Hello, and happy Monday. Every week we read through the drone and autonomy headlines so you don't have to. Here's what caught our attention this week, and, more importantly, what it could mean for you, whether you're a builder, a pilot, or just curious about where this technology is heading.
1. Drones are learning to finish the job on their own
On September 30, Neros announced that the U.S. Department of War ordered about 14,000 of its drones, valued at more than $100 million, after the company did well in the Pentagon's Drone Dominance competition. A key detail is the onboard AI: the aircraft use terminal guidance, meaning the drone can keep flying itself to a target an operator has chosen, even if the radio link gets weak or drops.
What's in it for you: You don't need to care about the defense angle to benefit from the idea. Drones that keep working when the signal is lost are exactly what inspectors, farmers and search teams need in tunnels, warehouses and remote terrain. The takeaway is that the "brain" is moving onto the aircraft itself.
2. Keeping everyday airspace safe
Fortem Technologies, a Utah airspace-security company, closed a $50 million Series B round led by Lockheed Martin. The money will help scale up its SkyDome systems, which combine radar, AI-powered software and autonomous interceptors to spot and stop unauthorized drones. Fortem was also recently picked to help protect venues during the FIFA World Cup.
What's in it for you: Safer skies mean more room for good drones to operate. When airports, stadiums and cities can trust that rogue aircraft will be detected, it's easier for regulators to say yes to deliveries, inspections and public-safety flights. If you fly responsibly, this trend works in your favor.
3. Practical drones doing the dull, dirty and dangerous jobs
Lucid Bots continues to improve its Sherpa cleaning drone, which washes buildings from the air so that people don't have to hang from ropes at height. It's a quiet reminder that some of the best uses of autonomy aren't dramatic. They're about getting people out of harm's way.
What's in it for you: If you run a business with tall facades, roofs or hard-to-reach equipment, drone services are now realistic, affordable and safer than the old way. If you build, it's a good prompt to ask which risky task in your field a robot could take over.
The common thread
Across all three stories the pattern is the same: more intelligence is moving onto the drone itself. Seeing, deciding and reacting in real time, without waiting on a cloud connection, is quickly becoming the baseline expectation, not a luxury.
Bring that power to your own project with Jetcore
That is exactly why we built Jetcore, a carrier board for NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano, Orin NX, Xavier NX and TX2 NX modules. It gives your drone or robot a compact, reliable home for an onboard AI computer, so it can process vision and make decisions right where the action is, with less wiring headache and more time spent on what you're actually creating.
Whether you're prototyping your first autonomous platform or scaling up a fleet, Jetcore helps you get from idea to flying hardware sooner.
Explore Jetcore and start building smarter →
Questions about fitting Jetcore into your build? Just reply or reach out. We love hearing what you're making.
Sources: DroneXL, Defense Daily, Lucid Bots.
