Drone Makers, FAA Produce Report Making the Case for Longer Flights

Drone Makers, FAA Developing Guidelines for Long-Distance Flights

Daily Tech Briefing May 9
Written By
eWEEK Staff
eWEEK Staff
May 9, 2018
2 minute read
eWeek content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More

Today’s topics include drone makers working with the FAA to enable long-distance drone travel, and Stripe launching a new security app for fraud teams.

Until now, companies normally couldn’t get permission to operate commercial drones beyond a mile, or what the Federal Aviation Administration calls line of sight. However, progress is being made to extend that distance, thanks to the FAA’s Pathfinder initiative, which involves industry partners working with the agency to develop guidelines and best practices for operating drones in previously prohibited ways, such as over crowds of people and beyond visual line of sight.

Drone maker PrecisionHawk and partners Mitre Corp. and the FAA published the Pathfinder Report May 1, which makes a safety case for operations at distances of as much as 50 miles from the drone’s operator.


The Pathfinder Report is a significant step toward actions such as drone deliveries, as has been envisioned by Amazon and other companies, although no drone operator has yet to receive the required FAA waivers to begin long-distance commercial drone operations.

Payments-and-security software company Stripe has launched a new version of its Radar platform, featuring tools designed for enterprises that use machine-learning models in the software.

With the announcement, Stripe makes a new bundle of advanced fraud prevention tools available to risk professionals within large businesses. Radar for Fraud Teams, designed for sophisticated teams of fraud professionals, improves visibility and offers granular control for identifying and preventing fraud.

Stripe contends that Radar prevented $4 billion in attempted fraud in 2017 alone by learning from the transactions processed on the Stripe network for hundreds of thousands of businesses and helping users tailor defenses for their individual company.

eWeek Logo

eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site's focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

Property of TechnologyAdvice. © 2026 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.