Uncrewed Views

In this week's episode of Uncrewed Views, Matt Collins speaks with Chris Tavani, Chief Growth Officer at Raad. The two discuss how the company vets and ranks drone pilots at scale, the software tools Raad uses for real-time quality control, and what smaller operators should look for when hiring pilots on their own.

In this week's episode of Uncrewed Views, Matt Collins speaks with Kraettli Epperson, CEO of Vigilant Aerospace Systems. The two discuss how detect-and-avoid technology works under the hood, what the Part 108 NPRM means for operators preparing for BVLOS operations, and what steps operators and manufacturers can take now to be ready when the final rule is published. Link to Commercial UAV News' Sta...

In this week's episode of Uncrewed Views, Matt Collins speaks with Dr. David Cole, co-founder and CEO of FlyFreely. The two discuss lessons the U.S. can draw from Australia's BVLOS regulatory transition, what Part 107 operators need to know as Part 108 approaches, and the overlooked operational challenges organizations should be planning for now. Link to Commercial UAV News' State of the Industry...

In this week's episode of Uncrewed Views, Matt Collins speaks with Alex Norman, COO of Matternet. The two discuss the company's recent reverse merger that made Matternet the first pure-play drone delivery company publicly traded in the U.S., the lessons Matternet has carried from medical logistics into direct-to-consumer delivery, and what gaps still need to be closed before drone delivery reaches...

On this week's episode of Uncrewed Views, Matt Collins runs through some of the biggest topics from the industry over the last month, including takeaways from XPONENTIAL, the outlook for the World Cup, and the Section 2209 NPRM. 

In this week's episode of Uncrewed Views, Matt Collins speaks with Melissa Swisher, CRO at SkySafe. The two discuss drone threats facing critical infrastructure operators, how the recent Section 2209 NPRM and GridEx VII are reshaping airspace security, and what detection and response actually looks like on the ground for these owners.

In this week's episode of Uncrewed Views, Matt Collins speaks with Matt Kling, VP and general manager of AI Systems at MatrixSpace. The two discuss how the Safer Skies Act has shaped demand for counter-UAS technology, why gaps still exist between what agencies need and what's being deployed, and how MatrixSpace is approaching the counter-UAS challenge as a radar-first, hardware-and-software hybrid...

In this week's episode of Uncrewed Views, Matt Collins speaks with Russell Hall and Greg Floor, Senior Survey Project Managers at Langan Engineering. The three discuss how Langan fuses drone, mobile mapping, and ground-based sensor data into cohesive deliverables for complex private-sector projects, the real bottlenecks in getting rich datasets into the hands of non-technical clients, and how the...

In this week's episode of Uncrewed Views, Matt Collins speaks with Kevin Padilla, founder of AeroVis, and Allan Ring, founder of Critical Security Solutions. The three discuss how drones are being used for pre-mission 3D mapping and real-time surveillance in executive protection, the cross-vertical lessons Kevin brought from agricultural drone operations to the security space, and how high-profile...

In this week's episode of Uncrewed Views, Matt Collins speaks with Michael Rubloff, Founder of RadianceFields.com. The two discuss what Gaussian Splatting is and how it differs from traditional photogrammetry, why and how drone pilots and geospatial professionals in AEC and construction are already putting it to work, what drone pilots need to know about the technique, and what's on the horizon as...

In this week's episode of Uncrewed Views, Matt Collins speaks with Ben Wolff, President and CEO of Palladyne AI. The two discuss the concept of embodied AI and how putting intelligence on the drone itself changes performance in GPS-denied and communications-degraded environments, how Palladyne's Pilot Swarm OS enables a single operator to manage a fleet of autonomous drones, and an interesting new...

In this week's episode of Uncrewed Views, Matt Collins speaks with Beth Flippo, CEO and founder of DEXA (Drone Express), about the state of drone delivery in 2026. The two discuss DEXA's new pilot program with Grubhub in New Jersey, the unique challenges of operating in an urban environment compared to more rural deployments, and what it takes to earn both regulatory approval and public trust as t...

