Drone news, Randall Warnas Resigns, DJI and Autel settle, Drone spots burglars, drones at 8000’?

This week in drone news, Randall Warnas has resigned from his position as CEO of Autel, DJI and Autel settle a patent dispute from 2018, a drone in the UK spots burglars on the roof of a bank, and pilots reported a drone sighting at 8000’.

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Randall Warnas resigns

 “This morning I resigned as CEO of Autel Robotics. Of course I don't want to be writing this message, but as publicly as I came into the role I wanted there to be clarity that my affiliation with the brand is over. The team still at Autel is second to none in the unmanned industry. The ownership of the company, however, is suspect. During the interview process I talked about how DJI is run by Frank and the 'FOF' (friends of Frank); they laughed and said how they were different. Right... Autel's owner is also Frank, but has his own FOF (family of Frank), and for nine whole weeks I have been trying to sort that out. When people have unjust authority and no accountability, bad things are bound to happen. This also entirely undermined my ability to function in the role as needed. So rather than prolong this for weeks or months or years, I am moving on. Mostly this came down to an unjust evaluation of an employee with the company for five weeks which resulted in receiving a termination letter for that person with me expected to sign. I took the 'over my dead body' approach and now we're both floating down the river together. Thankfully, this is not the end of what I'm going to be doing in the unmanned space. I'll be taking on a new role at the start of September. Stay tuned.”  

DJI and Autel Settle

 DJI and Autel have settled a patent dispute from 2018.  Autel sued DJI for patent infringement including obstacle avoidance, rotor assembly and a novel way to switch batteries. Autel originally received this patent to fix rotors to an aircraft (Seen on most DJI aircraft including the P4 and Mavic line) in 2013.  The patent claim was filed in 2018. Specifics of the settlement have not been disclosed. https://dronereviewsandnews.com/dji-and-autel-settle-patent-dispute-over-drone-tech/ 

 Drone spots burglars 

While not US news, this is a great example of how drones can be used to ensure the safety of first responders. Police in Nottinghamshire, England responded to a bank’s intruder alarm but found no one inside during the search. Upon launching the thermal drone, three suspects were found on the roof of the bank and were taken into custody.  https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-58213759 

 Drone spotted at 8000'

 The flight crew of a JetBlue flight reported a drone six miles NE of Boston Logan airport at an altitude of 8000’ AGL. The flight did not take evasive action, and the crew did not report if the drone was above or below the aircraft. Don’t be that guy… https://boston.cbslocal.com/2021/08/16/drone-logan-airport-boston-flight-jetblue-faa-investigation/