RC Motion 3 controller posted on X (the platform formerly known as Twitter). Many of the pictures come from leaker Roland Quandt and they give us our first clear look at the drone which has notable design changes when compared to the original Avata. The camera is now at the front inside a smaller housing rather than sitting prominently at the top. Additionally, the flight fans have three blades instead of five. This streamlined design is identical to the one seen in an earlier leak from industry insider Quadro News giving it some validity. DJI Avata 2, RC Motion 3, Googles 3 pic dump 1/x pic.twitter.com/oMdEFcNbaWApril 5, 2024 See more As for the Goggles 3, the headset looks similar to DJI’s Goggles 2. However if you look closely at the front, you’ll notice a pair of camera lenses. We know these are cameras because Jasper Ellens, another insider, shared screenshots of the Avata 2’s Quick Start Guide on X. Documents reveal the lenses enable the headset’s Real View PiP (Picture-In-Picture) mode, allowing users to see their surroundings without having to remove the Goggles 3. The reported “ultra-low-latency” video feed will then be shown on the device’s “micro-OLED high-definition” displays. 4/x pic.twitter.com/Zp82v6DwqjApril 5, 2024 See more The RC Motion 3, like everything else we discussed so far, looks similar to the previous generation with several notable changes. DJI’s upcoming controller has a darker color scheme sporting a different shade of gray and black-accented inputs. The joystick is on the left side pushing the now-flat mode button down towards the middle. Also, the orange lock button has a bumpy texture and is much larger than before. The same goes for the side dial: it’s a lot bigger. Specs Moving onto the drone’s specs, they come from Quadro News. Some of the information mentioned is stuff we already know, like the 1/1.3-inch image sensor, although there are plenty of new details. Starting with the Avata 2’s camera, the lens will have a viewing angle of 155 degrees with an aperture of f/2.8. It’ll be capable of shooting video in 4K resolution at 60FPS or 2.7K resolution at 120FPS. Future owners will be given 46 GB of storage. Video transmission distance maxes out at 13 km (a little over eight miles). DJI’s drone won’t be able to fly for very long. Battery life is set for 23 minutes and it’ll take about 40 minutes to fully recharge. Pricing info comes from yet another leak, OsitaLV, who posted a photograph of the drone's cost in China. It shows prices start at 2,988 Yuan (about $413 / £327 / AU$628) up to 6988 Yuan (about $966 / £765 / AU$1,468) for the presumed Fly More Combo package. One key acrobatics, that's interesting. pic.twitter.com/BjPA7CmYO5April 3, 2024 See more Quadro News goes on to claim the Goggles 3 has better specs than the old model, “but some things have been trimmed.” He doesn’t really elaborate exactly what has been trimmed. Rather, he highlights some of the headset's key features like the two-hour operating time, 20-minute charging time, plus a viewing angle of 44 degrees. Nothing else was shared about the Motion 3 controller. That’s pretty much everything regarding the Avata 2 and its accessories. There are still many things that we don’t know about, including any new features not mentioned. Considering April 11 is coming up soon, we won’t have to wait long to learn more. Until then, check out TechRadar's roundup of the best drones for 2024. You might also like The best beginner drones for 2024: top flying cameras for new pilotsBest DJI drone 2024: the finest flying cameras from its impressive rangeThe best cheap drone deals for April 2024 View the full article

DJI has released a teaser for a launch event on April 11The teaser shows an FPV drone that looks a lot like the leaker DJI Avata 2The Avata 2 is expected to be launched alongside a new DJI Goggles 3 headset Just a week after a wave of leaks revealed hands-on videos and retail packaging for a new DJI Avata 2 drone, the drone giant has all but confirmed that the FPV (first-person view) flying machine will be launching on April 11. A new 'Ready to Roll' teaser (below) posted on DJI's social media and website shows that it'll be launching a new drone on April 11 at 9am EDT / 2pm BST (or midnight AEST on April 12). While DJI doesn't name the incoming drone as the Avata 2, its teaser's graphic does show one that looks identical to the Avata 2 leaks we've seen in recent days. So barring a truly strange turn of events, we'll see its follow-up to the DJI Avata in just under ten days. Ready To RollApril 11, 2024 | 9 AM (EDT)Learn more https://t.co/lCfoVrRSQC pic.twitter.com/ceR8TvoqTLApril 2, 2024 See more FPV drones differ from traditional drones like the DJI Mini 4 Pro (which currently tops our guide to the best drones) by connecting to a headset, which gives the pilot a live view from the drone itself. This means you get an incredible flying experience and also much finer control of your drone's movements, which helps create impressive videos like this Red Bull's FPV drone vs a Formula One car video. No one is expecting the DJI Avata 2 to be as speedy as the 350kph (217mph) drone in that video (the original Avata topped out at 97kph [60mph] in manual mode), but it should be a better option for beginners looking to get a taste of FPV flying than its predecessor, which landed in August 2022. The image in DJI's teasers suggests a more streamlined design, while the latest rumors are pointing towards better image quality thanks to a larger 1/1.3-inch CMOS sensor. One detail we won't likely get until the full announcement is the DJI Avata 2's price, but hopefully it won't differ too much from the original model which cost £499 / $629 / AU$799 (without accessories) or $1,388 / £1,229 with the DJI Goggles 2. DJI Avata 2: what to expect DJI's Avata series aren't pro-level FPV drones like the speedy ones used in the Red Bull video above, but the original was a solid introduction to the genre – and its sequel should round off some of its rough edges. Our DJI Avata review praised the drone's image quality, robust design, and Goggles headset, but criticized annoyances like the placement of its microSD card slot (inside one of the blade rings) and its relatively steep learning curve. While it still looks like DJI will only be bundling the Avata 2 with its Motion Controller – which means buying the incoming FPV Controller 3 separately to fly in 'acro' mode – the drone should be easier to fly, thanks to some rear sensors seen in leaks from the likes of Quadro_News. Other leaks suggest image quality should get a boost from the new 1/1.3-inch CMOS sensor, which will apparently shoot 4K video and 48MP photos, and your footage will also apparently benefit from new stabilization tech like RockSteady 3.0+ and HorizonSteady. Further leaked leaked images of the Fly More Combo's retail packaging suggest the Avata 2 will also be quieter in flight than its noisy predecessor. And we're particularly interested to see what DJI does with its new Goggles 3 headset, which appears to have two cameras on the front. Could this mean augmented reality powers for the Avata 2? We don't know for sure yet, but we'll find out for sure on April 11. You might also like DJI Avata review: FPV flying for the massesFlying the DJI Avata is a lot harder than it looks in the drone's trailersDJI streamlines Avata FPV drone experience with new goggles and joystick View the full article