Polsinelli Drones & Robots Your Edge in Autonomous Technology

Polsinelli Drones & Robots

Your Edge in Autonomous Technology

Latest Articles

Operating at the Edge: What Commercial Drone Pilots Need to Know Before Pushing Manufacturer Limits
Buyer's Guide

Operating at the Edge: What Commercial Drone Pilots Need to Know Before Pushing Manufacturer Limits

Manufacturer specifications are built around conservative safety margins, and experienced commercial drone operators regularly observe that real-world performance often exceeds published limits under controlled conditions. But operating beyond those specifications carries technical, regulatory, and insurance consequences that demand careful navigation. This article examines the documented, legally defensible approaches that serious operators use to expand their operational envelope without compr
Coverage Left Behind: How Advanced Drone Capabilities Are Outrunning the Policies Meant to Protect Them
Buyer's Guide

Coverage Left Behind: How Advanced Drone Capabilities Are Outrunning the Policies Meant to Protect Them

As commercial drones grow more sophisticated—integrating AI-assisted navigation, multi-sensor payloads, and extended-range flight modes—the insurance products designed to cover them have largely failed to keep pace. Operators who assume their existing policies reflect current capabilities may be carrying far more financial exposure than they realize. Understanding where coverage gaps exist, and how to close them, is no longer optional for serious commercial operators.
Two Pilots, One Mission: The Structural Failures That Undermine Drone Team Operations—and How to Prevent Them
Industrial Robotics

Two Pilots, One Mission: The Structural Failures That Undermine Drone Team Operations—and How to Prevent Them

Scaling a drone operation from a single pilot to a coordinated team sounds straightforward, but the transition introduces coordination, liability, and communication challenges that catch many organizations off guard. The problems that emerge when a second operator enters the equation are rarely technical—they are organizational, and they require deliberate structural solutions. This article examines why drone teams underperform and what it takes to build a multi-person operation that actually fu
Jurisdiction as Strategy: How Commercially Savvy Drone Operators Are Turning Regulatory Fragmentation Into Profit
Buyer's Guide

Jurisdiction as Strategy: How Commercially Savvy Drone Operators Are Turning Regulatory Fragmentation Into Profit

The United States has no single, unified drone regulatory environment below the federal level. State legislatures, county governments, and municipal authorities have each carved out their own approaches to UAS oversight—creating a patchwork of restrictions and, for operators willing to do the analytical work, genuine competitive advantages. The operators gaining ground in this environment are not the ones waiting for regulatory clarity; they are the ones mapping jurisdictional differences and de
Captive by Design: The Hidden Costs of Proprietary Robotics Ecosystems and How to Break Free
Industrial Robotics

Captive by Design: The Hidden Costs of Proprietary Robotics Ecosystems and How to Break Free

Robotics vendors rarely advertise the dependency their platforms are engineered to create. Proprietary charging infrastructure, closed software environments, and deliberately scarce spare parts transform an automation investment into a long-term financial obligation that operators often do not fully recognize until switching costs make exit prohibitively expensive. This investigation examines how lock-in is built into commercial robotics programs, what it actually costs, and how operators can au
Beyond the Basic Certificate: The Regulatory Gaps That Leave Part 107 Pilots Dangerously Exposed
Buyer's Guide

Beyond the Basic Certificate: The Regulatory Gaps That Leave Part 107 Pilots Dangerously Exposed

Holding a Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate feels like a credential that opens every commercial door—but for a surprising number of revenue-generating operations, it barely opens the first one. From agricultural chemical application to powerline corridor inspections and beyond-visual-line-of-sight contracts, entire categories of high-value work require authorizations that the basic certification simply does not provide. Understanding exactly where your legal coverage ends is not optional; it is

Grounded Without Notice: How Commercial Drone Operators Can Survive Spectrum Preemptions by Military and Emergency Services
Buyer's Guide

Grounded Without Notice: How Commercial Drone Operators Can Survive Spectrum Preemptions by Military and Emergency Services

Military exercises, emergency response activations, and national security operations can strip civilian drone operators of spectrum access with little to no advance warning, halting missions mid-contract and eroding revenue. Understanding the regulatory landscape and building deliberate operational redundancy is no longer optional for serious commercial operators. This guide examines how spectrum preemption happens, what recent incidents reveal about operator vulnerability, and what strategic st
Certified or Self-Serviced: The Repair Decision That Can Make or Break a Commercial Drone Operation
Buyer's Guide

Certified or Self-Serviced: The Repair Decision That Can Make or Break a Commercial Drone Operation

Choosing between independent maintenance and manufacturer-authorized repair isn't simply a matter of cost—it carries implications for liability, warranty coverage, and operational continuity that many commercial drone operators fail to appreciate until a mission-critical failure occurs. This guide examines the real financial and legal consequences of each path, drawing on the experiences of service center professionals and fleet managers who have seen both approaches succeed and collapse. Unders
Fleet at a Crossroads: The Financial Logic Behind Repairing, Replacing, or Upgrading Commercial Drones
Buyer's Guide

Fleet at a Crossroads: The Financial Logic Behind Repairing, Replacing, or Upgrading Commercial Drones

Every commercial drone operator eventually confronts the same uncomfortable question: is the money going into aging hardware actually buying performance, or simply delaying an inevitable transition? This guide breaks down the lifecycle economics of commercial drone equipment, offering a structured decision-making framework and real-world case studies to help operators at every scale make financially sound fleet decisions.
Obsolete by Design: The Hidden Danger of Buying Drones From Manufacturers Who Won't Commit to Long-Term Firmware Support
Buyer's Guide

Obsolete by Design: The Hidden Danger of Buying Drones From Manufacturers Who Won't Commit to Long-Term Firmware Support

