This post was done in partnership with Wirecutter. When readers choose to buy Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, Wirecutter and Engadget may earn affiliate commission. Although flying a drone might sound like the biggest risk in operating one, dealing with the batteries is potentially more explosive. At the 100 hospital emergency rooms that report electronics-related injury cases to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, more than 200 incidents (PDF) involving drone batteries, stemming from fire, smoke, and explosions, were recorded between 2012 and 2017. Not every drone-battery incident results in an injury, but each pilot and expert I interviewed had a story about an exploding or fiery lithium battery going off especially after it had repeatedly crashed to the ground inside a drone.

On April 13th 2016, Norway's Prime Minister was hosted in Singapore by Norway's leading multinational company DNV GL. The PM unveiled -The Hive- a fully autonomous drone docking station developed by SwarmX a one year old startup. Pulkit Jaiswal the 23year old CEO of SwarmX who I interviewed over skype as part of my coverage of the global event for tech startups Rise was understandably elated at the development. Pulkit with two other co Founders created SwarmX in April 2015. Prior to that, he spent three years building Garuda Robotics along with two other Founders.