SerpApi.Org
A US vendor called Odyssey Robot has been caught lying to the Federal Communications Commission in an alleged attempt to pass off a DJI drone as one made in the US.
On Tuesday, the FCC announced a “national security enforcement action” against Odyssey as part of its effort to enforce the foreign-made drone ban. “Our drone revocation proceeding sends a message that the FCC will not allow companies that produce abroad to evade the FCC’s prohibition,” Chairman Brendan Carr said in a statement.
In April, the FCC granted Odyssey Robot an equipment authorization for its unmanned drone, paving the way for US sales. Now the commission wants to revoke the approval after a Spain-based security researcher, Konrad Iturbe, uncovered evidence that Odyssey’s drone matches the specs of a product tied to DJI, which the FCC has restricted under its drone ban.
The FCC’s order notes that Odyssey incorporated itself as a company in Delaware and then as a “foreign corporation” operating in California last year. Strangely, “Odyssey does not appear to maintain a corporate website,” the commission found.
When applying for the equipment authorization, Odyssey said its product didn’t fall under the drone ban. It asserted that the drone's remote control was manufactured in California and assembled in Texas by a third party, eTak Worldwide Corporation, an electronics recycling firm.
Last month, the FCC noticed that Iturbe published a report alleging Odyssey was trying to evade the drone ban. He flagged alleged "DJI front companies" that sell products overseas under brand names like Fikaxo and VooMax. Iturbe examined the documents that Odyssey submitted to the FCC and noted: "The company's own test report in the same filing shows the device was tested in Shenzhen, China.”
He further found the radio frequency “fingerprint” for Odyssey’s product was “identical" to the VooMax Breeze drone, which had appeared for sale on Amazon. In response, the FCC sent a letter to Odyssey, demanding more information about the company and its associations with vendors already placed on the FCC’s blacklist. Odyssey failed to respond.
The commission then reached out to eTak Worldwide Corporation, which “denied any business or financial relationship with Odyssey, and eTak denied that it had performed any device assembly activities for Odyssey,” the FCC says. As a result, the commission is giving Odyssey 10 days to respond, or it will move to officially revoke the equipment authorization.
DJI didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. In the meantime, the FCC is also preparing to crack down on the various front companies that DJI has allegedly been using. Last Friday, the commission issued a proposal to ban the importation, marketing, and distribution by DJI-linked brands, including Fikaxo, Cogito Tech, and Skyhigh Tech, among others.
