DJI has teamed up with AirMap to introduce some exciting new live geofencing update functionality for its drones. Previously, the geofencing information on each user’s phone was only updated periodically as DJI was notified about new areas that needed to be fenced off or opened up.
This new technology gets alerts directly from AirMap, which has access to the U.S. Department of the Interior’s incident command system, updating the geofencing settings live as incidents arise. The example being used mostly is in the case of wildfires. This new technology would allow for drones to be blocked from the area around a wildlife within minutes of it being reported to the incident command system.
“AirMap delivers dynamic airspace intelligence to unmanned aircraft in order to provide the safest operating environment possible,” said Ben Marcus, CEO of AirMap. “Through our partnership with DJI and other drone manufacturers and application developers, more than 70 percent of the drones operated in the United States now benefit from wildfire information in real time.”
In the case of wildfires, there have been many high-profile incidents where drone pilots have gotten in the way of planes and helicopters trying to help fight the flames. This new update, as noted in the quote from Airmap there, will now make it possible to block drones in the area quickly, thus preventing issues during the most critical period of a firefighting effort.
Some 300 to 500 new wildfires are tracked by the U.S. Department of the Interior on a daily basis during the summer months. This technology should improve things in regard to drone interference at these locations going forward. More information about DJI’s geofencing system is available on their site.