When a drone manufacturer quietly stops issuing firmware updates, operators are left holding expensive hardware that grows more vulnerable with every passing month. Understanding how to evaluate manufacturer support commitments before purchase may be the most important due diligence step commercial operators consistently overlook. This guide examines the real consequences of firmware abandonment and offers a structured framework for making smarter procurement decisions.
Soft Targets in the Sky and on the Floor: The Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities Commercial Drone and Robotics Operators Can No Longer Afford to Ignore
Buyer's Guide

Soft Targets in the Sky and on the Floor: The Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities Commercial Drone and Robotics Operators Can No Longer Afford to Ignore

Commercial drone and robotics operators invest heavily in mechanical reliability and regulatory compliance, yet most leave their systems dangerously exposed to sophisticated cyber threats. From signal hijacking to data exfiltration, the attack surface is expanding faster than the industry's awareness of it. This guide examines the real threat landscape and offers a practical security framework every operator should implement today.
Stranded by Insolvency: What Drone and Robotics Operators Must Do When a Manufacturer Disappears
Buyer's Guide

Stranded by Insolvency: What Drone and Robotics Operators Must Do When a Manufacturer Disappears

When a drone or robotics manufacturer files for bankruptcy, operators can find themselves holding expensive equipment with no support, no warranty, and no clear path forward. This investigation examines the legal landscape, real-world fallout, and the concrete steps operators should take before—and after—a manufacturer collapse.
Shared Space, Shared Risk: Confronting the Collision Crisis in Autonomous Air and Ground Operations
Industrial Robotics

Shared Space, Shared Risk: Confronting the Collision Crisis in Autonomous Air and Ground Operations

As autonomous drones and ground-based robots increasingly operate within the same industrial environments, the probability of unintended collisions is no longer a theoretical concern—it is an active liability. This article examines real-world conflict scenarios, the regulatory vacuum surrounding multi-system operations, and the detection and coordination technologies that forward-thinking operators are deploying today.
Bleeding Budget: How Opaque Manufacturer Guidance Is Costing Commercial Drone Operators a Fortune in Unnecessary Maintenance
Buyer's Guide

Bleeding Budget: How Opaque Manufacturer Guidance Is Costing Commercial Drone Operators a Fortune in Unnecessary Maintenance

Commercial drone operators across the United States are routinely overspending on maintenance schedules and component replacements driven by manufacturer guidelines that rarely reflect real-world operational demands. Industry data suggests that a significant portion of maintenance-related downtime is the direct result of misunderstood servicing intervals rather than genuine mechanical failure. This investigation examines where the money is actually going—and how operators can build a smarter, da
When the Algorithm Decides: Autonomous Drone AI and the Legal Reckoning Operators Aren't Ready For
Buyer's Guide

When the Algorithm Decides: Autonomous Drone AI and the Legal Reckoning Operators Aren't Ready For

Autonomous drones that make real-time flight decisions without human input are creating a profound liability gap that existing law was never designed to address. From property damage claims to personal injury litigation, operators are discovering that courts, insurers, and regulators are all struggling to assign responsibility when an AI system is the one that made the call. Before your next autonomous mission, here is what the legal landscape actually looks like.
Frequency Under Siege: What Expanding 5G Infrastructure Means for Your Drone Operations
Buyer's Guide

Frequency Under Siege: What Expanding 5G Infrastructure Means for Your Drone Operations

As 5G networks continue their aggressive rollout across the United States, commercial drone operators are discovering that frequency bands once considered reliable are becoming increasingly contested. Understanding where spectrum conflicts are most severe—and how to adapt before they ground your operations—has become a professional necessity, not an afterthought.
When the Fence Fails: The Uncomfortable Truth About Geofencing in Autonomous Flight Operations
Buyer's Guide

When the Fence Fails: The Uncomfortable Truth About Geofencing in Autonomous Flight Operations

Geofencing is marketed as an airtight safeguard against unauthorized airspace incursions, but real-world deployments tell a more complicated story. From GPS spoofing vulnerabilities to stale airspace databases, the gap between advertised capability and field performance is wider than most operators realize. Understanding exactly where these systems break down—and what practical countermeasures exist—is essential for any professional operating in complex airspace environments.
From Airspace to Ground Level: The Career Pivot Reshaping the Autonomous Technology Workforce
Industrial Robotics

From Airspace to Ground Level: The Career Pivot Reshaping the Autonomous Technology Workforce

A growing number of experienced commercial drone operators are trading their remote controllers for robotics programming interfaces, drawn by steadier employment, reduced regulatory friction, and expanding industrial demand. This shift is quietly redrawing the talent map across both sectors, leaving aviation short-handed while accelerating ground-based automation's growth.
Invisible Interference: How Radio Frequency Congestion Is Quietly Grounding Commercial Drone Missions
Buyer's Guide

Invisible Interference: How Radio Frequency Congestion Is Quietly Grounding Commercial Drone Missions

Radio frequency interference has emerged as one of the most underappreciated threats to commercial drone operations in dense urban and industrial environments. From signal dropouts mid-mission to complete loss of control link, RF congestion is costing operators time, money, and credibility. Understanding the problem—and acting before regulatory decisions reshape the spectrum landscape—is no longer optional.
What Your Commercial Drone and Robotics Insurance Policy Won't Tell You—Until It's Too Late
Buyer's Guide

What Your Commercial Drone and Robotics Insurance Policy Won't Tell You—Until It's Too Late

Most commercial drone and robotics operators assume their insurance coverage is sufficient—until a claim is denied. This guide exposes the exclusions, policy mismatches, and common misunderstandings that leave operators financially exposed, and provides a practical framework for auditing your coverage before disaster strikes.