In this week's episode of Uncrewed Views, Matt Collins speaks with Ryan Smith, founder and president of Titan Protection Security, about how the company has been at the forefront of integrating drones into physical security operations for over a decade. The two discuss Titan's journey from early drone experimentation in 2014 to securing a nationwide BVLOS waiver from the FAA, the process behind th...

In this week's episode of Uncrewed Views, Matt Collins speaks with Linda Montgomery, Vice President of Corporate Development, and Phil Franklin, Vice President of Business Development at ZenaTech, about the company's aggressive push into the drone-as-a-service market. The three discuss ZenaTech's rapid acquisition strategy across sectors like land surveying, power washing, and infrastructure inspe...

In this week's episode of Uncrewed Views, Matt Collins speaks with Rodrigo Serzedello, CEO and co-founder of Creative Skies, about the growing drone light show industry. The two discuss the technological advances enabling large-scale aerial performances, the regulatory waiver process for flying swarms at night, and how companies navigate safety concerns following high-profile incidents.

In this week's episode of Uncrewed Views, Matt Collins speaks with James McDanolds, the director of uncrewed technology at the Sonoran Desert Institute. The two talk about shifts in workforce development and hiring in a BVLOS-centric world, including the roles that will be most in demand following the final rule for Part 108, any potential lags in filling positions in the immediate aftermath of th...

In this week's episode of Uncrewed Views Matt Collins talks with Tom Adams, formerly of the FBI and current Director of Public Safety at DroneShield. In the conversation, Adams discusses the evolution of counter-UAS operations at major events like the Super Bowl and upcoming World Cup and 2028 Olympic Games, explains how the Safer Skies Act is expanding authorities for state and local law enforcem...

In this week's episode of Uncrewed Views, Matt Collins sits down with Carla Lauter, the senior content manager for Geo Week and Geo Week News. In the conversation, Lauter talks about what the upcoming Geo Week conference and exhibition is all about, what sessions and topics will be of interest to professionals within the commercial UAV space, what's new for this year's event, and more.

In this week's episode of Uncrewed Views Matt Collins sits down with Tyler Hazen, a lawyer who works with drone professionals on both the operator and OEM side of the business. In the conversation, Hazen talks about some of the reaction around the FCC's decision to place foreign-made drones and components on the Covered List, answers questions about specific pieces of the announcement and subseque...

In this week's episode of Uncrewed Views, content manager Matt Collins is joined by Jason San Souci. Wearing many hats in the industry, San Souci shares his thoughts on some of the biggest topics and trends for the industry in the year to come, including what to watch for following the FCC's ruling on foreign drones in December, changes that could come from an eventual final rule for Part 108, the...

In the final episode of the year for Uncrewed Views, content manager Matt Collins hosts a solo episode to cover some of his background in the industry and how Commercial UAV News is thinking about coverage of the industry looking ahead to 2026, some of the most important stories and events from the past year, and what we are anticipating for the biggest stories to come in 2026.

In our latest episode of Uncrewed Views, Matt Collins from Commercial UAV News is joined by Will Dawson, president of the Agricultural Drone Initiative to talk about the latest developments around the FCC's decision-making to potentially place Chinese-owned drone companies on their Covered List, what impact will be felt by groups like individual pilots and resellers, and how open-source projects c...

In our latest episode of Uncrewed Views, Matt Collins from Commercial UAV News speaks with Dacoda Bartels, COO of Fly Guys, about how to turn technical knowledge within the drone industry into a successful business. The conversation touches on how to find the best vertical for your services, best practices for hiring, exciting trends for the future, and more.

In our latest Uncrewed Views podcast, Matt Collins from Commercial UAV News speaks with Dr. Chris Raabe, global CTO at ACSL Inc., for a wide-ranging look at the fragility of global drone manufacturing. The conversation touches on how global supply chain issues and other problems have led us to this point, and some key strategies to move things forward in a more cohesive and collaborative manner.

For our latest Uncrewed Views podcast, Scott Howe from Commercial UAV News speaks with Chris Fleming, the CEO of Cyberhawk, and Nitin Gupta, the Founder and CEO of FlytBase. The panel discusses the upcoming Commercial UAV Expo keynote presentation, " Breaking Silos, Building Skies: The Power of Collaboration in UAS ."